12 Fresh & Easy Weeknight Pasta Recipes for Summer

Quick and easy pasta dinners are such a great way to use up all the fresh veggies parading through the market during the summer. Here are some of our favorites!

By
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie has 10+ years experience as a food writer, editor, and recipe developer. She is the author of Tasting Pennsylvania and a contributor to Simply Recipes since 2017.
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Published June 19, 2018
Carrie Havranek
Summer Pasta Recipes

Pasta has so much going for it: it’s inexpensive, it’s easy to cook, and it’s a blank canvas for the continuous parade of fresh veggies that appear from May through September.

I’m pretty certain I make pasta more in the summer than in the winter -- and if that’s not the case, I’m definitely more creative and less inclined toward red sauces in the summertime!

  • Angel Hair Pasta with Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce

    Angel Hair Pasta with Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce
    Sheryl Julian

    I don’t think you can get much faster than angel hair, which cooks in a flash. These cherry tomatoes blister and a pop in a sauté pan, making a speedy sauce.

  • Pesto Pasta with Spinach and Avocado

    Pesto Pasta with Spinach and Avocado
    Elise Bauer

    This pasta dish is loaded with green things: mint, peas, spinach and pesto. Oh, and you get an extra dose of creaminess with some avocado!

  • Pasta with Eggplant, Feta, and Mint

    Pasta with Eggplant, Feta, & Mint
    Elise Bauer

    It’s no accident that feta cheese tastes crisp and refreshing on summer dishes—you'll often find it in traditional dishes from places where the weather is warm. Use fresh eggplant and mint and this summer dinner is served.

  • Pressure Cooker Pasta Primavera

    Pasta Primavera in the Pressure Cooker
    Coco Morante

    Ok, so primavera means spring, but it's easy to swap out the veggies for whatever is in season with this recipe.

    Continue to 5 of 11 below.

  • Zucchini Pasta Carbonara

    Zucchini with Pasta Carbonara
    Elise Bauer

    Give pasta carbonara a summery spin and use up some garden zucchini while you're at it! You could also throw in some corn, fresh chopped tomatoes, or any other veggies you have on hand.

  • Pasta Pomodoro with Shrimp

    Pasta Pomodoro with Shrimp
    Elise Bauer

    A bag of frozen shrimp thaws fast, angel hair cooks even faster, and fresh tomatoes create the flavorful sauce for this rapid fire dinner.

  • Creamy Ziti Florentine

    Creamy Ziti Florentine
    Sally Vargas

    Ricotta cheese lends so much to a quick pasta sauce, which is balanced by the bitterness of the greens.

  • Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto

    Whole Wheat Pasta with Kale Pesto
    Sally Vargas

    This recipe sounds virtuous, what with the pesto made of kale and cashews (no pine nuts here). It also happens to be a quick and easy way to use up a bunch of kale, which seems to hang out on the farmers’ market tables and in gardens all summer.

    Continue to 9 of 11 below.

  • Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

    Pasta with Chicken and Asparagus
    Elise Bauer

    Goat cheese, nutmeg, and lemon make up the flavor profile of this easy weeknight dish. If you’ve got some leftover chicken in the fridge, it’ll come together even faster.

  • Pasta with Tuna and Arugula

    Pasta with Tuna and Arugula
    Elise Bauer

    If you have a box of pasta and a can of tuna, you’re partway to having this dinner on the table. Baby spinach would substitute well if you don’t have arugula, but it just won’t have the same zip.

  • Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Bacon, and Eggs

    Spaghetti with Bacon and Eggs
    Sally Vargas

    It’s breakfast, but it’s dinner. Maybe it’s both. A poached egg often makes everything better, and that’s true with this dish.

    76069

    Browned butter makes everything taste nutty—and works well with mushrooms and spinach.