Nine pasta recipes that start with a packet of pasta and what's already in the kitchen: spicy tomato pasta, ricotta pasta, sausage pasta, tuna mornay and more.
There's nearly always a packet of pasta in the pantry, which makes it the easiest dinner to start and the easiest to get bored of. The trick is matching it to what else is around: a tin of tomatoes, a tub of ricotta, a few sausages or half a bag of spinach.
These run roughly from quick pantry dinners to bakes for a bigger night. For more ideas with a specific ingredient, see pasta with tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms or spinach, or the chicken and pasta and beef and pasta guides.
01
RecipeTin Eats25 min4 servingsWeeknightStart with Spicy tomato pasta from RecipeTin Eats for a quick tomato pasta with a bit of heat.
If there's a tin of tomatoes and some chilli in the house, dinner is mostly sorted.
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02When there's a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge, make Sun Dried Tomato Pasta from Well Plated which turns that jar into dinner in about 20 minutes.
The oil from the jar is full of flavour, so don't pour it down the sink.
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03For a quick creamy pasta, try Ricotta Pasta from Well Plated where ricotta becomes the sauce.
It's a good way to use the rest of a tub of ricotta before it turns.
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04RecipeTin Eats20 min4 servingsFamily mealWhen there are sausages in the fridge, cook Sausage Pasta from RecipeTin Eats which turns a few snags into a hearty pasta sauce.
Good sausages do a lot of the seasoning for you, so the sauce tastes like it took longer than it did.
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05RecipeTin Eats45 min5 servingsPantry rescueFor a true pantry dinner, there's Tuna Mornay from RecipeTin Eats built around a tin of tuna and a cheesy sauce.
It's an Aussie classic for good reason: tinned tuna, pasta and cheese are in most kitchens already.
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06
The Cookie Rookie30 min8 servingsWeeknightTo bring chicken and spinach into it, make Chicken Florentine Pasta from The Cookie Rookie which puts both in a creamy sauce with the pasta.
The spinach wilts straight into the sauce, so there's no separate veg to cook.
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07RecipeTin Eats55 min6 servingsBakeFor a bake that feeds a crowd, make Spinach Ricotta Pasta Bake from RecipeTin Eats with spinach and ricotta through every layer.
Bakes like this can be put together earlier in the day and go in the oven when you need them.
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08When only mac and cheese will do, make Gourmet Mac and Cheese from Well Plated for a grown-up take on the classic.
It's a smart use for the odd ends of cheese in the fridge drawer.
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09The Cookie Rookie25 min4 servingsFreshAnd for something lighter, finish with Lemon Asparagus Pasta from The Cookie Rookie which keeps things bright with lemon and green asparagus.
Make it when asparagus is in season and cheap. Broccolini works when it isn't.
Open in PantryPalPasta goes with almost anything, so start with what's already in the fridge. Add those ingredients in PantryPal and it will find pasta recipes that use them.
