The best pasta recipes from expert chefs

There’s something inherently satisfying about eating a bowl of pasta. Maybe it’s the variety of flavors and textures: the creamy sauce, the al dente pasta, the crispy veggies, and the soft and chewy bites of pasta.

We’re talking about pastas here that are packed with nutrition, taste great, and will have you ready to take on the world in no time. Because let’s face it, life gets pretty hectic from time to time. And sometimes a quick, delicious pasta dish is what you need to make the most of your free time.

We all want to go out and explore, and that’s exactly what you’ll do once you’re finished reading this list of the best pasta dishes you can cook with Plate Up.

Smoked Haddock Mac ’n’ Cheese - Jo Pratt

Cuisine type: American

Diet: Pescatarian | High Protein |  Low Carb | Source Of Protein | Diabetes Friendly | Low Sugars

Have you ever experienced the pure ecstasy of eating hot, just out of the oven macaroni cheese? The sublime sensation of chewing pasta, loaded with butter and cheese? Well now you have. This is a classic Mac 'n' Cheese with a smoked haddock twist. Though this can easily be transformed into a classic mac 'n cheese, without using the smoked haddock.

Fresh Watercress and Walnut Pesto Pasta - Peta Leith

Cuisine type: Italian

Diet: Low Saturated Fat | Low Cholesterol |Cholesterol Free | High Unsaturated Fat | Diabetes Friendly | Low Sugars

The watercress adds a delightful burst of freshness, breaking through the nut and oil's richness with a crisp, peppery flavour. This easy pasta tastes like a treat, yet it's ready in under 20 minutes. This is the ideal recipe for bulk cooking for the entire family because it's quick, easy, and tasty. This pesto is an obsession of Peta Leith’s and will soon be yours too.

Quick Tortellini Caprese - Balance with Jess

Cuisine type: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian | Low Carb | Source Of Protein

All I've been craving lately is pasta, pasta, pasta, but I wanted a lighter version. Enter the caprese salad! This is a quick pasta recipe, you can whip this up in less than half an hour. It has all the classic Italian flavours, but bumped up with cheese tortellini. This dish is sweet, savoury, herby, light, and comes together in minutes - a perfect meal!

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta - Rachel Carr

Cuisine type: Italian

Diet: Healthy | Low Saturated Fat Source Of Fiber | Low Cholesterol | Low Carb | High Monounsaturated Fat | Cholesterol Free | High Unsaturated | Fat Low Sugars

This easy pesto pasta recipe makes for a wonderful weeknight dinner when you want something that will please everyone. You can really load up on the veggies to make it extra healthy. Instead of cheese, nutritional yeast is used in this red pesto. Despite the fact that Peta is not vegan, she makes this red pesto frequently since it is amazing! It's rich and creamy, and nutritional yeast is high in vitamins. It's served with handmade orecchiette, but you can serve it with any pasta dish to keep the recipe under 20 minutes.

Vegan Tuna Pasta Bake - Veganuary

Cuisine type: British Classics, Vegan

Diet: Healthy | Low Saturated Fat | Low Cholesterol | Low Carb | Source Of Protein | Cholesterol Free | Low Sugars

This simple vegan tuna pasta recipe is even better than the original! You might be thinking to yourself, "It can't be genuine tuna, can it?" Well, this recipe will show you how to make vegan foods taste like the genuine thing just by experimenting with different flavours! Chickpeas and caper juice are combined to manufacture the tuna. It also includes vegan cheese and vegan mayo. The use of salted crisps, in addition to the caper juice, is a very unexpected component but with each bite, they provide a subtle salty crispiness to the vegan tuna bake.