10 Easy Pasta Recipes Every College Kid Who Can’t Cook Can Whip Up
Are you looking to whip up some easy pasta recipes for your next Sunday dinner? Here are ten easy pasta recipes every college kid who can’t cook can whip up!
1. Penne Pesto with Chicken
This classic Italian pasta dish is simple to make and very tasty to eat. For those looking for easy recipes to prepare, you should know how to cook pasta. It’s simple. Boil some water, about halfway full, in a pot. When the water is at a boil, add the pasta. This dish is one of the many easy pasta recipes that any college kid who can’t cook can easily prepare for dinner. Once the pasta is added to the water, lower the heat to medium. Stir occasionally for about ten to 11 minutes. Slice up some chicken breasts, always wash the chicken before, and then place it on a medium frying pan on medium heat. Season the chicken to your desire, leave the chicken on one side for about 6 mins, then flip. Once the chicken is brown, let it cool, and then chop it up into bite-sized pieces. Once pasta is ready, rinse in a grater, place pasta and chicken in the same saucepan with pesto, and mix until pasta, chicken, and pesto are mixed and blended. This dish is simple to make and is very tasty. You’ll be proud of yourself for creating a savory and healthy pasta dish.
2. Spaghetti and Meatballs
This pasta dish is the quintessential Italian pasta dish. When people think of pasta, they instantly think of spaghetti and meatballs. This dish is one of the many easy pasta recipes that anyone can cook for dinner. First, like many pasta recipes, boil some water into a pot. Once the water comes to a boil, add some spaghetti noodles into the pot and turn the heat to medium heat. Stir noodles for about nine to 11 minutes. Place a few meatballs on a frying pan for about five to six minutes on each side. Once cooked, rinse out the pasta and place the pasta and meatballs into the same pot. Mix some marinara sauce into the cooking pot until blended. This easy pasta recipe has a rich texture that will satisfy your taste buds everyone will enjoy eating.
3. Chicken Alfredo
For people looking to step up their cooking resume or impress their friends in the kitchen, this easy pasta recipe should be in your cooking portfolio. Like all pasta recipes, boil some water into a pot. Once the water comes to a boil, add some linguini noodles to the boiling water and lower heat to medium heat. Stir pasta occasionally every three minutes for about 11 minutes total. Then wash and rinse two chicken breasts, season to taste, and place on a frying pan that is oiled. Cook chicken on both sides until chicken is not pink on the inside. Once chicken and pasta are cooked, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and rinse pasta into the strainer. Place both into a saucepan with marina sauce. Stir until the combination is blended well. This easy pasta recipe should be in every college kids’ dinner recipe portfolio all across the world.
4. Cajun Seafood Pasta
Do you want to spice up your pasta game and impress not only the people around you but yourself too? Well, here is an easy pasta recipe to make that will have your family and friends jaw-dropping at dinner. This dish will take some time to prepare, but it will be worth it in the end. First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In a small bowl, mix paprika, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper oregano, and thyme until blended. Cook the pasta in boiling water for about nine to 11 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, blend shrimp in a bowl with the cajun mixture. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, and add shrimp once oil is simmering. Take the shrimp off once cooked and add yellow and green peppers with some cajun spice to the pan. In the same pan, combine some butter and cajun mix with some heavy cream to the whole mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for seven to ten minutes. Remove the pan from heat, add and stir some parmesan cheese and add the cooked linguine, sauteed vegetables, shrimp, and scallops to the pan. Don’t worry if the pasta sauce is too thick, then add water. After all that work, you’ll enjoy this tasty dish.
5. Pesto Spinach Raviolis
This tasty pasta dish is easy to whip up. You can get the ingredients from your local Costco. All you need is frozen spinach portions of ravioli with pesto sauce. That’s it’s. Add pasta to boiling water. Once the water boils, turn down the heat, and stir portions of ravioli until fully cooked. You can tell when the ravioli pieces ready to eat when they float up to the top of the water. Once cooked, strain out ravioli’s, and place in a large pot with pesto sauce. While blending mixture, add some salt and pepper to taste while heating over medium heat for about 45 seconds. Do this to get a much rich and savory flavor for your dish. Once blended, turn the heat off, pour into a bowl, add some parmesan cheese and enjoy! This dish is simple to whip up that any college kid who can’t cook can easily prepare for dinner.
6. Penne with Chicken
This simple easy to make pasta recipe is an all-time classic the everyone will enjoy. First, heat a pan full of water on the stovetop until the water is boiling. Once at a boil, add penne pasta and turn the heat down from high to medium. Stir pasta occasionally, every 3 minutes, for about ten to 11 minutes until fully cooked. While cooking the pasta, dice up chicken into bite-size portions, season chicken to taste, and cook chicken on a frying pan. Let the chicken sit for five to six minutes, then flip. Rinse the pasta into a strainer, mix the pasta and chicken in one pot once the pasta is fully cooked and drained, and enjoy this classic pasta recipe.
7. Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi
The sound of making this pasta dish seems difficult and complex to prepare, but this dish is simple to prepare for dinner. You can make it in less than six steps. First, you want to microwave half of the squash for about ten to 11 minutes and skin the squash after heating it in the microwave. Heat a cup of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil comes to a simmer, add garlic, red flakes, and add shrimp. Wait until shrimp is pink and cooked and curled. It should cook for about two minutes. After, add some lemon zest, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and cook and sauté for about one to two minutes. Lift from heat, add some parsley and shredded squash to your liking and taste, and mix all in the pot. Enjoy the delicious meal and be in awe of the creation you just whipped up.
8. Garlic Lemon Shrimp Linguine
To prepare this easy pasta recipe, you will want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Using a medium-sized casserole dish, put shrimp, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, garlic, butter, a little lemon juice, and some white wine. Once the oven is at 400 degrees, place the dish in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and fully cooked. Using four quarters of boiling water, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook linguine pasta for about ten to 11 minutes or until fully cooked. Strain the pasta, combine with shrimp and then blend with the white wine. Drizzle finely chopped parsley and peppers on the dish. This dish will impress your roommates, friends, and family. Enjoy this easy pasta recipe.
9. Penne Alla Vodka
If you are looking for an authentic Italian pasta dish that is easy to whip up, you will want to make this dish. Start with heating some oil in a large pot over high heat. Let oil cook until a simmer. Add seasoned meat to the cooking pot and cook until the meat is brown and oil mixed in the cooking pot. Then add some crushed tomatoes, vodka, red pepper flakes, and cook until the liquid evaporated and the sauce decreased. Then add cream and stir until blended well together. After it’s blended together, sprinkle with parsley and chili pepper flakes, and enjoy! This easy pasta recipe has a lot of flavors and will satisfy your taste buds.
10. Cheesy Broccoli Gnocchi
If you’re a pasta lover who wants to eat on the healthy side, then this easy pasta recipe is the dish for you—Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Add water to a pot, boil the water and the beans and broccoli for about two minutes. After, remove the broccoli and beans and place them on the side. Using boiling water, cook the gorgonzola gnocchi for about two to three minutes. Drain after cooked and in the same saucepan, mix and blend the fully cooked gnocchi, beans, broccoli, mozzarella, parmesan cream, salt, and pepper. Pour into an oven-safe dish and bake the creation and mixture for about five minutes at 180 degrees or until the cheese starts bubbling. Take out, let sit for about one to two minutes, and then enjoy.
Those are a few easy past recipes that anyone can whip up! Are you going to try to cook any of our recommendations for your next pasta dinner? Are the any we should know about that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
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Hello! My name is Bryan Eglesia, and I am a Sports Writer/Digital Media Content Producer from the San Francisco Bay Area. I began my career as a contributor and reporter for the Reynolds School of Journalism in Reno, Nevada, where I developed many skills critical in Journalism and Sports Journalism. I'm passionate about storytelling in sports, through the spoken and written word, and I have a determined mindset to succeed in the Media Broadcasting field.