Creamy Pasta Recipes

by Beth - Budget Bytes
Pin Recipe

All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville test kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.

If you’re as obsessed with cozy creamy pasta dishes as I am, you’re going to love this. We’ve gathered our best creamy pasta recipes all in one place so you can get that creamy comfort food fix even faster. Whether it’s a classic Alfredo or a rich carbonara, a velvety sauce combined with perfectly cooked pasta can create a delicious and satisfying meal that is hard to resist. So, if you’re a pasta lover looking to elevate your weeknight dinner game, you’ve come to the right place. Make sure to bookmark this page so you can try a new creamy pasta recipe every night of the week!

This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

1. Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta

Overhead view of a bowl full of creamy tomato and spinach pasta, a black fork in the side
Easier than a box meal, this creamy tomato and spinach pasta is also more flavorful and delicious. 100% real ingredients. Perfect for busy weeknights! 
4.80 from 450 votes
$3.72 recipe / $0.93 serving Get the Recipe

Quick skillet pasta dishes like this Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta are perfect for nights when you are just tired, hungry, and borderline HANGRY. It requires only a few ingredients, it cooks up super fast, and leaves me feeling full and happy! :)

2. Homemade Mac and Cheese

Homemade Mac and Cheese

side view of macaroni and cheese in a bowl with a fork
This incredibly creamy and cheesy homemade mac and cheese recipe features an easy cheese sauce made with sharp cheddar, milk, and butter.
4.22 from 80 votes
$4.19 recipe / $1.05 serving Get the Recipe

This Homemade Mac and Cheese is a classic stovetop macaroni and cheese recipe made with a roux-based cheese sauce that will satisfy all of your cheesy pasta cravings. It’s amazingly delicious on its own, but we’ve also included a list of fun add-ins and other ways you can customize your mac and cheese and make it unique.

3. Creamy TUna Pasta with Peas

Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas

This quick and comforting Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas and Parmesan is a fast and easy weeknight dinner that only requires a few simple ingredients. Budgetbytes.com
This quick and comforting Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas is a fast and easy weeknight dinner that only requires a few simple ingredients.
4.75 from 54 votes
$6.01 recipe / $1.50 serving Get the Recipe

You only need a few ingredients, about 20 minutes, and you’ll have this warm, comforting Creamy Tuna Pasta with Peas. The best part? It will be equally as good the next day for lunch!

4. One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta

One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Close up of pasta being twirled around the tongs in the skillet
This creamy mushroom pasta is a rich, umami-filled delight that cooks quickly and easily in one pot. The perfect dinner for busy nights.
4.88 from 49 votes
$3.74 recipe / $0.94 serving Get the Recipe

This One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta is a super-rich, umami-filled delight that is, as always, easily prepared in one pot. It’s the perfect comfort at the end of a long tiring work day. And don’t forget to make a little garlic bread to serve on the side. ;)

5. Creamy Pesto Mac with Spinach

Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Close up side view of a bowl of creamy pesto mac with spinach
A simple creamy sauce infused with basil pesto makes this Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with spinach the ultimate comfort food WITH a dose of vegetables!
4.61 from 51 votes
$3.27 recipe / $0.55 serving Get the Recipe

You can really take this Creamy Pesto Mac And Cheese With Spinach so many different directions! Try adding a handful of sun dried tomatoes, or maybe some chopped up rotisserie chicken. Or try topping it with some crumbled feta, bacon bits, or some buttered breadcrumbs!

6. One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta in the pan.
Cook a complete dinner in one pot with this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, using mostly pantry-stable items. Perfect for busy weeknights! 
4.64 from 390 votes
$9.41 recipe / $2.35 serving Get the Recipe

This One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is incredibly easy to make and so it’s perfect for weeknight dinners. We have a few variations you can try to make it the way you love it!

7. One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

Overhead view of creamy pasta twirled around the tongs in the skillet.
This incredibly fast and easy Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta cooks in 30 minutes and uses just one pot. The perfect quick and satisfying weeknight dinner! 
4.79 from 117 votes
$4.22 recipe / $1.06 serving Get the Recipe

We paired the tangy flavor of sun dried tomatoes with garlic and Parmesan for a simple but indulgent One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta.

8. Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Close up of one pot creamy pesto chicken pasta in a shallow bowl with a black fork.
This super lush and Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta is perfect for busy weeknights. Everything cooks in one pot and is done in under 30 minutes! 
4.83 from 211 votes
$10.41 recipe / $2.60 serving Get the Recipe

Regular weeknights call for something better than jarred pasta sauce. Better but not harder. This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta comes together in about 25 minutes, is super luscious and creamy, and uses just a few simple ingredients. ;)

9. Spinach Alfredo Pasta

Spinach Alfredo Pasta

Creamy and rich, yet never heavy, this Lighter Spinach Alfredo Pasta is an easy and satisfying comfort food. BudgetBytes.com
Creamy and rich, yet never heavy, this Spinach Alfredo Pasta is an easy and satisfying comfort food. 
4.61 from 33 votes
$5.92 recipe / $1.48 serving Get the Recipe

If your usual go-to comfort food is pasta with butter, Parmesan, and salt and pepper, take it a little further and make this super creamy Spinach Alfredo Pasta. We promise it’ll be worth it!

10. Peanut Noodles with Chicken

Peanut Noodles with Chicken

Close up overhead view of peanut noodles in the skillet with tongs.
These Peanut Noodles with Chicken are an easy meal with a rich, creamy, sweet, and savory flavor that is completely addictive.
4.87 from 37 votes
$9.20 recipe / $2.30 serving Get the Recipe

These Peanut Noodles with Chicken are straight-up addictive with their sweet-savory-spicy-rich sauce and tender chunks of chicken breast. Plus, the whole recipe comes together in a cinch, so this is a great last-minute meal for those days when you just need something easy and GOOD.

11. Spinach Tortellini Skillet

Spinach Tortellini Skillet

Overhead view of a bowl full of spinach tortellini with a fork in the side.
Spinach Tortellini Skillet is an easy and hearty dinner recipe that comes together quickly and will make you want to come back for seconds!
4.68 from 28 votes
$9.11 recipe / $2.78 serving Get the Recipe

This super easy Spinach Tortellini Skillet, which is a riff on one of our most popular recipes, Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta. This tortellini version is a bit easier (no chopping onion!) and a little more filling.

12. Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Alfredo

Overhead view of chicken alfredo in the skillet.
This Chicken Alfredo features pasta drenched in an ultra-rich and creamy sauce, topped with juicy strips of seared chicken.
4.46 from 22 votes
$10.62 recipe / $2.66 serving Get the Recipe

When it comes to indulgent comfort foods, I don’t know if anything beats Chicken Alfredo. You just can’t say no to a big ol’ plate of carby pasta drenched in an ultra-rich and creamy sauce and topped with juicy strips of seared chicken, can you? (That was a rhetorical question.) And it’s so easy to make at home!

13. One Pot Beef Stroganoff

One Pot Beef Stroganoff

Overhead view of a bowl full of beef and mushroom stroganoff
This one pot Beef Stroganoff is a delicious and comforting weeknight dinner and is easy like hamburger helper, but homemade!
4.67 from 201 votes
$5.54 recipe / $1.39 serving Get the Recipe

What makes better comfort food than a rich creamy pasta dish, like this One Pot Beef Stroganoff? This is yet another “better than the box” meal. It cooks in one easy pot, just like hamburger helper stroganoff, but it’s homemade.

14. Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Side view of tuna noodle casserole being scooped out of the casserole dish
Tuna Noodle Casserole is a creamy and comforting classic American dinner full of noodles, a creamy mushroom sauce, tuna, and peas. 
4.52 from 37 votes
$6.85 recipe / $1.14 serving Get the Recipe

If you grew up in the midwest in the ’80s when creamy casseroles were a dinnertime staple, you may still have a soft spot for classic dishes like this Tuna Noodle Casserole. It’s filling, creamy, and totally comforting! And no canned condensed soup!

15. Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

Shrimp Alfredo

Shrimp alfredo pasta in a bowl with a fork on the side
Shrimp Alfredo Pasta is quick and easy to prepare, but feels extra special and luxurious. It's the perfect dish for special occasions!
5 from 9 votes
$8.40 recipe / $2.10 serving Get the Recipe

This extra luxurious Shrimp Alfredo is super easy and feels just as fancy as going out to eat. …Except way less expensive and way more special because you did it yourself. We promise this creamy shrimp alfredo pasta will earn you some extra points!

What’s your favorite creamy pasta recipe? Let us know in the comments below?

Share this recipe

Posted in:

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

Leave a Comment
  1. Fabulous pasta dishes … quick & easy, but full of flavour and imagination ~ thank you