14 Easy Pasta Side Dishes to Pair With Your Favorite Proteins
We’re dishing about two dozen of the most crowd-pleasing carb recipes to ever leave our Test Kitchen.
These pasta side dishes might outshine the main. Whether you flip for farfalle, go wild for gnocchi, or prefer your noodles in soup, you’ll find new and classic pasta side dish recipe ideas in this guide. Add these easy pasta side dishes to your menu alongside protein and you have a quick and well-balanced meal.
Pastina
Rachel Marek
As huge fans of the celestial-shape pasta, our spirits fell when one pasta manufacturer decided to sunset the official starry shape of pasta. So we were star-struck and overjoyed to learn that Stanley Tucci helped bring pastina back; yes, in its original star format. Technically, any pasta with a diameter less than 2 millimeters qualifies as “pastina,” so feel free to use stars, spheres, cubes, or whatever you have handy. Once you add chicken broth, milk, butter, and Parmesan using our easy stovetop and microwave method as a guide, you’ll have a creamy, rich, and satisfying pasta side dish that’s somewhat reminiscent of risotto.
Macaroni and Cheese with Cashew Cream
Take a break from boxed mac and cheese and try this grown-up, well-balanced version as a pasta side dish this week. Even though it’s 100%-q homemade and can be adapted to be vegan, this broccoli mac can be on your table in a mere 25 minutes. “Delicious every time! I love the combination of cashew cream and non-dairy cheese,” one BHG fan says. “Nice and rich.”
Herbed Garden Couscous
The only cooking required for this pasta side dish? Boiling the couscous. Then all that is left to do to add this clean-out-the-fridge pasta side dish to your menu is to toss together the vibrant vegetable and herb mix-ins and shake up the balsamic dressing. Toss that all together with feta and walnuts, and you’ll have a healthy side dish that even picky eaters will dig.
Roasted Tomato and Artichoke Pasta
If you’re crunched for time, this best pasta side dish might save the day…or at least your dinner plans. It asks for just 6 ingredients and 10 minutes of hands-on time, although it tastes like something you’d order from a gourmet caterer or cafe. As the pasta cooks, roast vegetables with fresh herbs, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and oil. The pan drippings act as a makeshift “sauce” for this vegetarian dish that readers and editors alike have on repeat.
Roasted Tomato and Mushroom Pasta Salad
Why whip up separate vegetable salads and pasta side dishes when you can combine both concepts into one fresh package? This pasta salad features roasted tomatoes and mushrooms to amp up the flavor, color, and nutrition of this vinaigrette-dressed salad. A can of beans sneaks in even more nutrition; making this hearty enough to qualify as a light lunch if you increase the serving size and pair it with a piece of fruit.
Orzo with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Bacon
Deemed “easy and delicious” by one five-star reviewer, this comforting pasta side dish gets a sneaky yet substantial flavor boost thanks to one swap. Rather than boiling the quick-cooking orzo in water, do so in chicken broth infuse each noodle with more savory flavor. Combine that orzo with chopped bacon. tender butternut squash, and fresh sage and you have one of the best sides for fall (or truly any time of year that you’d like to feel a little cozier).
Cauliflower Gnocchi
When Trader Joe’s debuted their version of this trendy cauliflower recipe, it flew off shelves so quickly that they had to place a limit on the number of bags each customer could purchase. The limit does not exist regarding how much you can enjoy now that we’ve tested and perfected a copycat version! A mix of cauliflower, potatoes, flour, Parmesan, and egg results in a light and lovely texture. Rather than boiling, which can yield chewy or gummy results, sauté the gnocchi in a skillet, then top with your favorite pasta sauce or pesto.
Triple-Veggie Pasta
Make the most of your farmers market haul in this easy, cheesy, vegetable-rich pasta side dish. Its name is a bit of a misnomer, as the recipe calls for much more than three produce picks. Summer squash, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and frozen peas are all invited to the party, and taste even better once paired with the easiest semi-homemade sauce (jarred light Alfredo spiked with a spoonful of basil pesto).
Test Kitchen Tip: To keep this firmly in side dish territory—and to trim down even more on the prep time—omit the chicken.
Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach
BHG / Alexandra Shytsman
The key to pressing “fast-forward” on prep time for many pasta side dishes lies in multitasking. This fast and filling vegetarian pasta can be yours in 20 minutes due to that savvy strategy. As the farfalle boils to al dente, sauté the onions, mushrooms, spinach, and thyme. With some Parmesan shavings on top, it’s “very yummy” as-is, according to fans, but can easily be jazzed-up, if desired. (Diced fresh tomatoes tossed in balsamic and a splash of marsala in the mushroom mixture are two creative tweaks readers swear by—and we can’t wait to try.)
Gnocchi, Sweet Corn, and Arugula in Cream Sauce
Shelf-stable, store-bought gnocchi is one of our favorite pantry staples for quick-fix meals and pasta side dishes. No one else will guess that you didn’t make all of this creamy vegetable gnocchi recipe from scratch. The combination of the potato pillows with the luscious cream cheese-infused sauce, peppery and bright arugula, and sweet, chewy corn kernels is “just so wonderful,” according to one BHG home cook. This is going to go into rotation. Super meal!”
Butternut Squash and Mushroom Noodle Bowl
The nutty soba noodles, savory shiitakes, and earthy butternut squash might get naming rights for this recipe. However, if we were forced to choose just one element that really makes this vegetable-forward noodle recipe shine, we’d select the sauce. Soy, ginger, sriracha, and honey not only fit into the “swicy” food trend (sweet-spicy), but they also merge into a syrupy sauce that clings well to the foundational players.
Pasta Fagioli
When the weather outside is frightful—or simply cooler than usual—we crave a pasta side dish that we can spoon. This vegetable soup recipe definitely delivers on that promise. The tomato, chicken broth, and red wine base acts as a flavorful “pool” for ditali pasta and fresh herbs to jump into.
Test Kitchen Tip: We call for sautéing onions and garlic with pancetta or bacon to start the soup broth blend. To keep this vegetarian, just omit the pork and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Sesame Noodle Slaw
Think outside of the box with your next package of ramen. You have our full permission to skip the instructions on the label so you can use your noodles in this unique part-salad, part-pasta side. Toss crisp cabbage and green onions with crumbled ramen pieces (no need to cook them!), then toss with toasted almonds, sesame seeds, and a soy vinaigrette that features a secret flavor-boosting ingredient: the seasoning packet from the noodles.
Shrimp and Mango Rice Paper Rolls
The wide world of noodles is vast, and not every pasta side dish has to look like something you’d serve in a bowl. We’re wild about pairing bean- and tofu-based main dishes with a side of summer rolls. This refreshing recipe checks the “pasta side dish” box once you add rice noodles. Shrimp, mango, cucumber, lettuce, and piles of fresh herbs round-out the restaurant-inspired line-up. We’ll coach you through how to roll all of that up inside rice paper rounds for a dunkable and delicious side that promises to steal the show. (Sorry, entrée.)
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