20 Pasta Dishes Under 300-Calories Each

Our seasonal pasta toss is made luscious and rich with a lighter take on Alfredo sauce. Instead of using heavy cream, we employ flour-thickened 2% milk enriched with cream cheese. We also switch from traditional Parmesan to more robust pecorino Romano, which allows us to use less cheese while still achieving the same flavor impact. We love the flavor of Bionaturae brand whole-wheat pasta, which is milder than most other brands we’ve tried and doesn’t overpower the vegetables.

Wonton wrappers are the secret to these seemingly from-scratch pasta pillows. Skip the fancy folds; just make sure to seal the ravioli well. The ravioli fare better with a delicate sauce—here, just a drizzle of olive oil and lemon.

Make this dish gluten-free by using the brown rice elbow pasta and brown rice flour options listed in the ingredients.

Chicken thighs poach until tender in stock, which becomes the base for a creamy béchamel sauce. No-boil noodles absorb more liquid during baking for a sturdy slice after freezing and reheating.

Ramekins help keep these cheesy, decadent layers in portion-perfect shape.

We love small, sweet grape tomatoes in this quick meatless pasta dish, but you can sub cherry tomatoes or larger tomatoes that have been seeded and diced. This tasty meal is filling enough to enjoy alone or could be served alongside one of our superfast side-dishes.

This dish has the starch built in, and because the recipe includes lots of fresh veggies, it qualifies as a one-dish meal.

This colorful orzo and chicken main-dish salad is packed with an assortment of chopped fresh vegetables and tossed with a tangy lemon dressing.

Our Vegetable Lasagna has half the fat and calories of traditional lasagna—but loaded with satisfying flavor. Lots of colorful, delicious baby veggies are layered between pasta to reduce the typical mounds of cheese.

This soup tastes like it was on Grandma’s stove for hours. Test Kitchen staffer Adam Hickman’s secret weapon: “Salty miso enriches the broth.”

We love the look of mezze penne, a smaller version of regular penne, but you can use any short pasta you like. The “lettuce” in this BLT is actually tender baby spinach. You could also substitute peppery arugula or even baby kale.

This mayonnaise-based pasta salad veers from the traditional with salty Italian ham, nutty asparagus, and a generous grinding of pepper.

Lemon rind brightens the sauce, making for a more delicate lasagna. To save on salt, use frozen artichokes, which contain a quarter of the sodium of the canned variety that are usually packed in brine.

Dress up pasta night with a hearty bowl of fresh cheese tortellini tossed in a homemade sauce. Serve with toasted bread for a complete meal that’s ready in no time.

Store-bought clam juice adds great flavor to a quick pasta dish. Serve with crusty bread and a simple green salad to round out dinner.

This zucchini eggplant lasagna makes use of fresh summer produce in a filling meatless entrée.

Serve this creamy dish with a tossed green salad or a fruit salad.

For picky eaters, try serving this easy meat sauce over whimsically shaped pasta, like bow ties, rotini, or wagon wheels.

To ensure efficiency, you can purchase peeled and deveined shrimp to reduce prep time. Chop, measure, and prepare the remaining ingredients while the pasta water comes to a boil.

Serve this soon after you dress the salad so the pasta stays moist.