Budget pasta recipes
Pasta is a great thrifty way to bulk up meals. Try our favourite budget pasta dishes to help with both empty stomachs… and wallets.
Try our creamy fettucine alfredo, a spicy sausage and chilli ragu, vegan squash macaroni cheese and lots more.
For all our thrifty recipes, check out the full budget recipes collection here. Plus, two low-cost superheroes team up in our sausage pasta recipes.
Showing 1-16 of 108 recipes
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Lasagnes
One-pot sausage lasagne
This simple one-pot sausage lasagne has all those familiar comforting layers of flavour without the effort – creative cookery at its best.
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Budget pasta
Toasted pasta with smoky tomato sauce
Nutty toasted penne is tossed with a Marmite and paprika-spiked tomato sauce for a serious upgrade on pasta pomodoro.
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Broccoli
Pasta ‘risotto’ with broccoli and walnut pesto
Cooking pasta in splashes of stock like a risotto ups the flavour and gives you a thick, creamy sauce that binds it all together.
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Tomato pastas
Pasta pomodoro
Pasta pomodoro is the original – and best – tomato pasta. This recipe is quick and easy but uses a few tricks to really amp up the flavour.
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Italian pastas
Classic pasta puttanesca
One of the most famous classic pasta dishes of all time, pasta puttanesca includes anchovies, garlic, capers, olives and tomatoes.
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Easy
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Budget pasta
Bigoli in salsa (caramelised onion and anchovy pasta)
Bigoli in salsa is a classic Venetian dish: thick pasta strands with a rich sauce of caramelised onions and anchovies. Simple yet luxurious.
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30-minute meals
Umami bomb spaghetti
Ready in the time it takes to boil the pasta, this speedy umami bomb spaghetti is packed with olives, anchovies, capers, parmesan and parsley for a joyful tapenade-like flavour.
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Weekly pastas
Creamy sweetcorn and Tajín pasta
Tajín is a Mexican seasoning that combines lime and chilli, and when paired with sweetcorn it makes a wonderful sauce for pasta.
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Easy
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Leftover lunches
Leftover pasta frittata
Leftover spaghetti is the carb hero of this robust omelette. This versatile frittata is the perfect vehicle for any leftover pasta and veg.
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Weekly pastas
Brothy tortelloni with beans
Cooking filled pasta in a garlic and chilli-spiked broth with creamy beans and robust cavolo nero is seriously satisfying for a-15 minute meal.
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Easy
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Easy orzo
Pea green orzotto
This beautiful, bright green orzo has the fresh flavours of sweet peas, fragrant basil and a wonderful oozy texture thanks to the mozzarella. It’s spring in a bowl!
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30-minute meals
Walnut and four-herb pesto pasta
Use our fabulous, freeze-ahead green sauce to make this delicious walnut pesto pasta. A great quick pasta recipe to have up your sleeve.
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Weekly pastas
Tuna puttanesca ragù
Whizzing up olives and capers to form a sort of mince and gently simmering them like you would a ragù creates something far deeper and richer than the usual puttanesca.
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Macaroni cheese
Green mac and cheese with bacon crumb
The cavolo nero leaves in green mac and cheese are whizzed while the stems are quick pickled, to provide brightness against the cheese sauce.
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Easy
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Easy student recipes
Spaghetti aglio e olio
This easy spaghetti aglio e olio requires just 15 minutes and 5 ingredients. We love it for an easy midweek meal.
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Easy dinner party mains
Orzo carbonara
It won’t please any Italians, but stirring carbonara through orzo instead of the more usual spaghetti creates an unparalleled creaminess.
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