32 Summer Pasta Dinners You'll Want To Make Year-Round

This simple, summery pasta dish gets its vibrant flavor from briny shrimp, red bell peppers and a generous addition of rose wine — and just a little heavy cream, for richness.

Sweet summer produce is the star of this dish, thanks to the creamy corn sauce and herby Fresno topping. We opted to grill the corn and chiles for a touch of smokiness; that also tames the heat of the chiles a bit as opposed to using them raw. Serve with pan-seared store-bought gnocchi for an easy, full-flavored vegetarian meal.

There's no need to go out to dinner when you can make this restaurant-style chicken and fettuccine at home.

Even though the exterior of eggplant is a gorgeous deep purple color; the beauty of this vegetable lies on the inside. This recipe takes advantage of the fact that the flesh of grilled eggplant transforms into a luscious creamy sauce that’s perfect for dressing up little tubes of rigatoni. To make the most of summer’s bounty, cherry tomatoes are grilled alongside the eggplant until bursting with juices, then mixed into this summer vegetable pasta.

This pesto is a celebration of tomatoes. Fresh cherry tomatoes, plus sundried tomatoes, basil and pine nuts, are blended with olive oil, garlic and chiles. The result is a fresh, raw tomato sauce which is perfect for thick, chewy rigatoni. Top with halved cherry tomatoes and basil for a pop of color, plus a chunk of creamy burrata cheese.

The star of this bright summer pasta is a luscious zucchini sauce made from sautéing zucchini with olive oil and garlic, then braising with pasta cooking water and lemon until meltingly tender. Blend until smooth with a little butter and Parmesan for a creamy and delicious vegetable-based sauce.

Bring an unconventional pop to pasta by adding corn off the cob to the sauce at the last moment.

Rich, savory sun-dried tomatoes, plus a shot of balsamic vinegar, bring big flavor to farfalle pasta.

Mussels cooked with olive oil, garlic and white wine and tossed with spaghetti is a simple yet delicious way to enjoy seafood and pasta. This version includes sweet summer corn and leeks, which cook with the mussels, adding no cooking time but tons of flavor and color.

Ricotta and pasta? Nothing new (albeit always delicious). But add just a teaspoon of lemon zest to ricotta and you'll give the creamy cheese a freshness you'll crave all summer.

Tender shrimp are cooked quickly (just until they're blush pink) in the skillet before being tossed with garlic, lemon and angel-hair pasta.

Pasta with chickpeas and greens is a classic dish from the Puglia region of Italy. In our riff with chickpea pasta, we added sausage to complement the earthy flavors of the greens and noodles.

Quick-cooking salmon is a natural choice when you want to up the protein in a fast pasta dinner. And when your meal includes in-season snap peas and fresh herbs, you really can't go wrong.

This pasta recipe takes inspiration from Turkish manti, small dumplings filled with either beef or lamb and commonly served with a delicious combination of garlicky yogurt, tomato sauce and spiced melted butter. Versions of this dish can also be found in Armenian, Central Asian and Balkan cuisines. Instead of making dumplings from scratch, this shortcut recipe incorporates the meat filling into the sauce and uses orecchiette, which mimics the chewiness of the tiny dumplings.

Grill bell pepper, yellow squash and zucchini to really elevate the seasonal flavor in this hearty pasta dinner. Use fresh basil and parsley to brighten up a can of tomatoes, and get dinner on the table in only 40 minutes.

Bacon and eggs aren’t just for breakfast — they’re the stars in this quick pasta dish, along with hearty escarole, a slightly bitter green that turns sweet and silky once cooked. One pickled cherry pepper will add a subtle heat to this dish; if you want a bit more spice, use two or more. The heat will vary by brand, so taste before adding more.

A lemon-panko topping adds a bright, tasty crunch to this easy pasta dinner.

This soup combines everything from your garden (or the produce aisle) in late summer: green beans, zucchini, squash, tomato, peppers and basil. And the small pasta shells help give it staying power.

This Italian favorite is usually much more time-intensive to prepare, but our version puts the entire meal on your table in 15 minutes flat. Boiling water in a skillet rather than a large pot cuts down prep time dramatically and thin angel hair pasta cooks in only a few minutes.

Reserve a cup of cooking water after boiling the fettucine — the starchy liquid combines with lemon and Parmesan to make a quick and delicious sauce.

If you love risotto but want something quicker, this simple orzo takes half the time. Rich cheese and cream are replaced by tangy Greek yogurt and goat cheese for equally satisfying creaminess.

You don't need to jet off to Italy — or even to your favorite Italian restaurant — to get mouthwatering pasta with clams. Thanks to Valerie Bertinelli's easy recipe, this favorite can be yours any night of the week.

Briny kalamata olives and capers give hollow bucatini pasta loads of flavor.