Pasta
$0.60per plate
Collection · 29 recipes
Pasta Recipes
Pasta is the cheapest way to fill a table, and every dinner below shows its price per plate before you cook. Creamy, chicken, beef, baked, and one-pot - browse the whole collection, most of it under $2 a serving.
This is every real pasta dinner we’ve published, from a bowl of creamy garlic pasta that lands well under a dollar to a loaded baked ziti — each one costed down to the plate the same way we calculate every price, using typical U.S. grocery prices divided by the servings it makes. These are practical weeknight dinners, not restaurant projects: most come together in about 30 minutes, and most cost under $2 a serving.
Browse the full collection below, sorted cheapest first, or jump to a pasta style or protein:
Pasta
$0.71per plate
Pasta
$0.76per plate
Casseroles
$0.82per plate
Pasta
$0.87per plate
Pasta
$1.13per plate
Pasta
$1.14per plate
Pasta
$1.20per plate
Pasta
$1.24per plate
Casseroles
$1.24per plate
Pasta
$1.28per plate
Ground Beef
$1.35per plate
Ground Meats
$1.35per plate
Ground Meats
$1.38per plate
Ground Beef
$1.50per plate
Sausage
$1.50per plate
Ground Meats
$1.57per plate
Pasta
$1.62per plate
Ground Beef
$1.67per plate
Chicken
$1.70per plate
Chicken
$1.71per plate
Ground Beef
$1.71per plate
Pasta
$1.72per plate
Pasta
$1.83per plate
Pasta
$1.86per plate
Pasta
$1.92per plate
Pasta
$1.97per plate
Chicken
$1.99per plate
Chicken
$2.27per plate
The cheapest pasta dinners
These are the lowest-cost pasta dinners in the collection, taken straight from each recipe’s costed ingredient list — not rounded or estimated by hand.
| Pasta dinner | Cost per plate |
|---|---|
| Creamy Garlic Pasta | $0.60 |
| Simple Weeknight Pasta | $0.71 |
| Easy One-Pot Pasta | $0.76 |
| Tuna Noodle Casserole | $0.82 |
| Penne Pasta Bake | $0.87 |
| Creamy Lemon Pasta | $1.13 |
| Vegetarian Pasta with Veg | $1.14 |
| Rasta Pasta | $1.20 |
Creamy pasta recipes
Creamy pastas are the ones that feel like a treat for pennies — a sauce built from milk, a little cheese, or a spoon of cream cheese, no jar required.
- Creamy Garlic Pasta — $0.60 a plate
- Creamy Lemon Pasta — $1.13 a plate
- Rasta Pasta — $1.20 a plate
- Creamy Tomato Pasta — $1.24 a plate
- Creamy Pesto Pasta — $1.28 a plate
- Creamy Sausage Pasta — $1.72 a plate
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta — $1.83 a plate
- Creamy Gnocchi — $1.92 a plate
Want the creamy-sauce method start to finish? Our creamy pasta recipes page goes deep on the base sauce and its variations.
Chicken pasta recipes
Chicken stretches a pasta dinner without much cost, especially bite-size pieces or leftover cooked chicken folded through the sauce.
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta — $1.70 a plate
- Marry Me Chicken Orzo — $1.71 a plate
- Chicken Alfredo — $1.99 a plate
- Chicken Gnocchi — $2.27 a plate
For chicken beyond pasta, see all our easy chicken dinner ideas.
Beef and ground-meat pasta
A single pound of ground beef or turkey flavors a whole pot of pasta — goulash, stroganoff, and homemade hamburger helper are some of the best value on the site.
- Beef and Noodles — $1.35 a plate
- Ground Turkey Pasta — $1.35 a plate
- Ground Turkey Stroganoff — $1.38 a plate
- American Goulash — $1.50 a plate
- Homemade Hamburger Helper — $1.67 a plate
- Ground Beef Stroganoff — $1.71 a plate
More ways to stretch a pound: browse our ground beef dinner ideas.
Baked pasta
Baked pastas are the best make-ahead option: assemble, refrigerate, and bake when you’re ready. They reheat well and feed a crowd cheaply.
- Tuna Noodle Casserole — $0.82 a plate
- Penne Pasta Bake — $0.87 a plate
- Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Casserole — $1.24 a plate
- Ground Turkey Casserole — $1.57 a plate
- Baked Ziti — $1.62 a plate
The cheesy penne pasta bake is the one to start with.
Skillet, one-pot and meatless pasta
One-pot and skillet pastas cook the noodles right in the sauce, so there’s one pan to wash and nothing to drain — the fastest weeknight route, meat optional.
- Simple Weeknight Pasta — $0.71 a plate
- Easy One-Pot Pasta — $0.76 a plate
- Vegetarian Pasta with Veg — $1.14 a plate
- Italian Sausage & Peppers Pasta — $1.50 a plate
- Shrimp Scampi — $1.97 a plate
How to keep pasta dinners cheap
Pasta is already cheap; a few habits make a pasta dinner cheaper still:
- Stretch the meat. Half a pound of beef or sausage flavors a whole pot when pasta and vegetables carry the bulk — you rarely need the full pound.
- Skip the jar. A sauce from canned tomatoes, or milk and a little cheese, costs a fraction of jarred sauce and tastes fresher.
- Pick cheaper proteins. Ground turkey, canned tuna, sausage, or no meat at all keep the plate down; save chicken breast and shrimp for when they’re on sale.
- Cook once, eat twice. Baked pastas and saucy skillets reheat well, so a big pan becomes tomorrow’s lunch for free.
- Compare cost per serving, not package price — that’s how every recipe here is costed, so you can shop straight from the number.
Make-ahead and leftover-friendly pasta
Pasta plans well. To get two dinners out of one session:
- Assemble a baked ziti or tuna noodle casserole ahead and bake it the next night — both hold a day or two covered in the fridge.
- Reheat saucy pasta gently with a splash of water or milk stirred in to loosen the sauce the noodles soaked up.
- Cook the sauce in bulk and freeze it flat; boil fresh pasta the night you eat, the way a goulash or stroganoff reheats best.
Related pasta collections and guides
Go deeper on a single style, or widen the net:
- Creamy pasta recipes — the creamy-sauce base and its variations.
- Penne pasta bake — the baked penne in detail.
- Easy chicken dinner ideas and ground beef dinner ideas for more of those proteins.
- 50 easy dinner ideas when you want options beyond pasta.
Frequently asked questions
What are the easiest pasta recipes for dinner?
The one-pot and skillet pastas are the easiest — a single pan, nothing to drain. Easy One-Pot Pasta, Simple Weeknight Pasta, and Creamy Garlic Pasta all come together in about 20 minutes from pantry staples.
What are the cheapest pasta meals to make?
Creamy garlic pasta, a simple weeknight pasta, and a one-pot pasta are the cheapest here, all well under a dollar a plate. The cheapest pasta dinners table above lists them in order, straight from each recipe's costed ingredients.
Which proteins work well in budget pasta dinners?
Ground beef and ground turkey stretch furthest — one pound flavors a whole pot of goulash, stroganoff, or hamburger helper. Italian sausage adds a lot of flavor per dollar, canned tuna makes one of the cheapest casseroles here, and you can skip meat entirely with a creamy or vegetable pasta.
Can pasta meals be made ahead?
Baked pastas are the best make-ahead option: assemble a baked ziti, penne bake, or tuna noodle casserole, refrigerate, and bake when you're ready. Saucy pastas reheat well too; add a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce.
How do I keep pasta from drying out when reheating?
Reheat it gently with a splash of water, milk, or reserved pasta water stirred in, cover it, and warm it on the stove or in short bursts in the microwave. The moisture loosens the sauce the pasta soaked up in the fridge.
Which Budget Plates pasta recipes cost under $2 per serving?
Nearly all of them. Every card shows its price per plate, and the cheapest pasta dinners table lists the lowest-cost options first — most of this collection lands under $2 a serving.
Are one-pot pasta recipes cheaper?
A little. One-pot pastas cook the noodles in the sauce, so the starch thickens it and you skip a second pot of water to boil. The bigger savings come from the ingredients rather than the method, but fewer dishes never hurts.
What is the difference between this page and the creamy or penne recipe pages?
This is the full pasta collection — every style and protein in one place. The creamy pasta and penne pasta pages are individual recipes that go deep on one dish; this hub links out to both and to everything else.