Healthy Pasta Recipes that Won't Destroy Your Waistline

Let's face it - many pasta dishes are calorie bombs. Loaded with rich, tasty cheeses, salt, and sometimes fatty (but delicious) meats, pasta dishes often get a bad rap for adding to our waistlines. Even that angel hair with marinara sauce that you love so much might not be so great for you - just how much olive oil is in your grandma's beloved recipe, anyway? (Not that olive oil is bad for you; on the contrary, it has many health benefits, but as with many things, it's best in moderation.)

Related: Healthy Pasta Tips

And if you've somehow managed to keep to some semblance of your new year's resolution to get into shape, it would be a shame to throw all that work away just to satisfy a bit of temptation. Still, we're with you; after a long, hard day at work or school, who doesn't crave a big bowl of pasta and a glass of wine?

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Heirloom Tomatoes Recipe

The sauce for this easy pasta recipe gets a pleasantly nutty background flavor from a secret pantry ingredient: anchovies. That's right. Anchovies not only add natural salt to the sauce but also give it a bit of a protein boost. If you've ever bought a jar of anchovies to make Caesar salad dressing from scratch, and couldn't figure out what to do with the rest, use them to flavor pasta sauces and cut down on salt. For this sauce, I didn't have to put any salt into the sauce, and it tasted delicious.

Related: The World's Most Expensive Pasta Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
2 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
3 large heirloom tomatoes, diced finely
1 bunch basil

DIRECTIONS :

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta for half the time recommended in the package directions. Drain, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the anchovies in the oil over low heat until dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Then, add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.

Next, tear the basil leaves and add them to the pot. Season generously with pepper. Stir in the pasta and heat through. Add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary.

Related: Taste-Off Pasta vs. Pasta

Recipe Details
Servings: 6

Special Designations:
Healthy

Fettuccine with Toasted Almonds, Zucchini, and Lemon

Healthy pasta is not an easy feat, but this recipe does a pretty good job of fitting the bill. The zest of the lemon with the nutty toasted almond give this dish a subtle but complex flavor that is sure to satisfy.

Click here to see the Fettuccine with Toasted Almonds, Zucchini, and Lemon Recipe

Greek Salad "Pasta"

Thinly sliced cucumber "pasta" would be dressed with a cool "sauce" made with yogurt and feta. Red onions are chopped fine and tossed with tomato. Some lemon juice, a little patience with the mandoline, and hey, it's pretty easy, it works, it's a little different, kind of fun, is less than 10 ingredients and a half an hour, and still has the same flavors but provides a little wow factor.

Click here to see the Greek Salad 'Pasta' Recipe

-Will Budiaman, The Daily Meal

Click here to see other Delicious and Healthy Pasta Recipes