20 delicious summer pasta dishes to try this season

What better time than the summer to utilize fresh tomatoes and basil for a pasta dish? Add some pearls of mozzarella cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, and your favorite variety of noodles, and you’ve got yourself a Caprese pasta dish. This dish can be served hot or as a cold salad with some shorter noodles. 

Is there ever a bad time for mac and cheese? Absolutely not. But it often gets overlooked in the summer. Change that up by adding some tasty summer meat, like barbecue chicken. It can be left over from an afternoon of grilling or made in the crockpot the day of. 

Summer calls for bright pasta dishes. Mix bright and luscious by having lobster and spaghetti noodles. Add some vegetables or greens if you wish, or keep it super simple with a garlic butter sauce and a sprinkle of lemon juice. 

Pasta dishes made in the summer should utilize fresh produce whenever possible. When corn hits its peak season, add it to some fresh gnocchi. It makes for a fabulous side dish, but it can also become a meal with the addition of some tasty protein. 

Lemon and ricotta make for a delicious combination, and the two ingredients work best on top of pasta, particularly linguine. The creaminess makes the dish hearty and filling, while the tang keeps it from being too rich. It’s the perfect balance in the warmer months. 

Summer is pasta salad season, and few pasta types work as well for the dish as orzo. Starting with an orzo base, you can take a pasta salad in any direction you want — sweet and fruity, savory, spicy. It’s very versatile and a major crowd-pleaser. 

If you’re looking for a delicious and quick summer meal, try grilled vegetable pasta. You can use whatever type of pasta and vegetables you have on hand. Toss some pasta in a light butter sauce and top with vegetables grilled to your personal taste. 

Pasta puttanesca is typically thought of as a cold-weather dish, but when substituted for bowties and chilled, it makes a tremendous salad. You can still use all the traditional ingredients for pasta puttanesca — just have it as a salad. 

Another delicious pasta salad option for the summer is one of the Mediterranean variety. This is easy to whip up with fusilli pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, spinach, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, feta cheese, and any other classic Mediterranean ingredients you like. 

Summer is the season for fresh fish dishes. Instead of a traditional chicken piccata, this season, substitute for salmon. It still absorbs the buttery goodness and goes splendidly with capers. The whole dish sits very well on top of a bed of angel hair pasta. 

Summer is also the season of ratatouille. Its ingredients can all be picked fresh, particularly in late summer, making it a fabulous time to toss the dish with pasta. Chop the ingredients for a shorter pasta, and leave them slides if you prefer something longer. 

If you’re looking for new ways to have shrimp on pasta this summer, try it with some penne pasta. The length of the pasta goes well with the size of the shrimp, and both can easily take on a variety of sauces, whether red, lemon cream, Alfredo, or something of your own creation. 

If you need something meatless, try an artichoke scampi. It still has all the delicious flavors of a scampi dish, but it relies on the hearty artichoke to act as the protein. While there isn’t as much protein in artichokes as in shrimp or chicken, it’s still a filling and tasty pasta dish. 

Another delicious vegetarian summer pasta dish is basil butter spaghetti. For something really special, make basil butter in advance so the flavors have plenty of time to meld before being tossed with the spaghetti. And if you really want, you can add a protein to make it more filling. 

If you haven’t tried alternative forms of pesto yet, you’re missing out. Rather than using basil, try making a pesto sauce using broccoli this summer. You’ll find yourself wanting it on every form of pasta you have in your pantry. 

While you’re at it, make a zucchini pesto. You’ll want to dehydrate your zucchinis a bit with a cheesecloth or some salt beforehand, but it’ll add a unique and fresh spin to an old favorite. As with other pestos, this will taste wonderful on all sorts of pastas. 

If you have yet to try chickpea pasta, now is the time to do so. The flavor and texture are a bit different than traditional pasta but in a good way. This can become your go-to pasta type for your staple dishes. 

Everyone needs a sweet pasta dish in the summer. A particularly delicious one to try is lemon poppy seed fettuccine. This delectable dish can be a total labor of love if you choose to make the lemon poppy seed sauce and pasta from scratch, or you can make it a quick weeknight meal by using boxed pasta and some lemon poppy seed salad dressing. 

If you’re not familiar with broccolini's goodness, let us turn you on. Its texture is better than regular broccoli, and it takes on different flavors better. It's especially yummy when tossed with Alfredo sauce and your favorite pasta. 

If you love fresh greens in pasta, summer is the season for that combo. Take a strong green like arugula with a strong cheese like gorgonzola for an unforgettable pasta dish.