Name: Herb Pasta, Quick Pasta Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 8 side servings
Ingredients: 1 pound thin spaghetti (or angel hair, vermicelli or fettucine); 1/2 cup mayonnaise (you can use light); 1/2 cup sour cream (you can use light); 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 3 teaspoons fresh thyme); 1 teaspoon dried dill weed, optional (or 3 teaspoons fresh dill weed); 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Our herb pasta is a quick pasta recipe that’s ready in 15-20 minutes. It appeals to all ages and is vegetarian friendly.

This is another recipe from my 1993 Christmas recipe book. What can I say? Somethings never go out of style!

Our quick pasta recipe uses standard ingredients you probably already have on hand. Use a thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair pasta, add in mayonnaise and sour cream and a few spices and you’re done. Delicious.

How To Make Herb Pasta

quick pasta recipe ingredients — Mix the herb pasta ingredients in a small pot and heat over low heat

Heat a pot 4-6 quarts boiling water over high heat with a lid. Meanwhile pull all remaining ingredients together.

Cook pasta according to directions. Thin pasta will only take about 6 minutes and regular thickness will take about 8-12 minutes. Drain.

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and herbs together. Toss with pasta and serve.

quick pasta recipe with tongs — Tongs make a perfect serving tool for herb pasta

Uh, that was easy? Wasn’t it? Now taste the herb pasta. This will become your new favorite quick pasta recipe. Actually, you can leave out quick and just say your favorite pasta recipe. It’s that good.

Ingredient Substitutions for Quick Pasta Recipes

Thin spaghetti – You can use any pasta shape that you like. I prefer the long noodle variety because I think the sauce lends itself to that shape and clings well. Thinner spaghetti cooks faster so why not use it. Pasta suggestions are regular spaghetti, thin spaghetti, vermicelli, angel hair pasta or fettucine.

Mayonnaise – You scan substitute mayonnaise with a mashed avocado, Greek yogurt or olive oil.

Sour Cream – You can substitute the sour cream for Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or buttermilk

Mayonnaise and sour cream – If you are going to substitute one ingredient for the both the mayonnaise and sour cream then I’d suggest Greek yogurt for it’s consistency and taste.

Garlic powder – You can substitute garlic powder for 3 medium size cloves of garlic, minced or equal amounts of garlic salt. If using garlic salt then don’t add the ½ teaspoon kosher salt called for in the herb pasta recipe.

Dried thyme and dill weed – Use any combination of dried herbs that you like. There are some great blends available too like Jane’s Crazy Salt or Nature’s Seasoning.

And of course you can always substitute your dried herbs with fresh. A good rule of thumb is that you’ll need three times as much of the fresh herb as the dried. So you’ll want 3 teaspoons of fresh thyme or fresh dill in this quick pasta recipe.

How To Serve Herb Pasta

I typically use this herb pasta as a side dish because it can be a little heavy with the mayonnaise and sour cream. If serving as a main entrée I usually swap out the mayo and sour cream for equal amounts of Greek yogurt. Just remember the Greek yogurt will give the herb pasta a tangy quality that some people may not care for.

Top with fresh Italian leaf parsley for a nice appearance and added flavor.

Suggested Food With Our Quick Pasta Recipe

If serving the herb pasta as a side then the following entrees are a great compliment.

Meatball Sub, Grilled Buffalo Wings, Asian Wings, Patty Melt, Banh Mi Sandwich, Brats or Cornflake Chicken Tenders