10 roads that lead to pasta for lunch

The Italians know that a bowl of homemade goodness for lunch supercharges your afternoons. So, we're following suit...

Mean green pesto Source: Donna Hay

In Italy, the midday meal, or il pranzo, is traditionally the biggest and most substantial meal of the day. Naturally, it almost always involves a plate of pasta, generally served as a first course to be followed by a second hot meal of protein and vegetables.

Pasta for lunch makes a lot of sense. A dose of carbs partway through your day provides plenty of energy to keep you going full steam ahead. The hit of dietary fibre that pasta provides can also be useful for, um, steaming in other ways.

However, the best thing about pasta for lunch has got to be the way eating a 'proper meal' forces us to slow down and take a moment to really enjoy our midday repast(a). Pasta needs preparation, it needs cooking time (though only a little - lunch is not the time for baked or slow-cooked dishes) and it needs cutlery. It's basically an exercise in mindfulness and guaranteed to fuel your soul as well as your tum.

Eating a 'proper meal' forces us to slow down and take a moment to really enjoy our midday repast(a).

Each of these pasta recipes is quick to make and delightful to eat. It's definitely time for a midday conference with your inner Italian.

One-pot ripper

Unbeatable with a good dash of pecorino and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Source: One-pot puttanesca (Wok Vs Pot)

Puttanesca might be named for the 'ladies of the night', but it goes really well in the day time too. Big flavours like anchovies, garlic, capers and olives give you plenty of bang for the 20 minutes a bowl takes to put together. You'll be satisfied right up until dinner.

Clam it up

Dry white wine flavours this dish, but don't worry, the alcohol evaporates in the cooking. Source: Wok Vs Pot with Marion and Silvia

A big bowl of seafood at lunch feels like such a treat, but you can pull together the clam sauce for this spaghetti e vongole faster than the pasta will take to cook. It's a quick one-pan job that you only need to toss around a little, then serve and devour.

Mild meets spice

Nduja pork sausage is a traditional Calabrian ingredient that cooks down into the sauce. Source: Bonacini's Italy

Super-spicy nduja sausages are the perfect balance for the gentle creaminess of ricotta in this tasty penne dish. If you can't find nduja at your local supermarket or deli, a good-quality Italian sausage, or even a salami, will work just fine.

Garlicky good

Garlic prawn pasta for lunch means you're having a really good day. Source: Donna Hay: Fast, Fresh, Simple

If you're WFH right now, this is the pasta lunch for you. It's positively rolling in garlicky goodness with four cloves melting into the butter and lemon sauce. If you happen to be working with others, eating a sprig of parsley after your meal should take care of any breath issues.

Mean and green

On second thoughts, there's nothing mean about this pesto. It's actually very nice indeed. Source: Donna Hay

This is surely the finest way to get your greens in. This pesto pasta is heaving with broccoli, basil, mint and parsley. The whole dish takes less than half an hour to pull together, but if you make the pesto sauce in advance it'll be ready in around ten.

Cauli on

Small pasta shapes like orecchiette concentrate the sauce-to-pasta ratio in a dish, enhancing the flavour. Source: China Squirrel

A combination of anchovy, capers, olives and chilli turns roasted cauliflower into one very bold meal. Make this dish in advance to reheat at lunchtime. 'Resting' will enrich the taste even more and reheated pasta is actually better for you.

Healthy mac

It’s unlikely that mac and cheese will ever be considered a health food, but this version comes pretty close. Source: China Squirrel

Sometimes you need a bit of midday comfort, and mac 'n' cheese is where it's at. You could go for broke with a full-fat traditional mac, or you can try this lighter recipe to ensure you're not comatose by 2pm.

Tuna cheer

Tuna, lemon, parsley and leftover bread combine to create the kind of lunch you'll spend the afternoon reminiscing over. Source: SBS Food

Put your hand up if tinned tuna features in your lunch choice at least once a week... 🙋. Chances are you generally add it to a salad, sambo or a toastie, but putting it in this zingy pasta dish is best. All of the ingredients in this recipe can be kept in the pantry until you're ready to unleash your next-level lunch moment.

Wake up siren

Bucatini is the spaghetti with the hole in the middle, which makes it quick to cook and fun to slurp. Source: David Loftus

As if we needed another excuse to eat bacon, along comes this extra-tasty bowl of yes-please-thank-you-very-much psata. It's even got a hit of chilli to wake us up right when the midday slump happens.

Brain feed

Don’t be put off by the sardines – they soften in flavour as they cook and provide a lovely back note to the spices and herbs. Source: Alan Benson

If you've got a big afternoon coming up at work, this sardine pasta dish is exactly what you need to eat for lunch. Sardines are packed with long chain omega-3, which are important for brain development, improved eyesight and reducing your risk of fatal heart attacks. So, plenty of good stuff for sailing through your PM workload there...