27 of Our Best Pasta Recipes for Any Night of the Week

There is a lot to be excited about in our newest cookbook, “Milk Street Backroads Italy,” but the wide range of pasta recipes from all over the country might be what I’m most excited about. From a charred, truly “killer” spaghetti to the cacio e pepe Chris Kimball calls “the hardest recipe of his life,” these are our favorite pasta recipes inspired by our Italian travels.

Skillet Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Despite its short ingredient list and reputation as dead-easy to make, pasta alla carbonara rarely is great. The eggs go from raw to scrambled in an instant; the window for achieving the perfect luxurious consistency is woefully narrow. Our skillet-only recipe (no need to boil a pot of water!) harnesses the thickening effect of the starch released by the pasta as it cooks, creating a sauce with the ideal richness, silkiness and clingability.

Orecchiette with Sardinian Sausage Ragu

“Flavor unlike any Italian dish I have ever had,” one reader writes of this light, game-changing orecchiette with Sardinian ragù. Simple and quick, with garlic, EVOO, and a touch of wine, we finish it off by adding a little pasta water to the sauce for extra silkiness and cling. Saffron—stay with us here—takes it to the next level, adding a vaguely floral and slightly minerally dimension of flavor to the rich sausage, tomatoes and salty pecorino. (It’s a mainstay of paella for a reason!) It’s expensive, so we keep it optional. Even without, this offers a taste of the unique pleasures of Sardinian cuisine.

Spaghetti all’Assassina

Char your spaghetti for rich, concentrated flavor. That’s the lesson we learned from “killer’s spaghetti,” or spaghetti all’assassina, from Bari, Italy, where spaghetti is crisped until partly blackened. The uncooked noodles are put directly in the skillet and cooked in tomato juices, added little by little, like risotto; leaving the pasta undisturbed in an even layer allows the noodles to both scorch and form crunchy-chewy bits akin to the edges of a lasagna.

Rigatoni with Roman Broccoli Sauce

Our editorial director J.M. Hirsch first tried a version of this bright green rigatoni in Rome, where broccoli sauce factors in a family of pastas coated in light, bright pureed vegetal sauces. At Milk Street, we used broccoli stalks, which, peeled of their skins, puree wonderfully—“developing the same silky, smooth texture I’d had in Rome,” Hirsch writes.

Cacio e Pepe

We have attempted to perfect cacio e pepe roughly one hundred times over the years. It is the simplest of dishes, but achieving creamy, silky perfection can seem to require an alchemical miracle that’ll make even a seasoned cook despair. But after studying numerous chefs make cacio e pepe in Rome, Chris Kimball wrote in our magazine that there are four tenets of the ideal dish: 1) The cheese must be fully melted. 2) The sauce is neither too dense, nor too washy. 3) The sauce must not congeal as it cools. And 4), above all, he writes: “the pasta, the cheese and the pepper need to forge a culinary harmony that, when perfected, makes this one of Italy’s greatest dishes.” We landed on an unconventional, single-skillet cooking method that ensured perfection every time.

Slow-Cooked Short Rib Ragù with Pasta

“I’ve never had a ragù like this,” our editorial director J.M. Hirsch wrote to us, after trying ragù cilentano in Naples. “It is incredibly thick, almost to the point of tomato paste, and richly savory from a variety of meat cuts, yet it has almost no meat in it.” As he learned from chef Giuseppe Croce, it gets intense flavor and thick, lush consistency from slow cooking (up to six hours!) and various types of meat—traditionally, only small amounts of scraps—that melt into and merge with the tomatoes as the ingredients slowly concentrate. We got our version down to three hours and limited it to two meats: pancetta for its salty, porky flavor and short ribs that lend deep, beefy richness. We simmer in the oven to bypass careful monitoring; the finished sauce can be refrigerated for up to five days.

Spaghetti al Limone

Lemony freshness and light creaminess pair beautifully in this simple, vibrant pasta from Italy’s Amalfi coast, where lemons brighten and balance virtually every dish. Though Spaghetti al Limone typically includes cream, we found that dairy too easily overpowered; butter better preserves the lemony aroma when emulsified with the lemon oil.

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

Velvety, creamy-yet creamless Ragù Bolognese was a revelation to Christopher Kimball on a trip to Bologna, where Italian chefs scoffed at the idea of cream-based ragù. Instead, a long simmer and high-fat meat gave their sauces all the requisite silkiness; without access to that extra fatty meat in the US, we used the old kitchen trick of adding gelatin to boost the creaminess. It gives the sauce a rich, velvety body that otherwise would require a lengthy simmer to achieve.

Zucchini Carbonara

We didn’t think a vegetarian carbonara would work; in Rome, we were proven wrong. “Claudia Rinaldi was adamant but unconvincing when she assured me it’s possible to make a satisfying, still-rich and utterly comforting pasta carbonara in which the hallmark fatty guanciale is replaced by zucchini,” our editorial director J.M. Hirsch writes. “Because... Seriously?”
Seriously. The zucchini delivered on its ability to straddle a “wonderful line between meaty and rich, yet still light and fresh,” he writes. Combined with egg, cheese, pepper, and pasta, the zucchini was browned and satisfyingly toothsome. “Another lesson that making do never has to disappoint.”

Spaghetti with Garlic, Oil and Lemon-Parmesan Breadcrumbs

Classic spaghetti aglio e olio—or spaghetti with garlic and oil—is one of the quickest, tastiest dinners you can make with a handful of staple ingredients. Garlicky toasted breadcrumbs, mixed with fresh parsley and lemon zest, bring a light, crispy contrast. “A great recipe that comes together quickly.” wrote one reader. “Don't skimp on extra olive oil and lemon juice.”

Lasagna in Padella

Lasagna isn’t typically thought of as a weeknight dish. Our Lasagna Bolognese — with homemade Ragù and Parmesan Besciamella — certainly isn’t. But Lasagna in Padella, aka “Skillet Lasagna,” is a different animal. Instead of layering noodles with cheese and sauce, we take a faster, less structured approach, rendering the weekend project weeknight easy. We use regular lasagna noodles, not the no-boil variety, and cook them directly in a sauce of tomato and Italian sausage. To ensure the pasta doesn’t stick together as it cooks, we break each lasagna sheet into sections about 3-inches long and insert the pieces in the sauce, standing them up on a frilly side. Once they begin to soften and slump, we bury them in sauce, then finish with a layer of broiled, bubbling cheese.

Spaghetti al Pesto di Prezzemolo

“Spaghetti with parsley pesto” is the literal translation, from the Italian, of spaghetti al pesto di prezzemolo, but it does not sufficiently convey the deliciousness of this dish. The recipe is an adaptation of one taught to us by chef Antonio Cioffi at La Vecchia Cantina in Ravello near the Amalfi Coast. Cioffi uses neither nuts nor Parmesan in his incredibly savory parsley pesto. Rather, its umami richness and full, complex flavor came from colatura di alici, an Italian fermented anchovy condiment akin to Southeast Asian fish sauce, though colatura di alici is saltier, less pungent and smoother in taste. It does, however, require a trip to an Italian specialty store; in its stead, we found just a single oil-packed anchovy fillet, rinsed and patted dry, to be a good substitute.

Pasta alla Genovese

Our recipe developer Courtney Hill seeks out fresh, summer onions every year for their peak sweetness; here, they meld with fall-apart tender meat in an incredibly easy, silky-stewy braise. She makes it for guests all the time. After Chris brought back the inspiration for this recipe from the Amalfi Coast, he wrote that he “loved it because it was typically Italian—pounds of onions cooked for hours with some meat thrown in if you have it: richly satisfying without culinary somersaults.”

The Original Spaghetti and Meatballs

In towns across the Abruzzo region in central Italy, we learned to make a local specialty: pasta alla chitarra con pallottine, the ancestor of Italian American spaghetti and meatballs. Pasta alla chitarra, the pasta used in Italy, is a long strand shape that’s squared off instead of round like spaghetti. The meatballs are marble-sized orbs that get tangled in the pasta and are so small they don’t require cutting (pallottine translates as “pellets” or “small balls”). Pasta alla chitarra is available in many supermarkets, but if you’re not able to find it, bucatini works nicely, as does spaghetti, but ideally, use a brand that is bronze die-cut, which leaves the noodles with a rough, porous surface that better grips the sauce.

Lasagna Bolognese

This silky, creamy lasagna is nothing like the stateside overbaked, cheese-loaded variety. We adapted this Lasagna Bolognese—which mixes sleek ragù with creamy, buttery Parm sauce, besciamella—from Chris Kimball’s favorite dish on a trip to Bologna. Whip up some extra silky ragù and save it for equally-exceptional tagliatelle.

Spaghetti with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Peas

In Rome, we learned to make pasta alla papalina—a lighter, brighter riff on classic carbonara. The dish has been popular since the 1920s, when, as the story goes, Cardinal Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII, asked chef Cesertto Simmi to create a more elegant take on the Italian staple. Simmi swapped the traditional pairing of guanciale and pecorino Romano for prosciutto and Parmesan: a slightly less robust yet equally delicious combination. Our version was inspired by chef Andrea Dell’Omo of restaurant Mamma Angelina, who prepared for us a breathtakingly good rendition. We’ve incorporated frozen peas as well, which have become a common addition; they add freshness as well as attractive pops of green.

Italian Sausage and Mushroom Ragu with Pappardelle

This sausage and mushroom ragu tastes slow-cooked but takes no time at all. Finely chopped mushrooms boost the sauce's savoriness and lend the texture of slowly cooked, tender bits of meat. The inspiration—a pork and mushroom sauce by Oregon chef Vitaly Paley—adds what he calls the “can’t-place-it, phantom seasoning” of warming spices. A healthy glug of red wine, canned tomatoes and a touch of cinnamon add all-day flavor.

Pasta with Golden Onions and Breadcrumbs

Don’t overlook this unassuming pasta, for its flavor is intensely satisfying. In this Venetian dish, golden onions and anchovy oil add a savory boost. Acidity comes in the form of white wine—use what you love to drink, but be sure it’s not sweet for the right balance. With such a simple pasta, we add complexity with Italian flavored breadcrumbs (pangrattato), cooked in olive oil for a mouth-watering crunch.

Farfalle with Zucchini, Pecorino and Basil

This luxuriously-sauced, summery pasta is inspired by Amalfi’s spaghetti in velvety zucchini sauce. We build a buttery coating with red pepper flakes, starchy cooking water, and pecorino Romano, stirred in at the end til melted and creamy. We stud the silky noodles with bite-sized pan-fried zucchini and top with refreshing basil and pistachios for crunch.

Gnocchi di Farina with Pancetta and Garlic

Flour. Water. Salt. If you’ve got those ingredients on hand, you’ve got enough to make gnocchi di farina, the easier, no-less pillow-y cousin of potato gnocchi. Our gnocchi di farina, finished simply with pancetta, garlic and Parmesan cheese, is an adaptation of the recipe first taught to us by Antonio Cioffi, chef at La Vecchia Cantina in Ravello, a hilltop restaurant along the Amalfi coast. Rich and flavorful, these gnocchi are the perfect way to treat yourself any day of the week. And the best part? They can be made the night before.

Pasta with “Fake” Sauce

Sugo finto (“fake sauce”) proves that you can get a deeply savory, silky, ragu-like sauce by using vegetables to their full potential. This Italian recipe cooks down minced onions, carrots, and celery in a tomatoey sauce until they resemble bits of slow-cooked ground meat. We included a portobello for extra meaty texture and heft. And it comes together in about 1/5 the time as a meat ragu.

Pasta with Ricotta, Tomatoes and Herbs

Rome’s best no-cook pasta sauce is the simple joy of fresh, well-chosen ingredients: crushed tomatoes, a heap of herbs, a bit of ricotta, and a sprinkle of salt. This recipe, from the family-owned restaurant Felice a Testaccio, is about as simple as it gets. Throw the fresh mixture on a plate of piping-hot pasta, and the result, our editorial director J.M. Hirsch writes, is “fresh and creamy with just hints of sweetness and acidity from the tomatoes.”

Spaghetti Puttanesca

We think of puttanesca as a saucy dish built on anchovies. But in Naples, where it originates, two varieties of briny olives and pungent capers, not anchovies, give the dish bold savoriness that balances the sweetness of the tomatoes. We got a lesson in how to make it from Antonella Scala, who hosted pop-up dinners in her rooftop kitchen on the outskirts of modern Pompeii. “It's the answer to 25 years of searching for a good Puttanesca recipe,” wrote one reader.

Gnocchi with Pesto alla Genovese

Pillowy gnocchi and a great pesto are a match made in heaven. This pesto alla Genovese (the traditional basil and pine nut variety) was taught to us in its birthplace of Genoa, Italy, by chef Roberto Panizza. The key are hunks of great Parm and pecorino, which brings enough potency to make even store-bought gnocchi deeply satisfying.

Pasta with Pistachios, Tomatoes and Mint

“I wouldn't have arrived at this combination in a million years, but I'm glad someone did,” a reader wrote of this pistachio-tomato merger. In Sicily, Doriana Gesualdi, of trattoria Sicilia in Tavola, taught our editorial director J.M. Hirsch this creamy-crunchy sauce that comes together with little more than crushed nuts, tomatoes, and pasta water. “In minutes—less time than the pasta cooked—chopped grape tomatoes were reduced to a sauce in a skillet of sizzling olive oil,” he wrote.

Pasta with Parmesan Cream

“It is so ridiculously simple—cream, grated Parmesan and lemon juice—that it barely qualifies as a recipe,” writes our editorial director J.M. Hirsch of this Pasta With Parmesan Cream he first tried in Bologna. “Yet it solves the problem of Alfredo, carbonara, cacio e pepe and other creamy pasta sauces that easily end up gluey, stringy or congealed.”

Spaghetti con Vongole

Clams, wine, spaghetti, parsley: a simple, seamless blend of complementary flavors. This quick spin on a Venetian classic, which we learned at the canal-side restaurant Perduto, now has a place in our regular weeknight rotation. When boiling the pasta, we drain it when it is not quite al dente. The noodles will finish cooking in the reduced clam juices, a technique that infuses the spaghetti with the sweet briny notes of the clams. The al dente pasta, garlic, wine, parsley and briny clams were a seamless blend of complementary flavors and the deliciousness of the dish belied the ease with which it came together.

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Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.