25 Easy Italian Recipes

This vodka sauce will shoot you to Italian grandmother status in no time! Flavored with garlic and basil, the creamy sauce is served over rigatoni with lots of Parmesan. Simmering with butter and half an onion infuses a richness, and the vodka is cooked off leaving a fruity undertone. Then it's blended with Parmesan cheese until smooth. This vodka sauce pasta is so full of flavor, it’s worth every second of that simmer. Serve with Fennel Orange Salad for a dynamic pairing.

One of the most classic Italian recipes out there is pizza Margherita! And this recipe is the best margherita pizza recipe out there, based on our visits to Italy and years of research. It features our ultimate 5-minute garlicky pizza sauce, gooey mozzarella, and fresh basil. The kicker is our Pizza Dough Master Recipe, honed over years and years and tested around the globe. This is really is the best dough!

Here's one of the most popular Italian recipes of all time: Eggplant Parmesan! It’s got bubbly cheese, garlicky tomato sauce, and savory, meaty breaded eggplant. This Italian classic is hearty, filling, and pleases just about everyone. Here’s our best spin on the recipe: faster and easier to make at home than most recipes and full of incredible flavor.

Ever had Cacio e pepe? Essentially the roman equivalent of mac and cheese, the name means "cheese and pepper pasta." Pecorino Romano cheese makes a quick and creamy sauce flavored with black pepper. It’s a truly easy recipe that’s elegant in its simplicity.

Minestrone soup is an Italian recipe designed for using up any veggies you had on hand. This classic Italian soup is full of chunky vegetables, white beans, and pasta in a tomato-y broth. Serve this soup with basil pesto (or vegan pesto) and it’s called Minestrone alla genovese. In Italian this means “minestrone soup from Genoa,” the capital of the region of Liguria Italy and where all the great pesto comes from! 

Here’s an Italian staple recipe that every home cook should know: Pasta Pomodoro! This classic Italian sauce is pure in its simplicity: simmering tomatoes and a few aromatic vegetables make a straightforward yet nuanced flavor. It takes a little time to simmer, but it’s well worth it for the ease of this recipe: and the bold flavor! 

Here’s an Italian recipe that’s simple, hearty and pleases a crowd: Stuffed Shells! Stuff pasta shells with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and spinach, then bake them up in a bath of garlicky tomato sauce. It makes your kitchen smell heavenly, and the first bite into one of those jumbo shells confirms it’s just as tasty as the smell.

Need a great Italian pasta sauce recipe? Try Arrabiata Sauce! This spicy, garlicky tomato sauce is an Italian favorite for good reason: the simple flavors make any pasta taste incredible. When it comes to tomato sauce, this is most often the one we reach for. Make arrabiata sauce at home and you can customize the heat level to taste.

This tortellini soup is savory and hearty, with a lightly sweet depth that makes you want the bowl to be never-ending. The trick? Tomato paste and paprika give just the right complexity to the broth. And a bit of carrot and celery add texture and crunch. Whole basil leaves are added right after the tortellini cooks, which meld into the beautiful velvety broth. Add a bit of Parmesan cheese and it’s a little bit of heaven.

Want a pizza pocket? This calzone recipe uses our Pizza Dough Master Recipe to make a pocket filled with savory sauteed veggies, gooey cheese, and a little marinara. Then use extra sauce for dipping! This recipe shows you how to make a calzone that's not soggy or overstuffed, but perfectly golden brown and crisp.

Italian-style dinner in 15 minutes? Oh yes. It takes just minutes to make the sauce, and the gnocchi boil up in 3 minutes. The flavor? It tastes like the fanciest ever mac and cheese: but takes literally no effort at all. It's modeled after the famous Italian recipe, Cacio e Pepe pasta (“cheese and pepper pasta” in Italian -- see above!). Our version uses chewy gnocchi dumpling-style pasta and it’s simply to die for.

Want an Italian recipe to impress…with a little kick? Try Shrimp Fra Diavolo! This Italian-style dish stars tender shrimp that swim in a garlicky, spicy tomato sauce. “Fra diavolo” translates to “brother devil” in Italian, alluding to the intense heat of this dish. But make it homemade and you can customize the spiciness to your taste!

What's a more classic Italian recipe than lasagna? In this recipe, the tomato sauce has just the right zing and garlic nuance, and the spinach ricotta cheese filling is classic and creamy. It’s scented with fresh thyme and a little lemon zest, which takes it to over the top status. 

Ribollita is an Italian vegetable stew traditionally thickened by bread as a way to use up old crusts going stale. It might look like just a humble stew, but honestly, the flavors in this ribollita are mind blowing. It’s gently simmered so that the flavors meld together beautifully. The crusty bread cubes are almost like dumplings when soaked in the savory broth.

Here’s an Italian appetizer recipe that we’re head over heels with: caponata! This Sicilian specialty is an appetizer and a side dish, essentially a sweet and sour ratatouille with cooked eggplant, tomatoes and onion. It’s often spread on crusty bread as an appetizer or antipasti (as the Italians would say). It’s so full of tangy, garlicky flavor that once you’ve taken one bite, you’ll likely want to devour the entire dish. 

Here’s a tasty pasta recipe that’s Italian comfort food with a healthy spin: creamy cavatappi pasta! Cavatappi is corkscrew shaped pasta, and it's paired with a creamy cauliflower sauce that coats the noodles perfectly. It’s cheesy but not too rich, made with cauliflower to infuse all the nutrients in this healthy veggie. Mixed with spinach and sundried tomatoes, it's perfect as a weeknight pasta dinner but fancy enough for entertaining.

This Italian-style mussels marinara is so quick and easy to make, and the flavor is incredible. Mussels are simmered in a tangy marinara sauce, scented with basil and garlic. After they've soaked up the marinara flavor, they're served over al dente bucatini pasta. It's one of those recipes that's much fancier than the effort involved: you can make it in under 30 minutes! Don't want the mussels? Try Homemade Pasta Marinara instead.

Make this simple Italian bread recipe once, and you'll want to make it on repeat! It’s thick and airy, crispy on the outside with beautiful pillowy air pockets on the interior. The flavor is developed and perfectly seasoned, with the classic notes of salt, rosemary and olive oil notes. Serve on its own or as part of a cheese board.

One of the more ubiquitous of Italian recipes, the simplicity of pesto plastic is always classic. This one is effortless: homemade basil pesto, ripe juicy tomatoes, and a splash of cream. With seasonal ingredients, it will always, always taste beautiful and fresh. And that’s something we can’t get tired of! The silky smooth, savory basil pesto coats the tender pasta, punctuated by the pop of the cherry tomatoes. (We also have a vegan version: Vegan Pesto Pasta.)

Though it’s easy to make, this classic Italian recipe truly one of the greatest taste treats known to man. The mozzarella tomato basil salad is a thing of glory, when the summer tomatoes are the juiciest and the summer basil is bushy and prolific. It’s also called Caprese salad (salad from Capri, Italy) and it’s simple perfection. If you'd like, top with Balsamic Reduction.

Pasta puttanesca is one of the most classic pasta dinner ideas there is. It also has a interesting namesake (go to the post for why!). Not only is it easy to make, but its incredibly robust flavor also makes for a flavorful and satisfying meal. It's a tangy tomato sauce that's studded with briny Kalamata olives to give it a nuanced flavor.

Also try: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

What says Italian recipe more than risotto with truffles? This dish sounds gourmet, but it’s actually quite simple to put together. The creamy Parmesan rice is paired with the earthy flavor of black truffle in a symphony of flavor. The recipe calls for canned black truffles and mushrooms, which is a worthy splurge. If you can’t find them, you can also garnish with a drizzle of truffle oil.

This Italian sandwich recipe was inspired by our recent trip to Italy. While in Pisa (as in, the Leaning Tower of), we went to a sweet little sandwich shop and had a sandwich like this. The bread is spread with basil pesto and Kalamata olive spread, and then it’s filled with grilled eggplant, juicy ripe tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. It’s pretty darn heavenly, if we do say so ourselves.

Ready for the BEST way to eat kale? This salad recipe features Tuscan kale, the dark green Italian variety of this leafy. You might be wary of eating raw kale, which can sometimes have a bitter taste. But with this flavor popping vinaigrette of lemon, Parmesan cheese, and garlic, the bitter taste of the kale is mellowed and melds beautifully with the other flavors. This salad makes a perfect pair with any of our Italian dinner recipes.

This Italian-style eggplant pasta has got it all! It's packed with savory and zesty flavor: tender roasted eggplant, zesty marinara sauce, peppery basil, and salty capers. It's incredibly versatile: it works for weeknights and for serving to company! It’s cozy yet elegant all at once. Use any noodle you like: long shapes like spaghetti, bucatini, or linguine, or short shapes like penne or rigatoni.

Looking for a fun Italian dinner recipe? Try Shrimp Risotto! This Italian-style dish is full of bold flavor: juicy, succulent shrimp sit over a bed of creamy, Parmesan and lemon-scented rice. It’s great for impressing guests as a main dish, but it’s simple enough to work as a weeknight meal, too.