45+ Best Pasta Recipes

If you're ready for a deep dive into great pasta recipes, this is the place. This page gathers my favorite pasta recipes from the 101 Cookbooks archive. You'll find a mix of homemade pasta recipes, pasta salads, baked pasta classics, pantry pastas, and plenty of vegetarian pasta inspiration. All tested and photographed here, immediately prior to eating. Enjoy!

1. Penne alla Vodka

   This penne alla vodka uses both whole tomatoes and tomato paste along with a splash of cream to make a vodka sauce with plenty of depth. The defining detail in...
   

2. Thousand Layer Lasagna

   My favorite and best lasagna recipe. Dozens and dozens of whisper-thin sheets of fresh pasta brushed with the most vibrant red tomato sauce imaginable all intersecting layer after layer of...
   

3. Pasta with Creamy Crushed Walnut Sauce

   Toasted walnuts pounded with garlic into a creamy sauce make this pasta easy and exceptional. If you have dried pasta, a few cloves of garlic, walnuts, and black pepper you...
   

4. Homemade Pesto

   A vibrant pesto recipe taught to me by my friend Francesca's mother who came to visit from Genoa, Italy. This is how to make pesto like an Italian grandmother. Made...
   

5. Spicy Chickpea Pasta Bowls

   A colorful pasta bowl bonanza featuring a glossy, smooth chickpea harissa sauce and loads of crunchy cucumbers, cashews and fried onions. The definition of a vibrant, exciting one-bowl meal!
   

1. Homemade Cavatelli

   Simple, homemade cavatelli pasta is a fun shape to make! Pictured here spiked with turmeric and black pepper, and topped with roasted winter vegetables and Parmesan.
   

2. Homemade Pasta

   Everything I know about making homemade pasta. Four ingredients! If you have flour, two eggs, a splash of olive oil, and a bit of salt, you can do it right...
   

3. Hand-Rolled Pici Pasta

   Pici is one of the most charming pasta shapes. It is a quirky favorite requiring a short list of simple ingredients hand-rolled into long, slightly irregular strands. Pici love forever.
   

4. Homemade Tagliatelle

   Homemade tagliatelle pasta is long, slender, flat, and a much-loved pasta shape. For good reason! It works with a range of sauces and if you have flour, eggs, olive oil,...
   

5. How to Make Gnocchi like an Italian Grandmother

   The gnocchi recipe taught to me by my friend Francesca's mother. A platter of petite, potato pillows coated with glistening flecks of basil pesto.
   

6. Homemade Pappardelle

   Simple, homemade pappardelle pasta is a deliciously versatile shape to make! Pictured below topped with crispy mushrooms, clouds of Parmesan cheese, and lemon.
   

7. Simple Beet Fettuccine

   Fresh pasta, you can do it! A beautiful, fun, and simple way to make homemade fettuccine noodles.
   

1. Mediterranean Pasta Salad

   Colorful and bright, this Mediterranean pasta salad is punctuated with bursts of flavor from briny olives, cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs. The creamy dressing is tzatziki inspired with grated cucumber,...
   

2. Classic Macaroni Salad

   A fresh take on classic macaroni salad. It hits all the notes of your favorite old-fashioned macaroni salad, but gives you a few nutritious options to explore as well.
   

3. Fregola Sarda, the Perfect Lunchy Brunch Dish

   Fregola is a beautiful, tasty Sardinian pasta made from hard durum wheat flour - rolled, sun-dried, and toasted to a mix of shades of yellow, gold, and brown. It's so...
   

4. Easy Tomato & Pasta Salad

   Pasta salad extraordinaire - tomatoes & pasta in an A+ one-bowl meal. Whole-grain pasta, baby kale, basil, and the best tomatoes you can get your hands on, with a generous...
   

1. Mushroom Lasagna

   This freezer-friendly mushroom lasagna is all about homemade mushroom ragù, big dollops of ricotta cheese, and silky tender sheets of pasta finished with a bit of basil and some grated...
   

2. Baked Ziti

   This baked ziti uses ricotta, mozzarella, and creme fraîche to make a bubbly, rich pasta with a hearty, spinach-flecked red sauce loaded with flavor. The creme fraîche keeps things silky,...
   

3. Thousand Layer Lasagna

   My favorite and best lasagna recipe. Dozens and dozens of whisper-thin sheets of fresh pasta brushed with the most vibrant red tomato sauce imaginable all intersecting layer after layer of...
   

4. Stuffed Shells

   A stuffed shells recipe made with lemon zest and bright tomato sauce. Classic, with a hint of a twist. Everyone loves them.
   

5. Baked Pasta

   This baked pasta is a cold-weather crowd-pleaser made of alternating layers of broken farro pasta, sliced potatoes, two cheeses, and mustardy shredded cabbage. It’s the sort of thing you can...
   

1. Pasta with Creamy Crushed Walnut Sauce

   Toasted walnuts pounded with garlic into a creamy sauce make this pasta easy and exceptional. If you have dried pasta, a few cloves of garlic, walnuts, and black pepper you...
   

2. Harissa Spaghetti

   A unique and flavor-packed spaghetti recipe. Whole wheat pasta noodles, olives, kale, and toasted nuts are tossed in a pan for a tangle with a garlic-charged harissa and olive oil...
   

3. Vegetable Noodle Soup

   This vegetable noodle soup is as simple, direct, and delicious as it gets. If you're vegetarian or vegan looking for an alternative to chicken noodle soup, try this!
   

4. Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables

   This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of vegetables, and kissed with chile feistiness courtesy of the condiment shelf.
   

5. Quick Blistered Cherry Tomato Spaghetti

   So good! If you're looking for an updated take on weeknight spaghetti, this is it. Spaghetti combined with skillet blistered cherry tomatoes and broccoli. Tossed with mint, cashews, chiles, and...
   

6. Red Pesto Ravioli

   For the sun-dried tomato lovers out there. Goat-cheese raviolis tossed in a sun-dried tomato red pesto sauce, served over baby spinach.
   

1. Homemade Pesto

   A vibrant pesto recipe taught to me by my friend Francesca's mother who came to visit from Genoa, Italy. This is how to make pesto like an Italian grandmother. Made...
   

2. Mushroom Ragù

   The ragù of your dreams. This hearty and deeply flavorful mushroom ragù moves from the stovetop to the oven, slow-cooking into a hearty, wonderful sauce featuring finely chopped mushrooms, tomatoes,...
   

3. Five Minute Tomato Sauce

   Great tomato sauce in a flash. A quick, simple, easy (and absolute favorite) tomato sauce recipe. Bright and clean flavors, a vibrant red in color, exudes the essence of tomatoes.
   

1. Curried Tomato Tortellini Soup

   A crowd-pleasing tomato-based tortellini soup, dotted with plump, tender dumplings, spiked with a range of spices, and boosted with plenty of spinach.
   

2. Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad

   Ravioli salads are the best! Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, lemony chard, and caramelized onions are at the heart of this ravioli salad recipe. The colorful platter is finished...
   

3. Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream

   If you have an endless supply of zucchini right now, this is your recipe. A simple, garlic-boosted pasta, it uses two pounds of zucchini, and is endlessly adaptable.
   

4. Beer-Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta

   Poach a whole head of cauliflower in an olive-oil dappled, chile-spiked, beer-based broth, then wedge it & roast it until golden-crusted and butter tender.
   

5. Instant Pot Mushroom Stroganoff with Vodka

   Make this stroganoff your dinner tonight, seriously! Made with caraway-spiked vodka, and a hearty mushroom base, you get all of what you love about mushroom stroganoff, without the all the...
   

6. Winter Penne Pasta

   An inherited produce box packed with greens inspired this simple, one-pot winter penne pasta with a sauce made from a full bunch of kale, shallots, garlic, and goat cheese.
   

7. Pappardelle with Spiced Butter

   A top-notch pasta made with pappardelle, spiced butter and seasonal veg. Inspired by a great recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook, Plenty.
   

8. Last Minute Everything Bagel Noodle Bowl

   A perfect one-pot meal. Noodles, tofu, and broccoli boiled in one pot, drained, tossed with splashes of olive oil and ponzu, plus a generous showering of everything bagel seasoning to...
   

9. Orzo Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

   Orzo pasta provides the foundation here for an easy weeknight meal. Roasted delicata squash and kale are tossed with the pasta & salted yogurt. Super easy, so tasty. Also great...
   

1. Penne alla Vodka

   This penne alla vodka uses both whole tomatoes and tomato paste along with a splash of cream to make a vodka sauce with plenty of depth. The defining detail in...
   

2. Tortelli with Brown Butter

   A simple tortelli pasta recipe featuring plump, ricotta-stuffed tortelli tossed with brown butter balsamic sauce, arugula, pecorino cheese, and lemon zest.
   

3. Spaghetti with No-Cook Sauce

   A tangle of spaghetti, olives, nuts, vegetables, and torn mozzarella in a no-cook, lemon-zested tomato sauce. A recipe for a hot night when tomato season is at its peak.
   

4. Pasta with Etruscan Sauce

   From the Pasta Grannies series, this is a simple pasta with a special sauce made from a quick puree of sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, parsley, and garlic. It's fast, strong,...
   

5. Last Minute Red Lasagna

   Everyone needs a go-to lasagna recipe. A great one. This is a true weeknight lasagna. No pre-cooking sauces, no pre-cooking noodles. You, literally, stir the first five ingredients together into...
   

6. Weeknight Ponzu Pasta

   All things green in a quick, weeknight pasta option. It's feel-good food that won't weigh you down - ponzu dressing, green vegetables, and the pasta of your choice.
   

7. Weeknight Pasta Ideas with Less Than Ten Ingredients

   A solid handful of weeknight pasta ideas to keep things quick-ish and creative.
   

8. Walnut Strozzapreti

   Inspired by Mona Talbott's recipe in the Coco cookbook published by Phaidon, a pounded walnut pesto with marjoram and parsley, tossed with farro pasta and Pecorino cheese.
   

1. Spicy Chickpea Pasta Bowls

   A colorful pasta bowl bonanza featuring a glossy, smooth chickpea harissa sauce and loads of crunchy cucumbers, cashews and fried onions. The definition of a vibrant, exciting one-bowl meal!
   

2. Garganelli with Kale and Lentils

   This one-pot, garganelli pasta is an easy weeknight win. It's pasta and lentils simmered in crushed tomatoes and finished with lots of chopped kale, saffron, swirls of tahini and chopped...
   

3. Creamy Four Ingredient Chili Mac (Instant Pot / Conventional)

   Chili, beer, and elbow pasta. I know of no other dinner that takes less effort than the Instant Pot version of this. It's literally for nights when take-out takes too...
   

My Favorite Pasta Shapes

Notes on some of my favorite pasta shapes.

• Pici - One of the most charming shapes in the pasta kingdom. Hand-rolled and wonderfully irregular, pici are quirky, rustic, and purposefully imperfect. Pici love forever.
• Reginetti - A ribbon-shaped pasta we buy in bulk (not sponsored, just a fan). The ruffled edges hug sauces beautifully, and the whole grain version is especially hearty and delicious.
• Cavatelli - If you love cavatelli, making your own is really fun. Snap up a little hand-cranked cavatelli maker (highly recommend!), or use a ridged board, fork, or even the back of a grater.
• Pasta Shapes that are Fun to Make at Home