No time to shop for groceries? We’ve all been there. Luckily, some of the most essential pasta recipes use ingredients you’ll likely find in your pantry or produce crisper. Perfect for weeknight dinners, these simple pastas are also great ways to dip your foot into Italian cooking. From carbonara to primavera, make these easy pasta recipes with what you have at home.
Classically Roman, this garlicky pasta dish—as interpreted by Nick Anderer of Maialino and Marta in New York City—is brightened with pepperoncino and a handful of vibrant parsley. It gets a hit of salt from grated Grana Padano and roundness from extra-virgin olive oil. Get the recipe for Nick Anderer’s Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil »
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Peperoncino Chiles
This elemental pasta classic is a ubiquitous first course in Rome’s trattorias, but was at one time served at the end of the meal, a tradition that is now lost. As with all simple dishes, using the highest-quality ingredients is crucial to achieving the best flavor. Featured in: On the Hunt for Rome’s Disappearing Classic Dishes. Get the recipe for Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Peperoncino Chiles »
Spaghetti Carbonara
Real Roman spaghetti carbonara is pasta, whole eggs, pancetta or guanciale (cured pork jowl), and pecorino romano cheese—never cream. The sauce should gild, not asphyxiate, the noodles. It can be enjoyed at any hour, but the ideal time is dawn, after a night of revelry. I’ve found that carbonara is also a foolproof way to a man’s heart—unless he’s watching his cholesterol. — Mei Chin, from “Roman Art” (March 2007) Get the recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara »
Summer Bolognese
I became a big fan of Donna Hay Magazine, the Australian bi-monthly publication, while living in New Zealand. At the time I didn’t know that Donna Hay was a talented food writer and stylist—I’m embarrassed to admit that I thought it was simply the name of one of my favorite magazines! So when one of her many gorgeous books, The New Classics, landed on my desk a while back, I was immediately drawn to it. Beautiful photographs amplify simple and stunning recipes that quite literally make you want to jump up and start cooking. This recipe for summer bolognese has quickly become one of my favorites; it has the classic comfort of bolognese, but without the heaviness of a red sauce, instead embracing the summer’s bounty of gorgeous tomatoes and fresh basil. —Farideh Sadeghin, test kitchen director Get the recipe for Summer Bolognese »
Fresh Pasta Sheets with Pesto
Mandilli di seta, “silk handkerchiefs” in Italian, are large sheets of fresh pasta, flat and glossy like lasagna sheets but rolled out even more thinly. In this elegant, rustic version, inspired by Da Laura restaurant in San Fruttuoso, the pasta is lightly coated with pesto and draped in layers atop the plate. Get the recipe for Fresh Pasta Sheets with Pesto »
Noodles with Peas (Pasta e Piselli)
This simple pasta comes from Romeo Salta’s The Pleasures of Italian Cooking, which Managing Editor Camille Rankin once received as a gift from her mother. The always-comforting combination of peas, bacon, and cheese comes together in less than half an hour. Get the recipe for Noodles with Peas (Pasta e Piselli) »
Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
My mother’s tomato, butter, and onion sauce unfailingly elicits feelings of comfort and well-being. Its ability to wash away fatigue and anxiety is almost miraculous, and its preparation borders on alchemy. Who would think that simply putting tomatoes, a peeled halved onion, butter, and salt in a pot and cooking it with barely an occasional stir until it is reduced, would produce such concentrated goodness? In my freezer there is always a batch, ready to be defrosted and enjoyed in the time it takes to cook some pasta. —Giuliano Hazan, author of Hazan Family Favorites: Beloved Italian Recipes (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012) Get the recipe for Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter »
Sage Brown Butter
This butter is delicious spooned over fish or pasta. Get the recipe for Sage Brown Butter »