Pasta may be our go-to comfort food in cold-weather months, but it also makes for some of our favorite easy summer recipes.
As the temperature rises, trade out heavier ingredients like braised meats or long-cooked sauces for fresh vegetables, bright herbs, and seafood. Linguine and clams with olive oil, white wine, and chiles is one of the greatest classic Italian recipes, ever. For a more extravagant seafood feast, try bucatini ai frutti di mare—pasta with clams, shrimp, squid, and lobster.
Of course, the greatest culinary gift of the season is the beautiful, abundant summer produce. Our buckwheat and ricotta gnocchi are tossed in a cream sauce lightened with fresh spinach and peas while our bright summer bolognese eschews red sauce for tomatoes and fresh basil. On especially hot days, look to cool pasta salad, like our classic Greek version tossing rotini with crisp tomato, onion, cucumber, and tangy feta cheese.
Find all these dishes and more in our gallery of summer pasta recipes.
Rumor has it that pasta puttanesca–literally “whore’s pasta”–was a quick and easy dinner of choice among Neapolitan working ladies, but the dish’s salacious history is unlikely. Get the recipe for Classic Spaghetti Puttanesca »
From the tortelli family, anzelottos are rectangles often with ridged edges. “They’re made with a thicker, bright white dough of plain semola flour and hot water, which penetrates the proteins in the rustic flour more easily,” chef Evan Funke of Felix in Los Angeles says. Get the recipe for Swiss Chard Anzelottos with Pomodoro Sauce »
These floral, buttery noodles from chef Antonia Klugmann at L’Argine a Vencò can be infused using either fresh or dried flowers. Steep the flowers in the butter and pasta cooking water in advance if desired, and reheat when ready to use. Any tubular pasta like bucatini or spaghetti, cooked al dente, will work. Get the recipe for Spaghettoni with Jasmine, Saffron, and Chamomile »
Made by looping a slender strand of dough around two fingers, then carefully twisting the pieces into what looks like a thin rope, lorighittas take time and, ideally, multiple makers. Let the pieces dry slightly before boiling to preserve their shape, resting them on a surface heavily dusted with semolina to help prevent sticking and warping when lifted. Leave the heads on the shrimp for a deeper, sweeter seafood flavor, and finish the pasta in a combination of fresh orange juice and the juices from the cooked mussels. Get the recipe for Lorighittas with Shrimp, Mussels & Orange »
This recipe for summer bolognese 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.
Pasta salads are essential summer food: they travel well; they’re easy to adapt to whatever produce you have on-hand; and they’re simple to make in large portions, making them perfect dishes to carry to parties, picnics, and barbecues. Get the recipe for Sausage and Arugula Pasta Salad »
We whipped up this tasty dish during a trip to Venice, using fresh ingredients we found at the local markets. You won’t find Venetian scampi in this country; substitute good-quality baby shrimp. Get the recipe for Fusilli With Scampi, Cranberry, and Peas »
This classic pasta, from award-winning chef Fulvio Pierangelini at his restaurant, Irene, in Florence, Italy, is enriched with the lobsters’ coral, or roe sac. It adds a pop of briny flavor to the pasta, but can be omitted if the lobsters you buy don’t contain it. Get the recipe for Lobster Linguine with Chiles »
Carrot ribbons cooked al dente and lightly braised red endive add color to this simple vegetable-packed pasta dish, brightened with lots of lemon zest. Josita Hartanto of Berlin’s Lucky Leek uses multicolored carrots for a beautiful presentation. Get the recipe for Spaghettini with Carrots, Olives, and Red Endive »
The flavors of a richly spiced Moroccan tagine come together in this pasta salad, savory and bright with olive, lemon, and cinnamon. Get the recipe for Moroccan Pasta Salad »
