26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (2024)

Whether you're twirling slim linguine around your fork or taking in the aroma of freshly cracked pepper over a bed of gnocchi, there's no denying the comfort that pasta can bring. Food & Wine has an incredible collection of irresistible Italian pasta recipes and we're highlighting some of our favorites here. Try your hand at folding crescent-shaped smoked mozzarella mezzelune, stacking a 24-layered lasagne, or rolling tender balls of ricotta gnudi. From simple to extravagant, each of our delicious pasta recipes is sure to please.

01of 26

Bucatini Carbonara

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (1)

Italian carbonara is famously rich, combining pancetta or guanciale (cured pork jowl), egg yolks, and cheese. At Holeman and Finch, chef Linton Hopkins adds his own Southern accent to the dish with house-cured pork and local eggs.

Get the Recipe

02of 26

Smoked Mozzarella Mezzelune with Braised Onion Sauce

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (2)

Mezzelune (which means "half-moons" in Italian) is a crescent-shaped stuffed pasta similar to ravioli. It's relatively simple to shape and requires little equipment to make at home. The accompanying thick, rich, slow-cooked tomato and onion sauce is loosely inspired by a Bolognese classic called il friggione.

Get the Recipe

03of 26

Spaghetti with Clams and Garlic

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (3)

This simple dish is packed with garlic and a few dashes of crushed red pepper. If you prefer, shell the clams before tossing them with their juices in the pasta.

Get the Recipe

04of 26

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragù

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (4)

2000 F&W Best New Chef Andrew Carmellini serves fresh pappardelle with a ragù of house-ground lamb shoulder cooked in lamb stock. He finishes the dish with fresh ricotta and chopped mint. To simplify the recipe, use store-bought pappardelle, ground lamb, and chicken stock.

Get the Recipe

05of 26

Three-Pepper Cacio e Pepe

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (5)

A trio of peppercorns gives this pasta a subtle, floral heat. If you like, spice it up by swapping the Szechuan pepper with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Light-bodied, lemony Italian Frascati pairs wonderfully here.

Get the Recipe

06of 26

Cavatelli with Sardinian Meat Sauce

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (6)

Pro tip: Frozen cavatelli is even better than dried. Since this shape is thick and doughy, the dried version tends to get overcooked on the outside before it's done inside. If you can't find cavatelli in the freezer section of your grocery store, a chunky dried pasta such as rigatoni makes an excellent substitution.

Get the Recipe

07of 26

Spinach and Ricotta Tortelli with Browned Butter

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (7)

The pasta for this tortelli (a larger version of tortellini) is extremely silky and supple, which makes it excellent with the creamy ricotta-spinach filling. If there's any dough left over, cut it into noodles, as chef Marco Canora does, then dry it and store it in bags in the refrigerator to have on hand for last-minute dinners.

Get the Recipe

08of 26

Spaghettoni with Butter and Brewer's Yeast

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (8)

Italian chef Ricardo Camanini built an award-winning reputation on this incredibly delicious spaghettoni recipe topped with butter and a surprising ingredient: brewer's yeast. It has such simple, luscious, and funky umami appeal that legendary French chef Alain Ducasse declared it the best dish ever.

Get the Recipe

09of 26

Ricotta Gnudi with Chanterelles

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (9)

These tender gnudi, adapted from chef Nancy Silverton's The Mozza Cookbook, are delicious with buttery herbed chanterelles. Serve with a minerally northern Italian white wine.

Get the Recipe

10of 26

Rigatoni with Veal Bolognese and Butternut Squash

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (10)

Chef Andrew Zimmern makes his velvety pasta sauce — a delectable Italian combination of sweet butternut squash, ground veal, and plenty of herbs — even more luscious with a touch of cream.

Get the Recipe

11of 26

All'Amatriciana with Extra Umami

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (11)

Anchovies please! Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg makes her amatriciana sauce with anchovies, so it's extra savory.

Get the Recipe

12of 26

Lasagna with Mushroom Ragù and Prosciutto Cotto

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (12)

This 24-layered pasta masterpiece consists of a hearty mushroom ragù made with both dried and fresh mushrooms; a creamy, onion-infused béchamel; and salty slices of prosciutto cotto, layered between handmade sheets of pasta. Be sure to let the lasagna rest for 30 minutes before cutting into it.

Get the Recipe

13of 26

Hearty Lamb Ragù with Rigatoni

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (13)

It doesn't get more hearty than this pasta dish with lamb ragù. A soft, generous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo will combine well with the tangy lamb and caramelized carrots.

Get the Recipe

Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (14)

"The best way to cook with truffles is as simply as possible," says chef Karen Akunowicz. Bold in scent and flavor, black winter truffles require very little coaxing to lend their heady punch. This elegant yet hearty dish pairs creamy butter, nutty farro pasta, and a fortifying mix of wild mushrooms and grated truffle.

Get the Recipe

15of 26

Lasagna Puttanesca

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (15)

Puttanesca is a classic southern Italian pasta sauce made with tomatoes, capers, and olives. Here, it lends a ton of flavor to a hearty — but not heavy — eggplant lasagna layered with ricotta and mozzarella.

Get the Recipe

16of 26

Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (16)

Chef Chris Cosentino braises beef shank and oxtail in red wine to make the brasato that he serves with housemade mint pappardelle. For this recipe, we simplify things by omitting the oxtail and using fresh store-bought pappardelle.

Get the Recipe

17of 26

Pasta with Robiola and Truffles

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (17)

This indulgent first course marries three of Italy's best ingredients: egg pasta, winter truffles, and Robiola Rocchetta, a creamy cheese from northern Italy, which forms the base for an incredibly rich sauce.

Get the Recipe

18of 26

Pappardelle with White Bolognese

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (18)

Chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini simmers ground veal and pork in white wine and half-and-half, creating a velvety cream sauce to toss with pappardelle.

Get the Recipe

19of 26

Ricotta-Filled Mandilli (Handkerchief Pasta with Pesto) and Marinara

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (19)

Chef Tim Cushman crafts his take on Italian mandilli, sheets of pasta coated with pesto sauce, by stuffing with ricotta and topping with tomato sauce. To save time, use store-bought pasta sheets.

Get the Recipe

20of 26

Spaghetti with Anchovy Carbonara

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (20)

Chef Chris Cosentino adds briny flavor to his pasta with cured tuna heart, which he shaves on right before serving. This simplified recipe calls for anchovies rather than the tuna heart Cosentino uses. Egg yolks form a silky sauce.

Get the Recipe

21of 26

Ossola-Style Gnocchi with Sage-Butter Sauce

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (21)

Recipe developer Meryl Feinstein's Ossola-style gnocchi are hearty cold-weather dumplings from the Ossola Valley in northern Piedmont, only a few miles from the Swiss border. In addition to potatoes, these gnocchi include winter squash, chestnut flour, and nutmeg.

Get the Recipe

22of 26

Pasta alla Norma

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (22)

This simple pasta dish celebrates summer produce and Italian pasta traditions with fresh tomato sauce, fried eggplant, sweet onions, and aromatic basil, yielding a bowl that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Get the Recipe

23of 26

Spinach and Prosciutto Ravioli

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (23)

Missy Robbins, chef-owner of Lilia and Misi in Brooklyn, mixes spinach and prosciutto with two cheeses as a stuffing for her supple ravioli. The bright acidity and bubbles of a Franciacorta like Ronco Calino Brut amplify the nutty brown butter notes in the pasta.

Get the Recipe

24of 26

Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (24)

Chef Douglass Williams' method for carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic–oil–pasta cooking liquid emulsion. It makes for a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress.

Get the Recipe

25of 26

Spaghetti with Fresh Soppressata

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (25)

One of the most popular cured meats on restaurant charcuterie boards, soppressata is a hard salami from southern Italy. Chef Andrew Carmellini's family grinds their own meat to make it, but buying Italian sausages and removing their casings is much easier. To give the fresh soppressata extra spice, use hot sausages instead of sweet ones or increase the amount of crushed red pepper.

Get the Recipe

26of 26

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Lemon, Mint, and Pecorino

26 Savory Italian Pasta Recipes for All Seasons (26)

Roman chef Angelo Troiani riffs on the classic spaghetti ajo, ojo, e peperoncino (garlic, oil, and chile), embellishing it with shrimp, lemon, pecorino, almond, and mint. It's simple, delicious, and crowd-pleasing.

Get the Recipe