50 Best Italian Recipes (2024)

7K Shares

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Italian food is one of the most well known cuisines on the planet, and for good reason too. It's comforting, delicious, and so satisfying. Whether you are craving a plate of pasta from Italy, a slice of Neapolitan pizza, a bite of creamy chicken, or a bowl of warm and cozy soup, you will find it in the Italian kitchen. So if you are wondering how to make Italian food at home for dinner, we have got you covered. We are sharing over 50 of our most popular and best Italian recipes including pasta, pizza, soup, salad, chicken, beef, appetizers, bread, and more!

50 Best Italian Recipes (1)

Best Italian Recipes

Chicken Parmesan (Parmigiana)

Easy chicken parmesan (parmigiana) with crispy breaded chicken, tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The best comfort chicken dinner.

Pasta Bake with Sausage (Baked Ziti)

Pasta bake with sausage (baked ziti) is a lazy day lasagna with layers of pasta tossed in a rich meat sauce, layered with mozzarella, and baked.

Italian Meatballs

Meatballs are probably my favorite of all ground beef recipes. These quick, easy homemade Italian meatballs are juicy, flavourful, and delicious, simmered in a rich and savoury tomato sauce. Make them in just 30 minutes.

Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage

Hearty and creamy tortellini soup with sausage, spinach and kale is total comfort food in a bowl. Make this flavourful one pot meal in under 30 minutes.

Easy Meat Lasagna

Classic easy meat lasagna is the ultimate Italian comfort food with layers of tender lasagna, meaty tomato sauce, cheese filling and melted cheese on top.

Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata

Quick and easy, creamy lemon chicken piccata is a simple and delicious 30-minute meal made with tender chicken breast in a light lemon sauce with capers.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine alfredo is a classic Italian pasta dish that is rich, creamy, and delicious. Plus, it comes together in less than 15 minutes!

Easy Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread

No knead, easy rosemary garlic focaccia bread is thick with a perfect golden and crispy texture on the outside, but soft, fluffy and tender inside.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is a hearty, healthy, nourishing, and delicious classic Italian soup, packed with vegetables and pasta simmered in a rich tomato broth.

Creamy Parmesan (No Wine) Risotto

Creamy Parmesan (No Wine) Risotto is a rich, creamy, and comforting classic Italian dish that may be intimidating but is actually quick and easy to make.

Italian Pasta Salad

Italian pasta salad is delicious, wholesome, and easy to make. Make it up to three days ahead for your summer picnics and cookouts. You can't get more classic than Italian Salad on Memorial Day!

Creamy Tomato Pasta

This Creamy Tomato Pasta is a simple and delicious meal made from scratch in 25 minutes with a cream and tomato based sauce that is rich and silky smooth.

Homemade Calzones

Homemade calzones are delicious little pizza pockets filled with cheese and toppings and baked until golden. This Italian favourite is easy to make at home.

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp

Creamy Tuscan shrimp packed with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and garlic, is creamy, rich, and delicious. Make it in just 15 minutes, including prep!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan is a vegetarian Italian dish made featuring tender eggplant slices coated in crispy breadcrumbs, melty cheese, and baked in tomato sauce.

Pesto Penne Pasta

Quick and easy pesto penne pasta is a simple and light Italian pasta dish made with just five ingredients in under 15 minutes. The easiest dinner.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken marsala in creamy mushroom sauce is a quick and easy 30-minute chicken dinner that is pure comfort food goals. A total crowd favourite.

Skillet Neapolitan Margherita Pizza

Quick and easy skillet Neapolitan margherita pizza has an iconic thin and soft crust with a perfectly crisp exterior, and simple and fresh toppings.

Caprese Skewers

Caprese Skewers are a quick and fresh appetizer made with bite-sized mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and basil leaves with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Baked Gnocchi

Cheesy Baked Gnocchi is quick and easy comfort food made all in one pot with chewy bites of gnocchi, a simple tomato-based sauce, and gooey melty cheese.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Quick easy spaghetti bolognese with a rich, thick, delicious and flavourful meat sauce is a family favourite ready in 30 minutes. Best weeknight dinner.

Instant Pot Osso Buco

Instant pot osso buco is a delicious, classic Italian recipe with braised veal shanks stewed with vegetables in a thick, savory red wine and tomato sauce.

Stuffed Shells

Ricotta stuffed shells are an easy, hearty, and classic Italian comfort food that can feed the whole family. Easy to make ahead and freeze for another day.

Creamy Garlic Salmon

Creamy garlic salmon is a quick easy one-pan meal ready in under 30 minutes, with seared flaky tender salmon tossed in a delicious creamy garlic sauce.

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna soup is a twist on a classic Italian recipe with all the same delicious comforting flavors in the form of a hearty one pot soup.

Chicken Penne Pasta

Chicken penne pasta is a quick and easy dinner that is delicious, rich, creamy, and flavorful. It’s a family favorite that’s ready in under 30 minutes.

Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce is rich, vibrant, and loaded with flavor. It’s easy to make with a few simple fresh ingredients. Serve as a dip or in pasta and pizza.

Easy Tomato Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze

Tomato bruschetta with balsamic glaze is an easy Italian appetizer topped with tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil and olive oil. Delicious, fresh and simple. The perfect light Super Bowl recipe.

Shrimp Alfredo

Shrimp Alfredo is creamy, garlicky, and delicious! This quick and easy, under 30-minute recipe is a go-to for busy nights and a year-round family favorite.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Creamy Tuscan chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach is a quick and easy 30 minute Italian chicken dinner that is delicious, flavorful, and comforting.

Creamy White Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

Creamy white chicken and spinach lasagna with tender shredded chicken is the most comforting creamiest cheesiest white lasagna. Easy to make ahead & freeze.

Garlic Breadsticks

Soft garlic breadsticks are fluffy, airy, buttery, and delicious. They're an easy recipe that is perfect for beginners at baking bread.

Farfalle Pasta with Mushroom Rose Sauce

Farfalle pasta with mushroom rose sauce is creamy yet light, delicious and flavorful, and quick and easy to make in 20 minutes. Best comfort food dinner!

Whipped Ricotta Dip

Light and airy, whipped ricotta dip is so easy to make in just 5 minutes with a few fresh ingredients including fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, and honey.

Tomato Basil Soup

Homemade tomato basil soup is comforting, rich, and smooth. This cozy soup is easy, flavourful, and nourishing, making it so much better than canned.

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta is a delicious 30 minute recipe that is packed with flavor, quick and easy to make, and will satisfy the whole family.

Toasted Ravioli

Toasted Ravioli is a classic Italian appetizer that is crispy and golden on the outside, and tender and gooey on the inside. Ready in less than 30 minutes!

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e pepe is a simple, authentic Italian pasta dish made with just four ingredients in 20 minutes. It's delicious, flavourful and easy to make.

Tomato and Mozzarella Caprese Salad

Quick and easy tomato and mozzarella caprese salad is a fresh, light, and delicious summer salad, made with just a few simple ingredients in 10 minutes.

Salami and Mushroom Skillet Pizza

Easy salami and mushroom skillet pizza with a crispy pizza crust, mushrooms, salami, and fresh mozzarella is ready on the skillet in about 10 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Roulade with Spinach and Mushrooms

Give your chicken breasts an upgrade by stuffing them to make fancy, juicy chicken roulade with spinach and mushrooms topped with a creamy alfredo sauce. Serve it over spaghetti alfredo with spinach and mushrooms.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Creamy spaghetti carbonara (Spaghetti a la Carbonara) is a simple classic Italian pasta with pancetta that's quick and easy to make in minutes.

Baked Caprese Chicken

Baked caprese chicken is tender, juicy, and delicious, topped with burst tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Small Batch Ciabatta Rolls

Easy small batch ciabatta rolls are fluffy and airy with a perfect crunchy, crackly crust. They take only 10 minutes to prepare and require no kneading. These are the most popular bread recipe on our entire site!

Creamy Pesto Chicken

Creamy Pesto Chicken is a quick and easy 30 minute meal that needs to be on your family weeknight dinner rotation. It's rich, creamy, and delicious.

Tagliatelle Pasta

Creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle Pasta is a quick and easy, restaurant-worthy vegetarian dinner that is ready in just 30 minutes! Elevated comfort food at home.

Baked Feta Pasta

Baked Feta Pasta is a quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe that is creamy, delicious, and flavorful — the whole family will love this Tiktok pasta!

Turkey Tetrazzini with Spinach

Creamy tetrazzini with spinach is a simple, easy and delicious pasta recipe that is comforting, creamy and cheesy. The recipe used turkey, but you can easily substitute it with leftover chicken or a storebought rotisserie chicken instead.

50 Best Italian Recipes (49)

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Smooth, hearty and light, one pot lemon chicken orzo soup is pure comfort in a bowl. This family favourite is like chicken noodle soup with a major upgrade.

Classic Roman Herbed Potato Pizza

Easy and simple yet flavourful classic Roman herbed potato pizza has a crispy thin crust with layers of tender potato tossed in olive oil and herbs.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Bright and colorful caprese pasta salad is the ultimate summer side dish. It's fresh, light, and loaded with vibrant summer flavors. Quick and easy too!

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

Vegetarian stuffed mushrooms are a delicious, flavorful, healthy, and nutritious appetizer. Plus, quick and easy to make in under 30 minutes including prep!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Baked parmesan crusted chicken is breaded in a herby parmesan breadcrumb mixture and baked until crispy perfection. So flavourful and delicious.

Cheesy Tortellini and Sausage Bake

Quick and easy, cheesy tortellini and sausage bake is a delicious 30-minute dinner packed with flavour. A family-favourite comfort food for busy weeknights.

Whipped Ricotta Crostini

Whipped ricotta crostini is a fancy easy appetizer to make in just minutes or prepare in advance and assemble before serving. A total crowd pleaser.

Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad

Quick and easy Mediterranean orzo pasta salad packed with fresh vegetables and herbs is tossed in a Greek lemon vinaigrette. Healthy, light and delicious.

Garlic Knots

Garlic knots are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and topped with delicious savory garlic herbed butter that will have you begging for more.

Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken

Creamy lemon parmesan chicken is a simple, quick and easy 30-minute meal that is packed with flavour. The most comforting and easiest weeknight dinner.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna roll ups are a twist on traditional lasagna. Lasagna noodles are filled with cheese and meat sauce and rolled up. Make ahead and freezer-friendly!

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

If you’re a fan of spinach artichoke dip, you need to try this spinach artichoke pasta. It's quick and easy comfort food is ready in under 30 minutes.

No Knead Tomato Focaccia Bread

Easy no knead tomato focaccia is so flavourful, packed with olive oil, tomatoes and fresh herbs. It's crispy and golden outside, fluffy and pillowy inside.

Baked Ravioli

Baked Ravioli is simple delicious comfort food that is perfect for a weeknight family dinner or for entertaining. It's hearty, comforting, and kid-friendly.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Quick and easy spaghetti and meatballs is delicious, rich, comforting with tender beef meatballs simmered in a savoury tomato sauce. Make it in 30 minutes.

More Popular Recipes

  • 40 Best Pasta Recipes
  • 60 Best Chicken Recipes
  • 40 Best Salad Recipes
  • 25 Best Ground Beef Recipes
  • 15 Best Salmon Recipes

Did You Make Any of These Italian Recipes?

Please leave a comment and rating below, and let me know what you thought of this round up of the best Italian recipes. Be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Don't forget to sign up for my email newsletter so that you don't miss any recipes. You can also follow along on Instagram and Pinterest for more recipe updates.

Print

Recipe

50 Best Italian Recipes (65)

50 Best Italian Recipes

★★★★★5 from 1 review
  • Author: Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings
Print Recipe

Description

Over 50 popular best Italian recipes including comforting pasta, pizza, soup, salad, chicken, beef, appetizers, bread, and more delicious Italian food!

Ingredients

Refer to each individual recipe for full ingredients and recipe instructions.

Instructions

  1. Pick a recipe you want to make.
  2. Gather and prep the ingredients.
  3. Make the recipe according to recipe instructions.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Italian
  • Method: Various
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Calories: 325

Keywords: 50 best italian recipes, best italian recipes, italian recipes, italian food for dinner, italian food, italian dinner recipes

50 Best Italian Recipes (66)

7K Shares

50 Best Italian Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 food in Italy? ›

Besides pasta, pizza is perhaps the most popular and recognized Italian food. Pizza is considered a national symbol representing Italy to the rest of the world, so much so that UNESCO has acknowledged pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What to serve at an Italian dinner party? ›

Italian Dinner Party Recipes
  • Italian Sheet Pan Chicken. This Italian sheet pan chicken is a two-in-one. ...
  • Slow Roasted Salmon. ...
  • Rigatoni With Pork Ragout. ...
  • Lamb Osso Buco. ...
  • Bistecca Fiorentina. ...
  • Lasagna. ...
  • Gnocchi Alla Romana. ...
  • Springtime Lamb.
Sep 10, 2021

What is the oldest Italian dish? ›

Testaroli has been described as "the earliest recorded pasta". It is also a native dish of the southern Liguria and northern Tuscany regions of Italy. Testaroli is prepared from a batter that is cooked on a hot flat surface, after which it may be consumed.

What are 3 major food dishes in Italy? ›

  • Pizza. Kicking things off with the big daddy of Italian cuisine, forget anything you once thought about pizza: here in Italy, pizza making is a form of art. ...
  • Pasta. ...
  • Risotto. ...
  • Polenta and cured meats. ...
  • Seafood. ...
  • Gelato and Dolce. ...
  • Coffee and famous tipples.

What is Italy's national dish? ›

The national food of Italy is a pasta dish that is called Ragu alla Bolognese, which is a Bolognese sauce of meat and tomatoes with tagliatelle pasta. The dish is also sometimes just called Bolognese, because the sauce has become so popular that it is often identified as the meal itself.

What is the most popular pizza in Italy? ›

Whether in its simple version with mozzarella fiordilatte or mozzarella de bufala (in which case it would technically be called a Bufalina pizza), the Margherita pizza is undoubtedly the favourite pizza of Italian people.

What is a typical menu in Italy? ›

Most dinners consist of a salad, the primo (pasta or soup dish) and the secondo (meat or fish dish). The Italians also enjoy cooked vegetables like artichokes, eggplants, mushrooms, spinach and zucchini, which they either buy at the market or grow in their gardens.

What is a true Italian dinner? ›

Primi Piatti is the first official course in a traditional Italian meal. Pasta, risotto, soup, polenta, and casserole—the “pastabilities” are endless when choosing what primo piatto you want to indulge in. By the time primi rolls around, you're absolutely famished.

What is main in Italian menu? ›

Secondi: This is a meat, fish or vegetable main dish, and usually most expensive area of the menu. Popular secondi include pollo (chicken), bistecca (steak), manzo (beef), agnello (lamb), arrosto (roast), gamberi (shrimp), salmone (salmon), frutti di mare (mixed shellfish) and frittata (omlette).

What do Italians drink with appetizers? ›

A spritz, or something including a bitter alcohol, is traditional and helps with the stomach opening. But today in Italy, an aperitivo menu usually consists of a bit more: Aperol or Campari spritz, a negroni, Peroni or another beer, and a glass or two of red and white wine.

What is the rarest Italian dish? ›

Su filindeu—literally “threads of God” in Sardo—is unfathomably intricate. It's made by only three women on Earth, all of whom live on Sardinia. And they make it only for the biannual Feast of San Francesco. It's been this way for the last 200 years.

What vegetables do Italians eat? ›

The Italian-American Vegetable Department
  • Eggplant. An essential ingredient in Italian cuisine, eggplant is a high-fiber, low-calorie food with a mild and rich flavor and a texture that tends to absorb sauces in a most pleasant way. ...
  • Broccoli Rabe. ...
  • Arugula. ...
  • Artichokes. ...
  • Fennel.
Mar 4, 2020

What is a typical Italian lunch? ›

Lunch (pranzo)
  • a first course (primo), usually a dish based on pasta, risotto, rice, polenta, legumes, or a soup;
  • a second course (secondo), based on meat, fish, dairy products such as cheese, or eggs;
  • a side dish (contorno) of raw or cooked vegetables, which accompanies the second dish;

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Roderick King

Last Updated:

Views: 6202

Rating: 4 / 5 (71 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Roderick King

Birthday: 1997-10-09

Address: 3782 Madge Knoll, East Dudley, MA 63913

Phone: +2521695290067

Job: Customer Sales Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping

Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.