Quick, Easy, and Delicious Pasta Recipes Ideal for Weeknight Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular pasta dish? ›

Serving up pasta for dinner is actually a golden opportunity to get some extra vegetables on the table. And as for the very best pasta side dishes, know that the options are vast. Since pasta is so versatile, what you can serve with it is equally so.

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana, and alla gricia. Each one is a variation on the other — alla gricia is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, carbonara is gricia plus egg, and so on. These four dishes are famous in all of Italian cooking, not just in Rome.

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

If you don't have sauce in the house, grilled, stir-fried or baked veggies can add lots of flavor and texture. Butternut or acorn squash, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onion are all great options to add to a pasta dish, along with some minced garlic, olive oil, and herbs.

Pasta is often served as a primo (first course), with a meat, seafood or vegetable course called a secondo coming after that. To do as the Italians do, try serving a smaller portion of pasta as a primo for an Italian-inspired dinner party, or as precursor to a meat, fish or vegetable main.

What drink goes well with pasta? ›

Dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Riesling perfectly matches spicy dishes. These crisp and light wines make them go well with the fresh flavors in your spicy pasta meal. Now, what about reds? Wines like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti would work well with spicy pasta due to being bold and tannic.

Olive oil or butter and herbs. Adding a fat to the pasta makes it taste better if you're poor and need something. I also add oregano and/or basil. Butter, eggs, and cheese.

Add 1 stick of unsalted butter to cooked pasta; toss well to coat. Mix in 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with more grated cheese and minced flat-leaf parsley.

Drop into any trattoria worth its salt in Rome and you'll find these four classic pasta dishes on the menu – cacio e pepe, spaghetti alla Carbonara, bucatini all'Amatriciana and pasta alla Gricia.

Pasta carbonara

Despite its simplicity, this dish remains one of Rome's favorites, equally popular throughout the country.

Barilla Pasta is Italy's largest dry pasta brand and dominates the European and American markets. With a long-standing reputation as one of the best Italian pasta brands in the United States, Barilla's products are made with high-protein durum wheat flour, ensuring top quality.