Linguine is a type of pasta with long, skinny strands. It’s perfect for a tomato sauce, and alfredo sauce or a fresh veggie mixture, like this recipe calls for. This recipe also has fresh chopped tomatoes, Parmesan, onion, basil and garlic, to give it a summer-y feel. This pasta is perfect for a get together (it’s a crowd pleaser) or an easy weeknight dinner. You can also modify this recipe by adding in different vegetables or adding in a cooked meat. Here’s how you make it:

3 medium tomatoes, chopped — you can use whatever type of tomato you prefer but they should be fresh
8 ounces uncooked linguine (which is 1/2 a standard box)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
6 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup minced fresh basil or 4 teaspoons dried basil
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoons pepper
3 tablespoons butter

1. Cook linguine according to package directions.
2. While linguine is cooking, place the tomatoes, Parmesan, onion, basil, garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
3. When linguine is done, drain the pasta and add the butter. Stir.
4. Add in tomato mixture and toss.
5. Serve warm and enjoy.

Have you ever wanted to make your own meatballs but didn’t know how? This recipe breaks down how to make your own meatballs in four easy steps. These meatballs, once cooked thoroughly, pair with spaghetti to give you an absolutely delicious meal. To make the meatballs, you use breadcrumbs, eggs, and your choice of ground meat (we used beef, but you could use turkey or whatever you have on hand). You can also freeze this sauce for the future. Here’s how you make it:

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 (30 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce — you can use whatever your favorite is
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 minced garlic clove
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb spaghetti, cooked to your liking

1. Place spaghetti sauce in a large saucepan and simmer on medium.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, beef, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, salt and Parmesan.
3. Roll into 18 meatballs with your hands.
4. Place meatballs in the sauce (the sauce should be simmering now).
5. After the meatballs are in the pan, watch the sauce until it simmers once more. When it is simmering, cover and cook for 30-35 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
6. When the sauce is cooking, cook your spaghetti according to the box directions.
7. Stir together and serve warm.

This Penne Alla Vodka is easy to make and delicious. You make your penne according to regular directions (so boil water, pour in pasta, etc) and while that is cooking, you make your vodka sauce. The whole thing can be put together in just around half an hour. This recipe calls for prosciutto, plum tomatoes, cream and vodka to make the sauce. When you’re done, you will have a vodka sauce that will make you feel like you’re truly in Italy. Here’s how you make it:

3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of minced garlic
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips
1 package penne pasta (28 ounces)
1 can whole plum tomatoes, chopped and drained
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat butter over medium high in a large skillet. Add garlic; cook and stir for one minute. Add prosciutto and cook for two more minutes. Stir in vodka, tomatoes, salt and pepper flakes. Bring the skillet to a boil and reduce heat. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain pasta. Add pasta and Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Stir to combine.
4. Serve hot and enjoy.

These stuffed shells are cheesy, warm and gooey. They are stuffed shell pasta covered in beef, onion, garlic, tomato paste and cheese. Then they are baked until they are warm, and soft. They are perfect to eat on a rainy Sunday dinner with family. You can make them in just about an hour (including the pasta) with just a few steps. Here’s how you make it:

24 jumbo pasta shell, cooked and drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 cups 4% cottage cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons, dried oregano
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1 can tomato (12 ounces)
2 cups hot water
1 minced garlic clove
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound ground beef

1. In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic and beef over medium heat, crumbling beef. Cook until meat is no longer pink and drain. Then stir in the hot water, tomato paste, oregano and bouillon. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in water, tomato paste. bouillon and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine egg, 1 cup mozzarella, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stuff shells with cheese mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Arrange the cooked shells in a greased 13×9 baking dish. Pour meat sauce over shells. Cover, bake 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy.

This chilled pasta salad is the perfect side dish or full meal. It’s the perfect pasta to bring to a potluck because you can make it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge to cool before bringing it to your destination. With savory olives, peppers, garlic powder and pesto, this dish has a variety of different flavors that combine into a savory treat. This recipe calls for pesto: you can either make your own pesto, or buy one at the grocery store. As long as you like the taste of the pesto, it should work in the recipe. Here’s how you make it:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 1/2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
20 miniature sweet peppers, cut into rings and seeded
1 cup prepared pesto (you can make your own or buy one at the grocery store)
1 can sliced olives, drained
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Toss the sliced peppers with garlic powder and oil and spread evenly across a greased pan. Roast until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Take out of oven and cool slightly.
2. While peppers are cooking, cook bow-tie pasta according to directions on the package. Once done, drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Place pasta in a large bowl and stir in pesto, olives and peppers. Cover and refrigerate before serving. Serve with sprinkled cheese.

This lemon infused angel hair and shrimp pasta dish is an easy to make and a fan favorite. The light taste of lemon and olive oil infuse into the soft angel hair pasta to make a light lemon garlic flavored meal. Have you ever had lemon infused shrimp? Its a lot different than the shrimp appetizer that you may be used to. The sauce draws out the soft flavors of the shrimp, taking away almost all of the fishy aftertaste. You can make this pasta dish is just under half an hour total, so this a perfect meal for busy people looking for something with a new, interesting taste. Here’s how you make it:

1/2 lb angel hair pasta
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (you can use either cooked or uncooked shrimp, depending on your preference. There are instructions for both)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
12 cup parsley
1 tablespoon lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Add the garlic and shrimp (if it’s uncooked) and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for two minutes or until garlic is soft and the shrimp is barely pink.
3. Add crushed red pepper and broth to skillet. Increase heat on skillet to hight.
4. If you are using precooked shrimp, add them to the skillet now.
5. Cook on heat for 2-3 minutes, until shrimp are warmed throughout.
6. Stir in lemon peel and juice. Do this to taste, you may not need to use the entire lemon.
7. Your pasta should be done now. Put it in a serving bowl and the rest of olive oil and salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss thoroughly to coat.
8. Add shrimp, and parsley to bowl and stir. Then gradually add in cheese while stirring thoroughly.
9. Once everything is well tossed, you are ready to eat. Serve immediately.

Pasta carbonara used to be a dish exclusively reserved for restaurants. It’s challenging, has a lot of steps, and somehow never seems to turn out as good as it does at the restaurant. But this recipe changes that. It breaks down how to make carbonara into easy, manageable steps so that everyone can make it. And believe us, once you try it the first time, you will want to continue making it. There is one tricky step, but if you follow the directions exactly, your carbonara will be just as good as the restaurant version. This carbonara is full of bacon, garlic, cheese and and spices. Here’s how you make it:

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces spaghetti (uncooked)
6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into bite-size pieces
5 cloves minced garlic
4 quarts water
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen (defrosted)
Salt to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. While hot water is boiling, make your bacon. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add olive and once the olive oil is hot, add the bacon. Cook until crispy, stirring every minute or so. This should take about 6-7 minutes.
3. Drain off excess bacon grease, leaving two tablespoons in pan to grease it.
4. Add garlic to pan and sauté on high until soft and fragrant (about 1 minute).
5. Add peas to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Stir to combine the peas, garlic and bacon. Turn off heat and set aside until pasta is ready.
6. Once pasta is ready turn heat back on, and add the hot pasta straight into the pan. Make sure to reserve the boiling water in a different pan (you will need it in just a minute!)
7. Toss the bacon and peas with pasta for about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and leave on stovetop.
8. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and Parmesan cheese together with whisk.
9. Add pasta mixture to the egg mixture and stir until everything is combined.
10. This is the tricky part. Gradually add1/4 cup pasta water to the noodles, stirring constantly. A lightly thickened sauce should be created that coats the pasta.
11. Place the bowl of past over the pot with the boiling pasta water. The pasta bowl should not touch the water, so you may need to throw out some of the boiling water.
12. While the bowl is on top of the pasta water, continue stirring the bowl of pasta frequently until the sauce thickens. It should look creamy and coat the spaghetti. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Make sure you stir the bottom of the bowl so that the sauce at the bottom does not curdle.
13. Taste pasta and season as desired.
14. Serve immediately with parsley, Parmesan and pepper on top.

An authentic Italian pasta list would not be complete without at least one type of lasagna. We decided to go for a classic with this recipe. Crumbled beef, two different types of cheese and marinara sauce are the building blocks of this cheesy, hot meal. This lasagna can be completed with just two dishes— a baking dish and a skillet — so cleanup is a breeze. And this makes about eight servings of lasagna, so you will have leftovers. Plus while this dish takes about an hour to cook, it only takes 15 minutes to prep, so you can easily pop this in the oven after a busy day. Here’s how you make it:

1 lb ground beef or ground meat of choosing
24 oz jar of marinara sauce — use your favorite
1 lb dry lasagna noodles (this is approximately 2/3 box)
12 oz mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup water
15 oz container ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven 375.
2. Grease 9×13 baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray.
3. Dump 2/3 cup of marinara sauce at the bottom of dish and spread evenly.
4. Top with dry lasagna noodles.
5. Brown your ground meat in a skillet on medium high. Cook until meat is brown. Drain the fat from the skillet.
6. Once meat is done, pour in remaining marinara sauce.
7. Add the 2/3 cup water to the empty marinara jar to loosen the sauce at the bottom. Shake the jar and them empty the water/ marinara sauce into the skillet with the meat and rest of marinara sauce jar.
8. Simmer the meat sauce for about 5 minutes.
9. While simmering, add 3 ounces of mozzarella cheese on top of the lasagna noodles.
10. Then top with about one third of the meat sauce.
11. Add another layer of lasagna noodles on top of meat sauce. Press down lightly.
12. Repeat with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and meat sauce two more times.
13. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
14. Cover and bake for 45minutes, until the noodles are tender throughout.
15. Remove foil and bake for another 6-8 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.
16. Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before serving.

This tasty mushroom rigatoni is filled with cream, garlic, butter and sausage, which, if you ask me, is basically heaven in a meal. The mushrooms and the garlic together add a deep rich flavor, which when combined with the cream, makes a rich delicious sauce that you might just want to eat by the spoonful. Here’s how you make it:

1 pound Italian sausage
1 package rigatoni (16 ounces)
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook rigatoni according to directions on the package.
2. While rigatoni is cooking, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until the sausage is no longer pink. Crumble it into pieces while cooking. Once done, drain and remove sausage from pan.
3. Using the same skillet, heat butter on medium. Add in garlic, salt and pepper and mushrooms and cover. Cook for four minutes, stirring occasionally. After four minutes, uncover and cook for an additional two to three minutes, stirring until mushrooms are tender and any liquid has evaporated from skillet.
4. Stir in cream and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat and cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Once thickened, put the sausage back in the skillet. Stir to combine and cook until sausage is heated thoroughly.
5. Drain pasta and serve with mushroom sauce.

Did you know that when something is cooked “cacciatore” style it means that is cooked in a “hunters” style? A hunters style refers to a meal that is prepared with herbs, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and sometimes wine. This chicken cacciatore recipe is no different. Though this recipe calls for a lot of ingredients — 21 to be precise— as long as you have the ingredients, this recipe is actually fairly easy to make. All you really have to do is cook the chicken in a skillet and combine it with fresh pasta. Here’s how you make it:

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 1/2-4 pounds), cut up
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sliced celery ribs
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1 large green pepper cut into strips
1 large onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes, cut up with juice reserved (28 ounces)
1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
1 cup red wine
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
pasta, cooked as box instructions say
parmesan cheese

1. Lightly coat chicken with flour. Season with salt and pepper (as desired). In a large skillet on medium heat, brown chicken on both sides with oil and butter. Once chicken is browned on each side, remove from heat and put chicken on platter.
2. Using the same skillet, cook the onion, pepper, celery and mushrooms for five minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, herbs, garlic, wine and sugar. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for thirty minutes.
3. Once done simmering, return the chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is tender.
4. Serve over pasta (make as directed on box) and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan.