Pasta & Noodles
1283 recipes found
Rosemary Chicken Ragù
Requiring just 30 minutes of simmering, this is the ragù to make any old night. Made with chicken, it is lighter than traditional ragù, but has strong flavors from butter, anchovies, rosemary, garlic and a hefty kick of red-pepper flakes. (You can use less if that scares you.) With such a savory base of ingredients, you can skip browning the chicken and still be rewarded with juicy meat that willingly shreds when pulled with forks. The silky sauce and delicate strands of chicken like to twirl with long noodles, but they would also be great over polenta, mashed potatoes, white beans or farro. Meal planners, you should know that this recipe makes 6 cups of sauce and will keep 3 days refrigerated — and improves with time.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Ragù With Herbed Ricotta
This recipe has a comforting lasagna vibe, as the spicy chicken-and-tomato sauce mingles with the rich, herby ricotta. Make the sauce as hot as you like: Begin with 1 1/2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes for a fairly mild spice level, then add more at the end if you want more heat. You’ll notice there isn’t much liquid when the chicken and vegetables go into the slow cooker, but have faith: The juices released during cooking end up making a not-too-thick ragù that is perfect for saucing pasta. In fact, because some chicken has more moisture than others, you may end up with more liquid than you’d like. If that happens, turn off the heat so the sauce cools a bit and is not bubbling, then vigorously stir in two egg yolks before you add the pasta. This adds glossy thickening power, just like it does in carbonara.
Elaine’s Fettuccine Alfredo
This recipe came to The Times in a 2004 article about Elaine Kaufman, the founder and proprietress of the famed New York restaurant and celebrity hot spot that bore her name and where this dish was served. There is nothing fancy or complicated about it — it’s glorified macaroni and cheese, really — but it is delicious and deeply satisfying. (Fun fact: Jackie O. was a fan.)
Kale Sauce Pasta
This recipe for a vivid, vegetarian pasta sauce, made from blanched kale leaves and loaded with good olive oil and grated cheese, comes from Joshua McFadden, the chef at Ava Gene’s in Portland, Ore., and was inspired by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers of The River Café in London. The technique is absurdly simple and quick from start to finish, but the result is luxurious and near-creamy. Feel free to play with the pasta shape, but no matter what you choose, be sure to let the blender run for a while at a powerful setting: You want the kale to completely break down into a smooth, bright, airy green puree.
Spicy Sesame Noodles With Chicken and Peanuts
In this quick and spicy weeknight noodle dish, sizzling hot oil is poured over red-pepper flakes, orange peel, crunchy peanuts, soy sauce and sesame oil. While you brown the ground chicken, the mixture sits, and the flavors become more pronounced and fiery. Tossed with soft noodles and browned chicken, the bright chile-peanut oil shines. If you crave something green, throw in a quick-cooking green vegetable when you break up the chicken in Step 3. You can also swap the chicken with ground pork or beef, or crumbled tofu.
Creamy, Lemony Pasta
This 15-minute pasta lets you decide how much effort to put in: If you’ve had a day and need an easy, no-nonsense meal, then make it as-is and use kitchen shears to cut your scallions. If you’re feeling slightly more ambitious, then make a topping that adds texture, vibrant green color and more lemony flavor to the dish (see Tip). But don’t cut corners when it comes to the yogurt: Use a thick, strained whole-milk yogurt like labneh, Greek or skyr, as it will give the finished dish an irresistibly rich and tangy taste.
Crispy Gnocchi With Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Pan-fried gnocchi is like a faster version of baked pasta. Store-bought gnocchi can simply be browned in a pan for an exciting mix of crispy outsides and chewy middles, no boiling required. This dish is studded with juicy tomatoes and melty pockets of mozzarella. Cherry tomatoes are reliably more flavorful year-round than larger, more watery varieties like beefsteak and heirloom. (That said, taste yours, and if they’re more tart than sweet, add 1/2 teaspoon sugar in Step 2.) Toss the tomatoes with browned butter, red-pepper flakes and garlic, then hit them with a little heat, and they’ll burst into a bright sauce. Stir in the gnocchi, dot with mozzarella, then broil until the cheese is molten and the tomatoes are blistered in spots.
Pasta With Feta and Green Olives
Bold, briny and tangy, this 15-minute pasta is full of personality. Olives are first slightly blistered in oil, drawing out their brininess, then crumbled feta is stirred into the pasta at the end until melty. Keep the feta chunky when breaking it apart so that the squares become soft and creamy, tasting almost baked. Castelvetrano olives are best here for their meaty texture and gentle flavor, but you can also use your preferred olive. Smash them with the flat side of a chef’s knife — or even the heel of your palm in a pinch — then use your fingers to pluck the olive flesh off the pit. Any stubborn meat clinging to the pit is fair game to be eaten then and there.
Spaghetti all'Assassina (Spicy Singed Tomato Pasta)
This spicy one-pot pasta dish is common on menus in Bari, Italy, but can easily be prepared at home. Like many classic dishes, there are a couple versions of its origin story. According to one, a distracted chef accidentally left his pasta cooking until the sauce burned, while another attributes the recipe title to the dish’s killer spiciness. The method involves treating spaghetti as you would risotto: Heat some garlic, red-pepper flakes and tomato paste in oil, then add the pasta and cook it gently, slowly adding tomato broth little by little. Once the pasta soaks up the flavorful liquid, it starts to char. Bari is famous for serving this dish extra “piccante,” but at home, you can make it as mild or spicy as you wish.
White Bean Piccata Pasta With Broccoli
The bright lemon-caper sauce for which chicken piccata is known plays equally well with other proteins, like swordfish, or creamy white beans, and forms a glossy, tangy sauce well suited to pasta. Throw broccoli — or any another quick-cooking vegetable, like asparagus, broccoli rabe or peas — into the pasta’s boiling water in the last few minutes, and you’ve effortlessly managed to squeeze a green into this vegetarian dinner.
Smoked Almond Pesto Spaghetti
Smoked almonds lend their signature salty, smoky flavor to this unique weeknight pesto pasta. The sauce is reinforced with smoked paprika for extra depth and brightened with a generous amount of fresh, herbaceous parsley. Peas are added to the pasta during the last couple minutes of cooking; broccoli florets would also work nicely. The versatile sauce can be doubled and stored in the fridge for about 5 days. It’s great on roasted chicken, fried eggs or even potato salad.
Shrimp Piccata Spaghetti
The zesty piccata sauce of fresh lemon juice, briny capers and rich butter is the inspiration behind this weeknight seafood pasta. Plump, meaty shrimp pair perfectly with the pantry-staple sauce, which is simple yet fresh and bright. The chopped shrimp are gently cooked over low heat in a shallot and garlic-infused olive oil to keep them tender. Peas are an easy way to add a vegetable with pops of sweetness. (Thawed frozen corn would also work well.) The dish is finished with fresh parsley, but other herbs like basil, chives or dill would yield equally delicious results.
Spaghetti With Burrata and Garlic-Chile Oil
Burrata — a cousin of mozzarella with a creamy core — is a splurge, but it does all the heavy lifting in this simple dish, adding a rich finish that renders a basic bowl of whole-wheat noodles sophisticated. A spicy-sweet seasoned oil made by sautéing fennel, garlic and red-pepper flakes in good-quality olive oil over low heat is drizzled over the top, complementing the velvety texture of the cheese and the nuttiness of the noodles.
Salmon With Garlic Butter and Tomato Pasta
In less than half an hour of swift multitasking, you’ll be feasting on crisp-skinned salmon and delicate noodles dotted with caramelized tomatoes and fresh basil. Start by broiling salmon, skin side up, alongside little tomatoes. Without flipping or stinking up the house, the salmon skin sears and protects the tender flesh from overcooking while the tomatoes grow heavy with juices and char in spots. Meanwhile, cook angel hair pasta on the stovetop with garlic and butter. When both elements are done, stir the tomatoes into the pasta: They’re like water balloons of sweetness and tang among the glossy, unapologetically garlicky noodles.
Creamy Chive Pasta With Lemon
This recipe is a good way to showcase any fresh chives you may have. In the spirit of buttered noodles with chives — or stir-fried lo mein with Chinese chives — this recipe uses the delicate alliums as an ingredient instead of a garnish. Their gentle onion flavor adds freshness to lemon-cream sauce, which is not unlike a delicate sour cream and onion dip. You can use crème fraîche for more tang, heavy cream for an Alfredo vibe, or ricotta for a hint of sweetness. To use another spring allium like ramps, leeks or a combination, thinly slice and simmer in heavy cream (not crème fraîche or ricotta) to soften before adding the other ingredients.
Eggplant and Zucchini Pasta With Feta and Dill
This simple yet hearty weeknight pasta is packed with two whole pounds of vegetables. Meaty eggplant makes this vegetarian meal satisfying, while zucchini adds texture and a touch of natural sweetness. Since eggplant tends to absorb oil like a sponge, the key here is to sauté it slowly in a nonstick skillet until it softens and caramelizes without adding too much oil. The feta does double duty, adding bright tang to the dish and creating a creamy sauce. Fragrant dill is a natural pairing for eggplant and zucchini, but fresh parsley or basil would also be great.
Spicy and Saucy Cherry Tomato Pasta
In this incredibly easy weeknight pasta, red-pepper flakes, capers and tomato paste turn a simple cherry tomato sauce into something hearty enough for cold weather. Sautéeing tomato paste until it caramelizes develops deep flavor, while pan-fried capers add crunch and red-pepper flakes provide heat. For smokier undertones, you can use dried ancho chile or chile de árbol, chipotle powder or Aleppo pepper in place of the red-pepper flakes. A dollop of ricotta, freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan, or shaved ricotta salata is not necessary, but takes the dish up a notch.
Midnight Pasta With Anchovies, Garlic and Tomato
Tomato paste gives this speedy midnight pasta, studded with anchovy and garlic, its color and umami. If you’re not an anchovy fan, you can substitute a few tablespoons of chopped capers or olives. Be generous when adding the pasta water to the pan. The mixture should look soupy at first, but the sauce will thicken up as you toss.
Five-Ingredient Creamy Miso Pasta
This one-pot pasta comes together in minutes, and requires zero prep and minimal cleanup. It builds on the classic combination of pasta, butter and cheese with a spoonful of miso paste for complexity. But you could experiment with using any other condiments or spices you have on hand, such as red pesto, curry paste or ground turmeric in place of the miso. To achieve a silky smooth pasta, you’ll need to put your cacio e pepe skills to work: Vigorously toss the pasta, grated cheese and pasta water together to achieve a properly emulsified sauce. Top with shrimp, edamame, frozen peas or any steamed vegetable. The optional nori or furikake imparts an unexpected flavor of the sea, and it’s worth using if you have it on hand.
Sausage and Peppers Pasta With Broccoli
The classic Italian combination of sausage and peppers creates a satisfying and easy weeknight meal when combined with pasta. Broccoli is a fantastic nutritious addition that adds texture and cooks up quickly, or you can opt for broccolini or broccoli rabe if you want a more assertive vegetable. Sweet Italian pork sausage is used here, but there's no need to feel tied to the recipe: Substitute with spicy Italian sausage for extra heat, use chicken-apple sausage for a healthier take, or swap in fresh chorizo or breakfast sausage to turn this dinner into brunch.
Blistered Broccoli Pasta With Walnuts, Pecorino and Mint
The trick to creating deeply browned, pan-seared broccoli involves two things: high heat and no touching. Allowing your florets and stems to sear in an even layer, undisturbed, gives them time to blister without cooking all the way through, so they retain some crunch. While many pasta sauces are finished with starchy pasta water, this one isn’t, since the hot water would strip the broccoli of that color and crunch you worked so hard to achieve. Instead, toss the cooked pasta in the skillet with the broccoli, walnuts and cheese. A drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon will provide any additional moisture you need.
Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta
The addition of avocado lends a lovely creamy texture to this pesto. The ripe fruit imparts richness to the sauce, while nutty roasted pepitas add a deep toasty flavor. If you can only find raw pepitas, simply toss them with olive oil and salt, then toast in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until they start to pop and turn golden brown. Shower the dressed pasta with more crunchy pepitas for a nice contrast to the velvety sauce. Leftover pesto can be refrigerated for two days; press the surface with plastic wrap to avoid discoloration (any browned areas on top should be scraped off before using). The pesto also makes a tasty avocado toast, sandwich spread or crudité dip.
Pasta With Green Puttanesca
Puttanesca is a sauce that plies its trade all year round, with ingredients — pantry staples like anchovies, garlic and olives — at the ready whenever the desire strikes. But this puttanesca takes advantage of spring greens, using fat green garlic cloves and baby spinach to lend a pungent verdancy to a tried-and-true dish. (If green garlic isn’t available, use regular, but use less.)
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
Vegan cream cheese is widely available these days; you may even find a few supermarket options using a number of different bases, including almond, cashew and tofu. Pick whichever one suits your needs and tastes, and use it to whip up this fast, unfussy, plant-based version of a classic Alfredo. Because vegan cream cheeses can vary in acidity and saltiness, you’ll want to adjust the lemon juice and salt levels of the sauce to taste before adding it to your cooked pasta.