Pasta & Noodles
1283 recipes found
Fettuccine With Ricotta and a Fistful of Mint
This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen. Set a pot of nicely salted water over high heat to boil. When it does, add the fettuccine, then get the rest of your dinner ready as it cooks to al dente. Chop up a fistful of mint and a small shallot if you have one (half a small onion if you don’t), mixing them into a cup or two of fresh ricotta, then loosening the mixture with a healthy drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add some salt and pepper to taste, perhaps a shake of red pepper. When the pasta’s done, which’ll be about the same time as you’re done with the sauce, drain it in a colander and add it to a big warm bowl, then fold the cheese into it, mixing gently. Serve to adoration. Sam Sifton features a no-recipe recipe every Wednesday in his What to Cook newsletter. Sign up to receive it. You can find more no-recipe recipes here.
Pasta With Chorizo, Chickpeas and Kale
Packed with the intense flavors of garlic, paprika and salt, dried chorizo sets the flavor profile of this pasta. First, the chorizo sears in a skillet to render some of its fat and flavor, then chickpeas, scallions and kale soak up its spices. Salty Manchego cheese maintains the Spanish vibes, but Parmesan or pecorino work equally well. While eight ounces of pasta might not seem like a lot, meaty chickpeas and hearty kale complete the dish.
Spicy Red Pesto Pasta
Today, pesto describes many sauces that don’t necessarily adhere to the traditional formula of cheese, basil, nuts and olive oil. This red version, which is inspired by pesto alla Siciliana, the scarlet cousin of green pesto Genovese, leans on sun-dried tomatoes, nuts and tangy roasted red peppers and uses basil as a garnish only. Though pesto is traditionally pounded by hand, a food processor simplifies the effort. This pasta sauce is versatile: Crown it with lemon zest for brightness, or stir in heavy cream for extra richness. Should you find yourself with extra pesto, drizzle it over steak, slather it on sandwiches or serve it alongside a cheese board or crudités.
Brussels Sprouts Pasta With Bacon and Vinegar
This recipe is endlessly adaptable: You can use pancetta or even sliced salami in place of the bacon, and chopped cabbage or torn escarole work well if you don't have sprouts. No shallots? A small red onion will do. Keep in mind different types of bacon (or other cured pork) will render different amounts of fat. When you add the brussels sprouts, if the skillet starts to look a little dry, add a tablespoon of oil to keep things moving. To achieve a nice mix of crisp leaves and tender cores, tear off some of the loose outer leaves from your brussels sprouts; they will wilt and blister while the more tightly bundled cores will soften and steam. This recipe is designed for a half pound of pasta; though you may be tempted to add extra pasta, the dish will be plenty filling with a whole pound of brussels sprouts.
Café China’s Dan Dan Noodles
Also known as dan dan mian, these noodles have regional variations — you’re likely to find a peanut-laden, vegetarian version in Taiwan — but this recipe comes from Café China, a beloved Sichuan restaurant in New York City. Popularized in Chengdu, this dish takes its name from the Mandarin verb “dan,” which refers to how vendors once carried the ingredients, hanging from bamboo poles balanced on their shoulders. The dish builds on a complex chile sauce that is more rich and robust than fiery. Though the ingredient list is lengthy, the process is clear-cut: Get the water boiling for your noodles while you prepare the sauce. Sauté the pork, seasoned with suimiyacai (preserved mustard greens), boil your noodles, and dinner is served.
Basil Pesto
Though pesto means “pounded” in Italian, the rush of modern life has taken the recipe out of the mortar and into the blender (or food processor) for most of us. This version, adapted from a Ligurian woman, Lidia Caveri, gently encourages (but does not require) a return to the mortar. The constant rap of the pestle will jostle the nuts, basil and garlic into an emulsified base. Add the oil and cheese to get an impossibly thick, creamy sauce that clings to pasta unlike any machine-made counterpart could. Though you might think otherwise, the pesto will come together before the pasta water has a chance to boil. And as a bonus, there'll be no blender to wash up afterward.
Pad See Ew
Built around the satisfying umami of soy sauce, this is an easy Thai recipe to shop for and cook at home. The classic version is made with wide, fresh rice noodles, but Pailin Chongchitnant, a popular Canadian YouTube chef, said that restaurants in Bangkok proudly advertise using spaghetti; in southern Thailand, her family used egg noodles. (In other words, there’s flexibility.) The street-kitchen version of this popular dish — a close relative of Cantonese beef chow fun — will always have more of the seared edges that make the dish extra delicious, but cooking it in a wide, heavy pan that holds onto heat gives great results. If gai lan is not available, Ms. Chongchitnant says that broccolini, a hybrid of gai lan and broccoli, or steamed broccoli are good alternatives. (The crunch of the stems is what you’re after here.).
Pasta Tahdig
Though no Italian would admit it, pasta makes for a great tahdig, the crisp, golden crust that forms at the bottom of every pot of Persian rice. With a shatter, the sweet, crunchy crust yields to a mouthful of perfectly seasoned, perfectly sauced spaghetti. Rotate the pan as it cooks for an evenly brown tahdig, but resist the urge to turn up the heat as the the pasta sizzles. Slice and serve it warm, showered with Parmesan, or alongside meatballs or a bright green salad. Or let it cool to room temperature, wrap it up and take it to a picnic — it will erase every lackluster potluck pasta salad from memory.
Bolognese Sauce
After the death in 2013 of Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food, The Times asked readers which of her recipes had become staples in their kitchens. Many people answered with one word: “Bolognese.” Ms. Hazan had a few recipes for the classic sauce, and they are all outstanding. This one appeared in her book “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” and one reader called it “the gold standard.” Try it and see for yourself.
Linguine With Melted Onions and Cream
This surprisingly elegant pasta dish is also seriously easy. All you need are pantry ingredients and some patience for slowly cooking down the onions until they turn into a fragrant purée. Add a squeeze of tomato paste and a slosh of heavy cream, taste and done. This recipe comes from a book by two excellent home cooks: “The Good Food: A Cookbook of Soups, Pastas and Stews” by Julie Strand and Daniel Halpern, first published in 1985 and reissued in 2018.
Pasta With Tomatoes, Greens and Ricotta
A ragout is the perfect vehicle for sturdy greens, which stand up to gentle simmering and sweeten as they cook. I usually take a simple Mediterranean approach and simmer the greens with olive oil, tomatoes, onions and garlic. The result is a savory ragout that begs to be tossed with pasta.
Blond Puttanesca (Linguine With Tuna, Arugula and Capers)
Garlic, anchovies, capers and tuna come together in this briny, tomato-less take on the classic pasta puttanesca. The sauce is prepared while the pasta cooks, so you can get dinner on the table in no time. If you want to go the extra mile, roughly chopped green pitted olives would be a nice addition, as would topping the dish with toasted panko bread crumbs tossed with lemon zest. Go ahead, drink that glass of falanghina while you’re cooking.
Pasta Marinara With 40 Cloves of Garlic
This vegan sauce may use the same ingredients as a light marinara, but it’s hearty like a meat ragù. The richness is created by both the sheer volume of the garlic — 40 cloves — and the way it’s handled. Smash the cloves to peel them easily (or buy peeled cloves), then braise them in oil so their stiff edges give way to a softer, gentler side and their sweet juices infuse the oil. Braised garlic is lovely with roasted chicken, incorporated into mashed potatoes, blended into salad dressing or in a curry. It also goes naturally with canned tomatoes that have been warmed just long enough to wake up their flavor. Think of this recipe as akin to a braised meat ragù, except the browned, slouchy main ingredient isn’t meat, but, thrillingly, garlic.
Pasta With Tuna, Capers and Scallions
There are about a gazillion ways to cook pasta using other pantry staples — things like garlic, bread crumbs, pecorino, capers, olives and especially, canned fish. This recipe, pasta with tuna, anchovies and capers, showered with lots of green herbs and scallions, is one of my family’s household favorites. I like it with a long, thin, twirlable pasta — spaghetti, linguine or bucatini — but you can use whatever pasta you have on hand. Even macaroni works just fine and might even persuade your finicky kid to eat this dish (though, so far, mine abstains).
Miso-Butter Pasta With Butternut Squash
A true love match, miso and butter create a simple yet deeply flavorful pasta that hits all the right notes: sweet, salty and savory. Smashed garlic cloves roast with the squash to gently flavor it, then become silky-soft treasures you’ll discover while eating. Finishing the dish with lime cuts through the richness of the butter, but you can use lemon, too. Try using other vegetables like eggplant, pumpkin or carrots to make this dish your own. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Pasta With Andouille Sausage, Beans and Greens
Highly seasoned andouille sausage makes this pasta extra-zippy, while white beans and collard greens give it a rustic flair. They are not ingredients typically used in pasta, but this dish may become part of your regular rotation once you try it. This one-dish dinner is perfect for cold, cozy nights when you want something hearty to stick to your bones, but it will satisfy any time. Swirling in lemon juice and olive oil just before serving adds freshness and ties all of the flavors together.
Baked Skillet Pasta With Cheddar and Spiced Onions
In this warming skillet pasta bake, onions — sautéed with cumin, coriander and allspice until golden and aromatic — do double duty. They form the base of the tomato sauce that's used to coat the pasta, and are mixed with grated Cheddar for the topping, where strands of onions mingle with the melted, gooey cheese. It’s satisfying and easy, with the pasta baked in the same skillet as the sauce. Serve it as a meatless main course with a crisp salad alongside, or as a rich side to a lighter chicken or fish dish.
Cheesy Stovetop Mac With Sausage and Kale
Quick, easy and delicious, this one-pan meal is perfect for weeknights when cleaning up is the last thing you want to do. It’s reminiscent of hamburger skillet macs, which gained popularity in the 1970s, thanks to Hamburger Helper, when beef prices were high and families wanted to stretch a pound of meat. This kale-packed version spices up that classic with herby sweet Italian sausage, fresh garlic, red-pepper flakes and hot sauce. Like the original, the starch from the pasta helps thicken the cooking liquid into a quick sauce that becomes creamy once the cheese is added. Serve with a crisp green salad and toasted bread.
Ramen Carbonara
If you have bacon, eggs and a pack of ramen noodles in the pantry, this quick dinner (or breakfast or lunch) comes together in a snap. The strategy: Cook the noodles in a Parmesan-rich broth in the same pan you use to cook the bacon. The clever cook who invented this is the novelist Stacey Ballis, a regular contributor to the breakfast blog Extra Crispy. Since ramen noodles are parcooked, they quickly soften and soak up the broth. (Stirring in eggs thickens it into a sauce.) If you use pancetta and good Parmesan, it tastes surprisingly like the Roman original. But it is always delicious and filling, and even more unctuous if you add a runny fried egg on top.
Shanghai Stir-Fried Chunky Noodles
This Shanghainese noodle recipe, from the British cook and food writer Fuchsia Dunlop, can be made vegetarian by omitting the pork. Do seek out light and dark soy sauces; light soy sauce adds salty-umami flavor and dark soy sauce adds color. Traditional woks are made from carbon steel, and must be routinely seasoned to keep from rusting. To season, heat the wok on high, turn off the flame and use a paper towel to wipe the interior with vegetable oil. Repeat if necessary. A deep frying pan with high sides will work for this recipe if you don't have a wok.
Mac and Queso Fundido
This recipe, adapted from “Chicano Eats: Recipes From My Mexican-American Kitchen” (Harper Design, 2020) by Esteban Castillo, is less dip than it is pasta — a smoky, spicy version of the best boxed macaroni and cheese you’ve ever had. Make a very simple roux, to which you add smoked paprika and three types of grated cheese (mozzarella, Mexican cheese blend and Parmesan). Stir in the noodles until they are glossy and coated. You could stop there or take it over the top by finishing the dish with crumbled, cooked chorizo and sautéed mushrooms.
Pasta With Fried Lemons and Chile Flakes
You probably already have a favorite pantry pasta dish that you habitually whip up when there’s nothing in the house for dinner. Next time, try this one instead. It has all the usual players – olive oil, Parmesan, flaky sea salt — along with fried lemons for brightness and chile flakes for heat. Don’t skip the step of blanching the lemon slices before frying. It may seem fussy, but it eliminates any bitterness in the lemon pith and takes only a few extra minutes. Then dry the lemon slices well before adding them to the hot oil; this helps them brown more deeply.
Harissa and Miso Spaghetti
In this recipe, harissa and miso turn spaghetti into a comforting meal reminiscent of carbonara. Together, these two condiments bring sweetness, a touch of heat and just enough umami to call for a second serving. The bread crumbs are optional but they are totally recommended; they can be prepared in advance and kept for two days in a sealed container.
Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein
This takeout classic is beloved for a reason: It’s mild, satisfying and dependable. The chewy noodles and tender beef make for a weeknight dinner that won’t send you back to the fridge, snooping for a snack before bedtime. What makes this version better than the one from your neighborhood spot? A few things: It’s fresher, hotter and arguably faster. In this version, smaller florets ensure that the beef and broccoli cook quickly, and are easily scooped up with chopsticks. The florets' size also lowers your chances of overcooking them before they're crisp and tender. To finish, add sesame oil, if you have it, but don’t sweat it if you don’t.