Few things in life can turn a long week around like a bowl of something comforting and carby. This roundup gathers eighteen of the most-loved pasta recipes on the internet — from a dozen food blogs we trust — and every single one has earned its spot the hard way. Click through to the original post for the full recipe, step-by-step photos, and reader reviews. Every creator has been credited at the bottom; please show them some love by visiting, saving, and sharing their work.
Bookmark this page. Work your way through the list. And when someone asks you “what should I make for dinner tonight?” — send them here.
What’s Inside
- Spaghetti Carbonara — BBC Good Food
- Cacio e Pepe — Bon Appétit
- Rigatoni alla Vodka — Smitten Kitchen
- Penne all’Arrabbiata — RecipeTin Eats
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta — Salt & Lavender
- Baked Ziti — The Pioneer Woman
- Pasta Primavera — Love and Lemons
- Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta — Salt & Lavender
- Lemon Garlic Linguine — NYT Cooking
- Shrimp Scampi Linguine — Food Network
- One-Pot Beef Stroganoff — Budget Bytes
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Pasta — Together as Family
- Spicy Sausage Pasta Bake — Inside the Rustic Kitchen
- Lemon Caper Linguine — Life’s Ambrosia
- Pasta e Fagioli — Cookie and Kate
- Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta — Half Baked Harvest
- One-Pot Spicy Sausage Pasta — I Am Homesteader
The 18 Recipes
In no particular order — pick whichever one your week needs.
Spaghetti Carbonara
From BBC Good Food
The Roman classic done right. BBC Good Food’s version is the one I keep coming back to because it nails the three things that matter most: crispy guanciale (or pancetta, if that’s what you have), a glossy sauce made from egg yolks and pecorino (never cream — I know, controversial), and a generous crack of black pepper. The technique is simple but the timing has to be right; toss the hot pasta with the egg mixture off the heat so the sauce coats every strand without scrambling.
Cacio e Pepe
From Bon Appétit
Three ingredients. That’s it. Pecorino, black pepper, pasta. And yet cacio e pepe is one of the hardest Roman dishes to get right because the sauce can break into clumps if your technique is off. Bon Appétit’s version walks you through the secret: emulsifying the cheese with starchy pasta water in a separate bowl before tossing, so the sauce stays glossy and clings to every strand. Once you master this, you’ll never look at boxed mac and cheese the same way again.
Rigatoni alla Vodka
From Smitten Kitchen · by Deb Perelman
Deb Perelman’s rigatoni alla vodka is everything the dish should be: rich without being heavy, tomato-forward without being acidic, and pink in that elusive shade that only proper vodka extraction can deliver. The trick she shares is cooking the tomato paste until it darkens by a full shade before adding the vodka — that’s where the depth comes from. Finish with a generous amount of cream and you’ll understand why this became a Smitten Kitchen classic.
Penne all’Arrabbiata
From RecipeTin Eats · by Nagi Maehashi
The “angry pasta” — and Nagi’s version earns the name without going overboard. The heat comes from both Calabrian chili paste and red pepper flakes, layered into a simple garlic-and-tomato sauce that comes together in under 20 minutes. What I love about her approach is the restraint: no cream, no cheese mixed into the sauce, just bright tomato balanced against the slow-building spice. The trick is finishing with a splash of starchy pasta water to bring it all together.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
From Salt & Lavender · by Natasha Bull
Natasha’s creamy mushroom pasta is what I make when I want restaurant-quality comfort on a Tuesday night. The secret is patience: you have to let the mushrooms cook long enough that they release all their water and start to actually brown, which is where the deep, almost meaty flavor comes from. A splash of white wine, a touch of Dijon, and a generous handful of parmesan turn the whole thing into something that tastes like it took hours but really only takes 30 minutes.
Baked Ziti
From The Pioneer Woman · by Ree Drummond
Ree Drummond’s baked ziti is a crowd of 12’s best friend. Italian sausage and ground beef make a deeply savory meat sauce, ricotta keeps the middle layer pillowy, and a final blanket of bubbly mozzarella delivers the cheese pull of your dreams. Make it on Sunday, portion it out for the week, and reheat in the oven — it might actually taste better on day two. Bring this to a potluck and watch it disappear in 20 minutes flat.
Pasta Primavera
From Love and Lemons · by Jeanine Donofrio
When summer is at its peak and the farmers’ market is overflowing, this is the pasta I make. Jeanine’s primavera celebrates whatever vegetables are at their best — yellow squash, zucchini, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, sweet peas — all tossed with penne and a bright, lemony pecorino sauce. The trick is to cut the vegetables so they cook in roughly the same amount of time, and to finish with a generous handful of fresh basil. It’s light, vibrant, and tastes like sunshine on a plate.
Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
From Salt & Lavender · by Natasha Bull
When you want tomato-cream sauce that tastes like an Italian restaurant, this is the one. Natasha uses fresh chopped tomatoes (not canned) for brightness, and finishes the sauce with torn basil at the very end so the flavor stays vivid and green. The cream and parmesan melt into a silky pink sauce that clings to whatever pasta shape you choose. It’s the recipe I bring to new parents and sick friends because it reheats beautifully and feels like a hug.
Lemon Garlic Linguine
From NYT Cooking
When the pantry is bare and you need dinner on the table in 15 minutes, this is what you make. NYT Cooking’s version is built on a few humble ingredients — butter, garlic, lemon, pasta water — and the technique of tossing vigorously to emulsify the sauce in the pan is the entire trick. Squeeze the whole lemon in at the end, taste for salt, and finish with more zest if you want it bright. Restaurant-quality weeknight dinner, no shopping trip required.
Shrimp Scampi Linguine
From Food Network
Date night, Friday evening, or just because — shrimp scampi is one of those dishes that feels fancy but is genuinely simple. Food Network’s version is the classic: shrimp seared in a hot pan with butter, olive oil, and garlic, deglazed with white wine and lemon, then tossed with hot linguine. The trick is to not overcook the shrimp — they go from tender to rubbery in about 60 seconds, so pull them off the heat as soon as they curl into a C shape. Dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
One-Pot Beef Stroganoff
From Budget Bytes · by Beth Moncel
Beth Moncel’s one-pot beef stroganoff is comfort food at its most efficient. Ground beef (instead of cubed steak), egg noodles cooked right in the same pot, and a sour cream-enriched sauce that comes together in about 30 minutes with one pan and one wooden spoon. The Worcestershire and Dijon are what give it that classic stroganoff depth, and finishing with sour cream off the heat keeps the sauce from breaking. Cheap, fast, and exactly what you want on a cold night.
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Pasta
From Together as Family
The 30-minute pasta I make when there’s nothing in the fridge. Together as Family’s version is built on a simple roux of butter and flour, slowly whisked with milk and chicken broth, then loaded with sharp parmesan and a serious amount of garlic. It’s not the lightest pasta in the world, but it is the one my kids ask for every single week. Add grilled chicken or steamed broccoli if you want to stretch it into a full meal.
Spicy Sausage Pasta Bake
From Inside the Rustic Kitchen
This is the kind of pasta bake that makes the whole house smell like an Italian trattoria. Italian sausage, red pepper flakes, and a slow-simmered tomato sauce tossed with rigatoni and baked under a blanket of melted mozzarella. The mascarpone stirred in at the end is the secret — it makes the sauce velvety without the heaviness of cream. Make it on a Sunday, reheat it all week, and pretend you spent hours in the kitchen.
Lemon Caper Linguine
From Life’s Ambrosia
The bright, briny cousin of cacio e pepe — butter and garlic, lemon zest and juice, and a generous handful of capers to give the whole thing a salty, almost-pickled brightness. Life’s Ambrosia’s version comes together in 15 minutes flat and tastes like something you’d order at a seaside restaurant in Italy. Keep the caper brine; a small splash added at the end pulls all the flavors together in a way that will have you going back for seconds.
Pasta e Fagioli
From Cookie and Kate · by Kathryne Taylor
Technically a soup, but pasta-and-bean-eaters don’t care about technicalities. Kathryne Taylor’s pasta e fagioli is the kind of one-pot meal that gets better with every day it sits in the fridge — cannellini beans, tomatoes, mirepoix, and a small pasta shape cooked right in the broth so it thickens everything as it rests. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of good olive oil. Make a double batch; you’ll want it for lunch all week.
Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
From Half Baked Harvest · by Tieghan Gerardi
Tieghan’s spicy Tuscan chicken pasta is the recipe that started a thousand copycats. Cubed chicken gets seasoned and seared, then simmered with sun-dried tomatoes, Calabrian chili paste, garlic, and cream until the sauce turns a deep sunset orange. Baby spinach wilts in at the end for color and a little green, and a final shower of parmesan brings it all together. Make it for company; everyone will think you spent all day in the kitchen.
One-Pot Spicy Sausage Pasta
From I Am Homesteader
Andouille sausage, cream, tomatoes, campanelle pasta, and Monterey jack — all cooked in one pot, all on the table in 30 minutes. I Am Homesteader’s version has a kick from the andouille that builds as you eat, balanced by the richness of the cream and the stretch of the melted cheese. It’s the kind of weeknight dinner that makes everyone ask for seconds and the kind of recipe you’ll come back to when the weather turns cold and the kids are hungry.
That’s a lot of pasta.
Picking a favorite is half the fun. Bookmark this page, work your way through the list, and let me know which one stole your heart. I’m partial to Rigatoni alla Vodka for dinner parties and Lemon Garlic Linguine for the kind of weeknight where I just need something on the table fast — but honestly, I’ve never met a bowl of pasta I didn’t like.
Buon appetito.
—Elowen Thorn
Sources & Credits
Every recipe in this roundup is the work of a talented food blogger. Please visit, save, and share the original posts. Full credit to the creators below.
- “Spaghetti Carbonara” — BBC Good Food
- “Cacio e Pepe” — Bon Appétit
- “Rigatoni alla Vodka” — Smitten Kitchen · Deb Perelman
- “Penne all’Arrabbiata” — RecipeTin Eats · Nagi Maehashi
- “Creamy Mushroom Pasta” — Salt & Lavender · Natasha Bull
- “Baked Ziti” — The Pioneer Woman · Ree Drummond
- “Pasta Primavera” — Love and Lemons · Jeanine Donofrio
- “Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta” — Salt & Lavender · Natasha Bull
- “Lemon Garlic Linguine” — NYT Cooking
- “Shrimp Scampi Linguine” — Food Network
- “One-Pot Beef Stroganoff” — Budget Bytes · Beth Moncel
- “Creamy Garlic Parmesan Pasta” — Together as Family
- “Spicy Sausage Pasta Bake” — Inside the Rustic Kitchen
- “Lemon Caper Linguine” — Life’s Ambrosia
- “Pasta e Fagioli” — Cookie and Kate · Kathryne Taylor
- “Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta” — Half Baked Harvest · Tieghan Gerardi
- “One-Pot Spicy Sausage Pasta” — I Am Homesteader