51 Best Pasta Recipes for All Seasons

Chef Hugh Acheson's Amatriciana sauce strikes the perfect balance of savory (from the pancetta) and spicy.

Pair this simple, flavorful pasta with a crisp Verdicchio.

This Mediterranean dish from Marcie Turney is quick, simple and utterly delicious.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a crowd-pleasing classic Italian-American dish. The mixture of beef, veal and pork makes the meatballs really flavorful.

Here's one of the quickest pesto sauces you'll come across. It's a perfect match for cheese tortellini, but you can use other tortellini such as mushroom or meat instead. The pesto is also great with just about any plain pasta.

A hearty meat sauce, lots of melted cheese and pasta make this dish a crowd-pleaser. Mostaccioli, a smooth, tube-shaped pasta with angled ends, is the go-to here, but penne also works well.

Balsamic vinegar adds a hint of sweetness to this savory sauce. If the slight sweet-and-sour effect isn't to your taste, either omit the vinegar completely or use wine vinegar instead. The effect will be different, but no less delicious.

Chef Chris Cosentino braises beef shank and oxtail in red wine to make a brasato he serves with house-made mint pappardelle.

Food & Wine's Justin Chapple cooks chorizo in oil, then uses that oil to cook shrimp and garlic, infusing this entire dish with excellent smoky flavor.

Justin Chapple makes a bright and nutty mint-and-pistachio pesto as the sauce for this fresh and summery warm pasta dish.

Allowing the pasta dough to rise (just like a bread dough) before rolling and shaping gives the cecamariti in this dish its characteristic texture and flavor. Fine Italian 00 flour can be found at specialty food shops and amazon.com.

For a simple and ultra-creamy baked pasta, take a cue from chef Ashley Christensen of Poole's Diner: Trade the béchamel for this much easier sauce of heavy cream simmered with plenty of nutmeg and two kinds of cheese.

"A glorious amount of crabmeat baked with shell-shaped pasta in a three-cheese cream sauce —tangy white cheddar, nutty Gruyère, and sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano—is no-joke delicious, and trés riche," Andrea Slonecker writes.

Generous portions of this pasta dish perfectly showcase the white truffle's heady aroma. Use this tagliolini recipe, or purchase fresh spaghetti. Now is the time to break out a great bottle of wine to balance the creaminess of the dish with acid.

In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening.

"For a crowd-pleaser at any party, I combine sheet pan–roasted cauliflower with pasta along with some crispy capers for salty crunch; anchovies (just a few) for umami depth; sautéed garlic and red pepper flakes for oomph, and lemon zest for brightness," Colu Henry writes. "This recipe calls for the standard white cauliflower, but if you happen to see the purple or orange 'cheddar' variety, by all means grab them for presentation's sake."

A classic browned butter and sage sauce gets a boost of fall flavor from pumpkin butter. Be generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, as its salty, savory bite adds the perfect hit of umami flavor to this comforting pasta dish.

Chef Andrew Zimmern mimics the sweet, fragrant lemons of Italy's Amalfi Coast with Meyer lemons in this beautifully bright and creamy pasta. The dish originated at L'Antica Trattoria in Sorrento, where lemon juice is tossed with just-cooked pasta until absorbed. Supremes of lemon add a juicy, tart pop that cuts through the cream in the sauce.

To create the classic ridges on each piece of gnocchi, use a paddle or fork to gently indent each side. Those grooves help the rich, buttery sauce cling to each tender bite.

This ricotta gnocchi dough from 2019 Best New Chef Misti Norris is first gently cooked in a water bath, then sliced, and then, right before serving, seared to achieve a crispy-on-the-outside, custardy-on-the-inside texture. Accompanied by roasted eggplant sauce, vinegar-spiked eggplant and peppers, and a creamy, dreamy Parmesan mousse, all of the dish components can be made ahead and assembled at the last minute, making this dish dinner party gold.

For special occasions, Justin Chapple makes beautiful, fresh pappardelle pasta, then tosses it with a quick and rich carbonara sauce laced with briny pops of caviar and lemon zest. When he doesn't feel like making the pasta from scratch, he buys the noodles fresh at his local Italian market.

In a clever play on carbonara, Justin Chapple uses smoked Gouda cheese, adding a deliciously smoky flavor to this silky, hearty and totally delicious pasta.

Native to Italy, nepitella is a leafy herb with notes of mint and basil. If you can't locate it at specialty grocery stores, try a mix of fresh mint and oregano.

Press and seal fresh basil leaves in homemade pasta dough to make three-cheese ravioli that are as beautiful as they are delicious, paired in this recipe with a no-fuss, no-cook fresh tomato sauce that doesn't distract from the delicate pasta.

2005 F&W Best New Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson adds a generous amount of crisp green and wax beans to this light summer pasta for crunch and body, so the dish uses fewer noodles.

A trio of peppercorns gives this pasta a subtle, floral heat. If you like, spice it up, swapping the Szechuan pepper with a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Chef Zoi Antonitsas is passionate about preserved fish. The salty, briny fillets are her favorite powerhouse pantry ingredient. They can make almost anything into a meal—and a delicious one at that. Use high-quality tins, like Matiz España brand, for the best results.

This hearty lasagna gets its heft from mild Italian sausage and cremini mushrooms, plus three different kinds of cheese. Save it for your next chilly night.

The semolina dough for these hand-rolled noodles has a slightly higher ratio of water to flour, resulting in a tacky dough that rolls smoothly. If chilling the dough overnight, let it come to room temperature before rolling. Busiate, named for the reedy stalks of grass that were first used to shape this pasta, are easy to make with a little practice—and a chopstick. At the week-long cooking class he taught at at Rocca delle Tre Contrade in Sicily, Copenhagen chef Christian Puglisi served the Busiate with Pork Ragù.

Late summer in Louisiana is boggy hot, but this refreshing dish from chef Isaac Toups comes to the rescue with sweet-tart segments of juicy tangerine and uses just a teaspoon of Dijon to create a creamy, balanced sauce. Thai chile brings a touch of heat, while a flurry of mint, basil, and parsley highlight the natural sweetness of fresh crab.

A splash of red wine vinegar balances the richness of this cheesy pasta and magnifies the pink color of the onions and radicchio. Omit the prosciutto to make this a vegetarian main dish.

This meatless ragù gets rich flavor from dried morel mushrooms in this first-course pasta that's hearty without being filling. Save time by chopping the vegetables in a food processor, but take care to not puree them.

A quick sauté renders baby kale leaves perfectly tender, allowing them to almost melt into the buttermilk-enriched béchamel in chef and cookbook author Alexander Smalls' version of mac and cheese. For a smooth sauce, make sure all of the dairy is at room temperature.

A judicious amount of heavy cream enriches this simple tomato sauce, producing a lush texture that clings to the pasta without blanketing richness. Crushing the canned tomatoes by hand creates a mixture of tomato pulp, pieces, and puree. This recipe is inspired by sommelier Derrick C. Westbrook of 1340 Beer Wine Spirits in Chicago, who named it his ideal dish for pairing with wine. "My first restaurant job was at an Italian restaurant; I'd ask the pasta cook to mix red sauce with a splash of cream, a riff on vodka sauce," he says. "I still love creamy tomato sauce on short pasta, paired with juicy, fresh red wines like Zweigelt or unoaked Cabernet Franc that offer just a touch of funk and medium acidity."

Sweet spring peas and garlicky sauce flood the tubular garganelli pasta in this recipe, making each bite a surprise. Substitute penne if you can't find garganelli, and don't skip the lemon and mint at the end, which bring balance to the dish.

As a stuffing for her supple ravioli, Missy Robbins, chef at Lilia in Brooklyn, mixes spinach and prosciutto with two cheeses. Her ravioli can be made a month ahead of time. Freeze them in a single layer, and when they are solid, they can be combined in a large resealable plastic bag.

This creamy, savory pasta dish comes together in just one pot, no need to boil the pasta separately. A combination of savory sautéed mushrooms and gently sweet leeks combine with cream, lemon juice, and white wine to create the rich sauce. Feel free to switch up the flavor by adding tarragon instead of dill.

Added just minutes before serving, thinly sliced squash melts into the pasta without losing its shape and texture. Use a mandoline to achieve wafer-thin slices.

Cannellini beans add hearty creaminess to these stuffed shells, while mild heat from Calabrian chiles and earthy sweetness from fennel seeds amp up jarred marinara sauce. Cook a few extra pasta shells to have on hand in case some tear during boiling.

Inspired by älplermagronen, Alpine farmers' macaroni, this Swiss take on a Thanksgiving classic gets rich flavor from Gruyère and a lush creaminess from Raclette. Traditional versions of this dish are served with applesauce; as a nod to that flavor play, we've added some shallots that are quickly pickled in apple cider vinegar to balance the cheesy richness.

In traditional Ethiopian niter kebbeh (spiced clarified butter), whole spices, like nigella, coriander, and cardamom, are bloomed in clarified butter, or ghee, and then strained; here, chef Yohanis Gebreyesus leaves the toasted spices in to add texture to this simple but luxurious sauce for pasta made with earthy, fragrant teff . Don't skip on resting the dough—it prevents the pasta from cracking apart when rolling and boiling.

Quickly blanched greens and sizzling scallions and garlic meet in a surprisingly creamy vegan sauce for pasta, with a touch of white miso for added depth. Feel free to top with your favorite grated plant-based cheese, or just enjoy it all on its own.

In this classic recipe, chef Johanne Killeen employs starchy pasta water to thicken her fresh pesto into a sauce that clings to and flavors each strand of linguine, instead of pooling in the bowl. Thinly sliced green beans intertwine with the pasta, offering a refreshing crunch.

Black truffle paste, available year-round, melts beautifully into the buttery sauce for this dish, but when they're in season (November through February), chef Karen Akunowicz recommends splurging for fresh black truffles, and using a rasp grater to get as much truffle goodness as possible into each perfect bite.

Fresh corn melts into a creamy sauce that clings to every cranny of this pasta from Victor King of The Essential in Birmingham, Alabama. Any short noodle, like gemelli or casarecce, will work here. Using a vegetable peeler to shave the corn kernels is key to this summery dish. The peeler cuts juicy pieces of fresh corn while leaving rich and creamy corn milk behind to add body and flavor to the sauce.

Commonly sold as squid ink, cuttlefish ink lends its signature deep black hue to this dish and coats every strand of spaghetti with its briny, mineral-rich taste. A simple mussel puree provides a mild, delicate seafood flavor and creamy richness. The recipe was one prepared by Copenhagen chef Christian F. Puglisi at a week-long culinary retreat at Rocca delle Tre Contrade in Sicily.

Chef Douglass Williams' method for carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic-oil-pasta cooking liquid emulsion. It makes for a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress.

Cherry tomatoes are roasted on a sheet pan and then cooked down with garlic, a pinch of sugar, and olive oil until the liquid has thickened for this quick, fresh tomato sauce. Use Sun Gold tomatoes for a stunning orange sauce and if they're not available, use any small, sweet cherry tomatoes you can find.

Mildly sweet and super creamy, caramelized plantains and nutty Parmesan form a silky sauce that drapes over spaghetti in this recipe by game-changing chef Eric Rivera. Choose very ripe plantains, with a mostly or completely black peel. Cilantro stems add a pop of crunch and freshness along with their tender leaves. Chop them finely for the garnish.