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15 Go-To Pasta Recipes You'll Make for the Rest of Your Life

15 Go-To Pasta Recipes You'll Make for the Rest of Your Life

By Elisabeth Sherman

Updated October 10, 2018

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Credit: Pernille Pedersen

Discovering a trusty new pasta recipe is like reuniting with an old friend: Whether you're making your own fresh pasta or using the store-bought variety, a good pasta dish is reliable, makes you feel good, and you can turn to it any time you need to feel comforted. Cheesy, creamy, super satisfying pasta is, after all, the ultimate comfort food. Here, we gathered together 15 of our favorite pasta dishes that you’ll find yourself returning to again and again.

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Vegetable-and-Ravioli Lasagna

Credit: Rick Poon

Fresh spinach ravioli are a clever shortcut for making lasagna: Each ravioli is already a mini layer of pasta, cheese and vegetable. This recipe is especially fast to make using pre-roasted or grilled vegetables from the deli counter.

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Cheese Tortellini with Walnut Pesto

Credit: Christina Holmes

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.

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Cheesy Mixed Pasta Casserole with Mushrooms

This recipe is great for people who have lots of half-finished bags of different types of pasta at home. While the different pasta shapes cook at different rates in the water, they all become tender once baked.

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Pecorino Ravioli with Walnuts and Marjoram

Credit: © Quentin Bacon

Swap out fresh pasta for wonton wrappers in this recipe, which will showcase for the nutty brown butter, delicate young pecorino cheese and fresh marjoram better than fresh pasta.

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15 Go-To Pasta Recipes You'll Make for the Rest of Your Life

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Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe

Credit: © John Kernick

There's a reason this one's so popular these days. Made with Pecorino Romano, a tangy aged sheep's-milk cheese originally from Rome, and lots of freshly ground black pepper, cacio e pepe is simple, yet, flavor-packed pasta dish.

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Spinach-and-Ricotta Tortelli with Browned Butter

Credit: © John Kernick

Tortelli is extremely silky and supple, which makes it excellent with the creamy ricotta-and-spinach filling.

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Stovetop Mac and Cheese

This clever, quick and easy mac and cheese recipe eliminates the baking time, as well as the need for a white sauce.

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Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna

Credit: © Quentin Bacon

This rustic and gooey lasagna is packed with cheese and sausage. The style is called free-form because the pasta can be arranged in different ways—for instance, folded over the filling—instead of traditionally layered.

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Pasta Bolognese

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne

A combination of ground beef, pork, veal and tomato is enriched by smoky pancetta in this Bolognese sauce.

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Penne with Smoked Chicken and Mascarpone

Penne might be basic, but it’s the perfect canvas for chicken and creamy, slightly, sweet mascarpone cheese.

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Macaroni Gratin

Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne

This deliciously moist macaroni gratin is a far cry from American macaroni and cheese. Chef Benoît Guichard cooks the pasta in milk, then cools the cooking liquid down with ice cubes, a technique that keeps the macaroni from drying out.

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Calabrian Carbonara

Credit: © Christina Holmes

Chef Andrew Carmellini uses Calabrian 'nduja, the spicy, spreadable sausage, to bring loads of delicious heat and flavor to his silky carbonara.

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Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

Credit: Tina Rupp

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.

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Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus

Credit: Andrew Purcell

Ready to go at a moment's notice, this asparagus-embellished classic is not only creamy, quick, and delicious, but it dirties only one pot.

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Speedy Baked Ziti

Credit: Pernille Pedersen

This is the fastest way to make really good baked ziti. The key is to doctor good-quality jarred tomato sauce with ground meat, onion, garlic and spices. Once the meat is browned, everything comes together quickly and the dish bakes up to gooey cheesy perfection in just 15 minutes.

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By Elisabeth Sherman