Whether you want to make pasta from scratch or create a traditional Italian dish with pre-made pasta, you can’t go wrong with these authentic pasta recipes.
In Italy, pasta is so much more than just a meal. The beauty of traditional Italian pasta recipes lies in their simplicity, relying on high-quality ingredients and time-tested techniques to create comforting, wholesome dishes.
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to roll out fresh egg pasta from scratch, you’ll find foolproof recipes below to perfect your technique, ranging from a basic two-ingredient dough to the less conventional chocolate pappardelle.
For those who prefer to leave the pasta-making to the professionals, you’ll also find plenty of easy Italian pasta recipes that utilise pre-made pasta to create quick, restaurant-quality meals that taste authentic.
Ready to cook like a true Italian nonna? Find your family’s new favourite dinner below.
Recipes to make Italian pasta from scratch
1. Basic Egg Pasta
Knowing how to make pasta is an essential skill in Italian kitchens, and this recipe is an ideal starting point for anyone looking to make authentic pasta dishes.
The ingredients are simple; just flour and free range eggs. But combining them to achieve the perfect texture is where the real skill comes in. In this recipe, resident chef Mario Matassa gives an in-depth view on how to make tender, velvety pasta with the right amount of bite.
2. Strozzapreti
With roots in ancient Italian cucina povera, this recipe is made with a semolina and flour blend for a chewy pasta that’s ideal for rustic, chunky sauces. Try it with ragù, a simple tomato sauce, or with seafood like anchovies, capers, or swordfish.
Its elongated shape is easy to create with a dough cutter, and, as a tubular pasta, it holds onto sauces really well.
3. Tomato Spaghetti
A spoon of tomato purée adds a rich, golden colour to pasta while deepening the flavours of your finished dish. Try this recipe as a base for your favourite pasta meals and see the difference it makes!
In this recipe, the pasta is shaped into spaghetti to accompany a fresh tomato and mozzarella sauce, but it would work equally well for lasagne sheets and other pasta shapes.
4. Spinach Pasta
Fresh spinach is used to give this pasta verde its intense green colour. It makes a delicious pasta that’s not significantly different to classic egg pasta, but with a small health boost from added vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
In this recipe, we show you how to use the spinach pasta to make a vibrant vegetable lasagne.
5. Cuttlefish Ink Tagliatelle
For a dramatic homemade pasta, try adding a little cuttlefish ink. This black tagliatelle recipe is ideal for seafood pasta dishes, making a striking starter or main course.
Use your favourite sauce, or try the spicy squid sauce included in this recipe.
6. Chocolate Pappardelle
It sounds like dessert, but this chocolate pasta actually tastes great with rich, meaty sauces like the wild boar ragù recommended in the recipe.
To make the pasta, a small amount of bitter cocoa powder is added, enriching the dough with a nutty, earthy flavour that pairs well with hearty, savoury ingredients.
7. Tortelli Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta
Spinach and ricotta are a classic combination for stuffed pasta dishes, and it’s an ideal recipe to try, whether you’re a first time pasta-stuffer or looking to perfect your technique.
With a creamy, rustic filling in fresh egg pasta, give this recipe a try and see just how easy homemade stuffed pasta can be.
Authentic Italian pasta dishes
8. Spaghetti Carbonara
With this recipe, learn to make Italian carbonara the authentic way, leaving the cream in the fridge. Fresh eggs and pecorino cheese provide all the creaminess this recipe needs. With crispy guanciale or pancetta, this classic dish is a delicious dinner for all occasions.
9. Bolognese Ragù
This traditional ragù is simmered for 2 hours for a rich, deep flavour and tender meat. It uses chopped pancetta and a dry Italian white wine for a beautiful depth of flavour that tastes like it came straight from Italy.
10. Cacio e Pepe
Tender spaghetti is served with simplicity in this classic Italian pasta dish. With lashings of pecorino cheese and a twist of freshly-cracked black pepper, it’s a quintessentially Italian cucina povera dish, ideal for quick, comforting dinners.
11. Pasta al Pomodoro
This tomato pasta dish might look simple, but there are endless variations possible, and everyone thinks their method is correct. Made with tinned plum tomatoes, a sprinkling of oregano, and finished with parmesan, we can’t confirm if this Matassa family recipe truly makes Italy’s best pasta al pomodoro, but resident chef Mario Matassa would tell you it does.
12. Neapolitan Pasta
This rich, velvety pasta dish puts fresh eggs in the spotlight, making a vegetarian alternative to carbonara that’s so tasty, you won’t miss the meat. Just like its guanciale-laced counterpart, this ‘pasta cacio e uova‘ doesn’t use any cream to achieve its luxuriously creamy texture.
13. Ligurian Trofie
Filled with leeks, tomatoes, and aromatic basil, this chunky pasta sauce is perfect for long, thin pasta like trofie or Liguria’s traditional trenette. A naturally meat free option, simply substitute the parmesan topping for a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a fully plant-based Italian meal.
14. Pasta Primavera
Use a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine for this light, fresh, springtime pasta dish. This recipe uses asparagus, peas, and baby leaf spinach, but any in-season spring vegetable will work well. Try artichokes, courgettes, green beans, spring onions, and more for a vibrant, veg-packed pasta, topped with egg for satiety.
15. Bucatini all’Amatriciana
This pasta sauce is a classic from Amatrice in Lazio. Puritans argue that it should be made with guanciale, but pancetta is an acceptable substitute. Kept simple with plum tomatoes and a little heat from fresh or dried chilli, this easy Italian pasta dish tastes delicious served with a grating of pecorino.
16. Tagliatelle con Ricotta e Noci
When the days start to grow colder, a comforting bowl of pasta with creamy ricotta and crushed walnuts is just what you need to warm your heart and fill your stomach. This tasty early-winter treat is popular in restaurants across Italy, and after just one bite, you’ll understand why.
17. Creamy Courgette and Ricotta Pasta
This pasta is brimming with Italian charm, combining courgette and parmesan to make a creamy, vegetable-based pasta sauce that’s blended until smooth and free of lumps. Stirred through with plenty of ricotta after cooking, this is a cheesy, creamy dish that makes a satisfying dinner.
18. Tagliatelle with Fresh Porcini and Chanterelles
Mushroom fans will love this hearty, flavourful tagliatelle recipe. It’s filled with a savoury mix of fresh porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, but you can pick and mix what’s available to you to create your ideal mushroom pasta dish. Whether they’re freshly picked or dried doesn’t matter; the key to making it great is to use a variety of different mushrooms for extra richness.
19. Pasta Salsiccia e Peperoni
Italian sausage and colourful peppers unite in this dish to make a filling, tasty meal. With aromatic garlic and oregano, along with a splash of good white wine, this pasta sauce is simply delicious. It’s best served with a generous sprinkle of parmesan, naturally.
20. Linguine with Smoked Salmon
This luxurious pasta dish is a great way to use up leftover smoked salmon, and it’s so delicious you’ll immediately want to go and buy more. The creamy sauce is infused with lemon, garlic, and herbs, making this meal a seafood-lover’s dream.
Discover more delicious ideas with these Italian dessert recipes
All recipes are by Mario Matassa, and first appeared in Italia! magazine.