Quick, Easy, and Delicious Pasta Recipes Ideal for Weeknight Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to pasta for dinner? ›

Pasta dish ideas including Lemon, Basil and Mascarpone, Quick Chicken Alfredo, White Wine, Mushroom and Cream, White Bean Sauce, Bacon and Scallions, Tuna and Capers, Lemon Artichoke Pesto, Smoked Salmon And Capers, and Caprese.

Fresh or dried herbs will also add flavor to pasta dishes.

"I use a lot of parsley, either fresh or even dried," Montillo said. "Oregano, garlic powder, onion flakes, black pepper all work well in a variety of sauces."

Serving up pasta for dinner is actually a golden opportunity to get some extra vegetables on the table. And as for the very best pasta side dishes, know that the options are vast. Since pasta is so versatile, what you can serve with it is equally so.

Gricia, Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, and Amatriciana are all simple pastas that share the same big flavors of Pecorino-Romano, black pepper, and—in three of the dishes—cured pork. Published Oct. 18, 2018.

Simply melt butter and sprinkle in some garlic powder. Toss your spaghetti or favorite type of pasta in this delightful mixture to create a filling and appetizing meal. This is a great way to enjoy pasta on hot days, when a heavy pasta sauce is just too filling.

Garnish your pasta with a grating of lemon zest, some crunchy breadcrumbs or even a crumble of crispy bacon to add texture and taste. Herb it up. Experiment with lots of fresh herbs in your pasta dishes.

Carbonara. The Carbonara we know today is made by tossing spaghetti with guanciale (cured pork jowl), egg yolks, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Despite its simplicity, this dish remains one of Rome and the world's favourites.

What do Italians eat alongside pasta? ›

In Italy, pasta is a first course like risotto, soup, paella… It's not typically served alongside a side dish. Although there are some dishes of pasta that are dressed with vegetables ( such as aubergines, zucchini, broccoli…); this occurs more often in the South.

You can complement any pasta with a side of chicken breast, skirt steak, shrimp, or grilled salmon to create the ideal meal. Pair your pasta with a smooth glass of wine and a few empanadas, and you have the makings of the perfect Argentinian meal!

Pasta is often served as a primo (first course), with a meat, seafood or vegetable course called a secondo coming after that. To do as the Italians do, try serving a smaller portion of pasta as a primo for an Italian-inspired dinner party, or as precursor to a meat, fish or vegetable main.

Olive oil or butter and herbs. Adding a fat to the pasta makes it taste better if you're poor and need something. I also add oregano and/or basil. Butter, eggs, and cheese.

If you don't have any pasta sauce, then add a handful of grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese or some chopped olives, capers or chunks of cooked sausage. If I have added too much pasta sauce or there is too great an egg to pasta ratio, then often I just add dried breadcrumbs to the mix.

Melt butter with garlic very slowly to avoid burning the garlic. Season with parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and toss until well coated with butter. Increase the heat to medium and cook until pasta is heated through and has absorbed some of the butter.