Whether you’re Italian or not, chances are you love eating Italian food. The good news is that you don’t have to visit your local trattoria to enjoy an Italian meal. Instead, check out these 17 easy Italian dinner recipes that you can make at home tonight. Mangia!
Easy Pasta Puttanesca
Pasta Puttanesca is a classic Italian quick sauce that may be the fastest pasta dish you’ll ever make. It is ideal for busy nights when you want a hearty Italian meal that doesn’t require a lot of effort.
Get the Recipe: Easy Pasta Puttanesca
Goat Cheese Pizza Sauce
Add a pop of unexpected but delicious flavor to your pizza sauce by blending in goat cheese, yes, goat cheese. You may not think this combo will work but your tastebuds will tell you otherwise.
Get the Recipe: Goat Cheese Pizza Sauce
Easy Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp scampi is a quick and easy meal that will certainly impress your guests. With minimal prep time, it lets you serve up a meal that many will think came from a restaurant.
Get the Recipe: Easy Shrimp Scampi
Easy Cold Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
We love pasta but not hot pasta during hot weather. The simplest way to satisfy that pasta craving was creating a cold pasta salad, which, in the winter, can be served as a side instead of the main course.
Get the Recipe: Easy Cold Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Fettuccine
This Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is such a delicious, quick and easy dinner. It features seasoned chicken that you serve on top of fettuccine noodles. Everything is tossed with a luscious alfredo sauce.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Fettucine
Sourdough Pizza Dough
If you’ve never tried working with sourdough pizza dough, make trying this recipe a priority. Sourdough gives your pizza an extra bite, in a good way, and makes the chewiest, most delicious crust ever.
Get the Recipe: Sourdough Pizza Dough
Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta in One Pot
This sausage and pepper pasta dish is a hearty, one-dish dinner that allows you to get supper on the table in under 30 minutes. Plus, the pasta and sauce hit all the right notes for a comforting Italian meal.
Get the Recipe: Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta in One Pot
30-Minute Creamy Chicken Corn and Pasta
This Creamy Chicken Corn and Pasta recipe is so easy to make and so delicious to eat. Bowtie pasta complements the seasoned chicken chunks. Also, it’s topped with bacon. Bacon makes everything better.
Get the Recipe: 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Corn and Pasta
Easy Meat Sauce
My grandparents would let this sauce recipe gently simmer for hours on Sunday morning. The long, slow cook thickened the texture and enriched the flavors.
Get the Recipe: Easy Meat Sauce
Shrimp Scampi Over Linguine
This classic Italian dish is quick and impressive. It works as an easy meal at home or an impressive dish to serve to guests. You can use leftover shrimp from another meal and simply boil a pot of linguine to serve with it.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Scampi Over Linguine
Grandma’s Marinara Sauce
This is our Italian grandparents’ marinara sauce recipe, which is meat free. We use it when you’re having pizza night or need to put together a lasagna. It is better than any jarred Italian sauce in the store.
Get the Recipe: Grandma’s Marinara Sauce
Vegan Pesto Sauce
Nonna may not be vegan but she taught us how to make a basic basil pesto sauce. With a few substitutions, this becomes a wonderful vegan option for serving over pasta.
Get the Recipe: Vegan Pesto Sauce
Fast No Rise Pizza Dough
This fast, no rise pizza dough does not need any rise time. Simply mix, shape, add sauce, cheese and toppings. Then bake. In no time, you are sitting down to a piping hot slice of homemade pizza. Chef’s kiss.
Get the Recipe: Fast No Rise Pizza Dough
Copycat Trader Joe’s Arancini Rice Balls
Arancini are cheese-filled fried risotto balls. Trader Joe’s used to sell them but no more. So we created this copycat recipe that makes for great appetizers or as a hearty side for a meat or poultry dish.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Trader Joe’s Arancini Rice Balls
Pizza Toppings Bar
A pizza toppings bar is a way to celebrate pizza night and ensure everyone gets the exact pizza they want. It’s also a great way of using up leftover pizza that people might have gotten tired of eating.
Get the Recipe: Pizza Toppings Bar
Best Way to Reheat Lasagna
If you love eating leftover lasagna for lunch or dinner, then you know how challenging it can be to reheat it well. Well, try these tried and true tips for the perfect slice of next-day lasagna for a delish dinner tonight.
Get the Recipe: Best Way to Reheat Lasagna
Basic Risotto
Risotto is a northern Italian staple of rice, garlic, onions and cheese that provides a hearty base for a variety of dishes. You can cook it on the stovetop and eat it on its own or mix in your favorite veggies and protein.
Get the Recipe: Basic Risotto