Craving comfort food with serious flavor? You’re in the right place.
These 39 irresistible, authentic Italian dinner recipes bring the bold, rustic, and soul-satisfying taste of Italy straight to your kitchen.
Each dish captures the kind of old-world magic that turns an ordinary night into something unforgettable. These recipes are guaranteed to become your go-to favorites—no passport required!
Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soup is your perfect go-to for a comforting, easy-to-make meal that fills your home with warmth and delicious aromas. This easy vegetable soup is a perfect blend of hearty vegetables and tender pasta simmered to perfection in a tomato broth.
Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
Pasta e Fagioli is an Italian-inspired soup made with short pasta and beans.
Made popular by the restaurant chain Olive Garden, enjoy this homemade and hearty vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli soup made with simple veggies, tomatoes, macaroni pasta, and, of course, beans!
Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
Italian Ratatouille Recipe (Ciambotta)
Ratatouille, made with delicious vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini, is a rustic Italian vegetable stew simmered in a flavorful olive oil base with herbs.
Perfect for a vegetarian main course, it can be served with crusty bread for dipping or alongside pasta, polenta, or rice.
Italian Ratatouille Recipe (Ciambotta)
Fettuccine Alfredo
For something so simple, this fettuccine Alfredo really is full of flavor! The perfectly cooked fettuccine is coated in a silky creamy sauce, with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese for added flavor.
Nothing beats a warm bowl or plate full of cheesy and flavorful pasta, and this classic recipe will be on the table in 30 minutes!
Lemon Chicken Orzo
Lemon Chicken Orzo is a quick, flavorful one-skillet weeknight meal featuring tender chunks of chicken and orzo pasta that combine in a rich, lemony cream sauce.
This chicken dish is loaded with a bright, citrusy taste, mixed with garlic, paprika, lemon pepper seasoning, and Italian seasoning, all enjoyed on the tender seasoned chicken.
Chicken Sausage Pizza With Onions and Peppers
Everything you love about an Italian sub is included on this Chicken Sausage Pizza with Onions and Peppers! Cheesy, meaty, and smoky, you’ll love the variety of crave-worthy ingredients and Italian flavors.
It’s a crowd-pleasing choice perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Chicken Sausage Pizza with Onions and Peppers
Burrata Pesto Pizza With Crispy Garlic Chili Oil
Every bite of this Burrata Pesto Pizza is exploding with flavor! Made with homemade pesto, burrata cheese, and a custom chili and garlic oil, this pizza is restaurant-worthy yet surprisingly easy to put together.
Burrata Pesto Pizza with Crispy Garlic Chili Oil
Italian Chicken Skillet
Italian Chicken Skillet is a one-pan wonder bursting with flavor. Tender chicken pieces are browned to perfection and then simmered in a vibrant Italian sauce.
It’s a quick and easy weeknight meal that’s both hearty and satisfying.
Homemade Italian Meatballs Recipe
These Homemade Italian Meatballs are juicy and flavorful. Ground meat seasoned with fragrant Italian herbs and garlic is combined with breadcrumbs to achieve a tender texture.
These meatballs can be simmered in a rich tomato sauce for a classic spaghetti and meatballs dinner, baked for party appetizers, or even served on a bed of creamy polenta.
Homemade Italian Meatballs Recipe
Best Homemade Italian Meatball Recipe
This Italian meatball recipe is a warm embrace from Italy, offering a blend of tender meat, aromatic herbs, and rich cheeses that’ll transport your taste buds straight to an Italian grandma’s kitchen.
Best Homemade Italian Meatball Recipe
Baked Beef Italian Meatballs
These Homemade Baked Italian Meatballs are juicy and flavorful meatballs baked to perfection. These beauties bake up tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, ready to be devoured on their own with marinara for dipping, nestled on a bed of pasta, or tucked into a hero roll for a satisfying sandwich.
Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto
This creamy, flavorful Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto recipe is easy to make and tastes delicious alongside your favorite autumn-inspired main dishes.
Pumpkin Risotto in your pressure cooker requires no stirring! This hands-off recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian, and packed with healthy ingredients, all while maintaining a great taste.
Instant Pot Tomato and Basil Pasta
This Instant Pot Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta is fast, super easy, and a delicious spaghetti sauce made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, and olive oil, then mixed with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
This light and fresh family meal is an Instant Pot one-pot pasta that’s healthy and packed with flavor.
Instant Pot Tomato and Basil Pasta
Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian “hunter-style” dish, featuring tender chicken pieces braised in a rich tomato sauce with onions, herbs, and sometimes other vegetables, such as mushrooms or peppers.
It’s a hearty and flavorful meal that’s perfect for a comforting dinner.
Pasta Bolognese
This pasta bolognese is a savory meat sauce tossed with spaghetti and served with parmesan and fresh basil.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is filled with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers, and spices.
Simple to make and delicious to eat, this homemade pasta sauce recipe is exactly what you need when you want a home-cooked meal.
Italian Meatball Pizza
Italian Meatball Pizza is always a favorite. It’s a loaded pizza that is topped with tender and juicy Italian meatballs, mushrooms, peppers, and cheese.
It’s a quick and easy dinner that will please both you and your kids.
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
This Italian Sausage Pasta recipe is creamy, rich, and loaded with savory flavor! It’s a hearty one-pot meal that’s easy to prepare and great for a weeknight or when you’ve a lot of hungry people to feed.
Cheesy Italian Sausage Ravioli Bake
This Italian Sausage Pasta recipe is creamy, rich, and loaded with savory flavor! It’s a hearty one-pot meal that is easy to prepare and great for a weeknight.
Cheesy Italian Sausage Ravioli Bake
Italian Sausage Pasta With Collard Greens
This Italian Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens is a flavorful and rustic Italian-inspired dish. Spicy Italian sausage is browned and crumbled, then tossed with tender collard greens that have been simmered or sautéed until slightly softened.
Italian Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens
Roasted Italian Sausage and Mini Peppers Sheet Pan Meal
This Roasted Italian Sausage and Mini Peppers Sheet Pan Meal is a delicious, low-carb dinner for those who love Italian Sausage and peppers.
Italian sausage links are roasted alongside colorful mini peppers, creating a satisfying and colorful dish. This sheet pan method makes for easy cleanup and minimal prep, perfect for busy weeknights.
Roasted Italian Sausage and Mini Peppers Sheet Pan Meal
Authentic Italian Basil Pesto – Pesto Genovese
Pesto Genovese, the heart of authentic Italian Basil Pesto, is a vibrant green sauce from Genoa, Italy. This simple, uncooked recipe relies on fresh ingredients, such as fragrant Genovese basil, for its signature taste.
This sauce pairs beautifully with pasta, bruschetta, grilled vegetables, or even adds a flavorful twist to sandwiches.
Authentic Italian Basil Pesto – Pesto Genovese
Italian Eggplant Parmigiana With Vodka Sauce
Italian Eggplant Parmigiana (Parmigiana di melanzane) is a classic Italian recipe and a family favorite. This baked eggplant casserole has a tasty tomato and vodka sauce. It’s a great vegetarian dinner idea, just bursting with delicious flavors.
Italian Eggplant Parmigiana with Vodka Sauce
Spicy Sausage Pasta
This Spicy Sausage Pasta is a delightful and fiery dish that’s perfect for those who love a kick of heat. It typically features spicy Italian sausage browned and crumbled, releasing its flavorful oils.
A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and a pinch of red pepper flakes add extra heat to complete this delicious and satisfying meal.
Italian Sausage Pasta With Broccoli Rabe
This easy-to-make Italian Sausage Pasta with Broccoli Rabe is all comfort food flavor. It’s gluten-free, loaded with protein and veggies, and made with whole grains.
It’s based on rustic Italian pasta dishes where the sauce comes together with a bit of pasta cooking water and parmesan cheese. The mushrooms pair well with the broccoli rabe for a delightful recipe.
Italian Sausage Pasta with Broccoli Rabe
Simple Italian Chicken and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
This Simple Italian Chicken and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner is an easy-to-make family dinner that’s naturally gluten-free and can also be dairy-free.
This recipe is loaded with veggies and full of flavor thanks to the homemade Italian dressing. It takes just a few minutes of prep work, and the oven does the rest.
Simple Italian Chicken and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
Lasagna
Lasagna is the epitome of an Italian dish. This recipe is amazing and will become your go-to.
Vegan Lasagna With Tofu Ricotta
This Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta offers a delicious plant-based twist on the classic Italian dish. Layers of lasagna noodles alternate with a hearty marinara sauce and a creamy tofu ricotta filling.
The tofu ricotta, made by blending tofu with cashews, nutritional yeast, and seasonings, provides a satisfyingly ricotta-like texture and flavor that everyone can enjoy.
Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta
Vegan Stuffed Shells With Tofu Ricotta
These Vegan Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta are a plant-based take on a classic comfort food. Jumbo pasta shells are filled with a creamy and flavorful ricotta alternative made by blending tofu with nutritional yeast and seasonings.
This vegan dish is a satisfying and delicious option for those following a plant-based diet, and it’s sure to please everyone at the table.
Vegan Stuffed Shells with Tofu Ricotta
Pesto Calabrese (Red Pepper Pesto) With Pasta
Get ready to spice up your pesto life with this delicious pesto Calabrese from Calabria.
This sauce has a creamy red pepper base that can be used in many ways. Try enjoying it hot or cold with your pasta, use it as a dip, or spread it on bruschetta.
Pesto Calabrese (Red Pepper Pesto) with Pasta
Pappardelle With Braised Hare Ragu
This Pappardelle with Braised Hare Ragu is one of the most delicious wild game recipes in the Italian kitchen.
The hare meat is marinated in red wine, herbs, and spices and then slow-cooked in wine and stock until tender. Cocoa powder is added at the end, giving the sauce a vibrant, deep, slightly chocolaty flavor.
Pappardelle with Braised Hare Ragu
No Fry Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana DI Melanzane)
This No-Fry Eggplant Parmesan is an authentic healthy Italian recipe, Parmigiana di melanzane. It is the vegetarian version of a Lasagna where thinly sliced eggplants are used instead of pasta sheets.
In this recipe, the eggplants are grilled in a hot skillet pan, then baked with fresh tomato sauce and plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan, with no meat
No Fry Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana Di Melanzane)
Italian Rice Eggplant Timbale Recipe (Timballo Di Melanzane)
This Rice eggplant timbale (Timballo di Melanzane) is a risotto with meat and vegetables cooked in a mold, and can also be made with pasta.
This version is similar to the Sartu in Naples. It is more challenging than Risotto, but you can make it in advance; it is delicious and presents well.
Italian Rice Eggplant Timbale Recipe (Timballo Di Melanzane)
Homemade Focaccia Bread With Mushrooms Topping
This Homemade Focaccia Bread featuring Tawny Milkcap Mushrooms combines a classic focaccia dough with a topping of sautéed Tawny Milkcap (Lactifluus Volemus).
These unique mushrooms, known for their earthy flavor, are caramelized with red onion and fresh herbs. The result is a rustic and flavorful bread.
Simple Italian Tomato Spaghetti
Grab your fork and enjoy this delightful, fun, and flavorful spaghetti, which is perfect with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and fresh basil!
This spaghetti is bursting with delicious flavors, satisfying, simple to make, and fun to eat!
Simple Italian Tomato Spaghetti
Italian Herb Chicken With Wine and Garlic
This chicken dish is surrounded by a sensational sauce of finely chopped fresh herbs, wine, garlic, and olive oil. It’s a fresh and easy dish for a weeknight meal or for company.
Italian Herb Chicken with Wine and Garlic
Italian Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe
This authentic Italian fresh tomato sauce showcases the sweetness of summer’s fresh tomatoes and basil.
True to Italian cooking, this is a simple and easy recipe that uses high-quality, seasonal ingredients.
Italian Fresh Tomato Sauce Recipe
Grandma’s Classic Baked Mostaccioli Recipe
This Classic Baked Mostaccioli is the perfect Italian pasta dish for weeknight dinners, family gatherings, and holiday parties.
The perfect combination of marinara sauce, Italian sausage, spices, and of course cheese.
Grandma’s Classic Baked Mostaccioli Recipe
Tuscan Chicken Pasta in the Instant Pot
This Creamy Tuscan chicken pasta is made easy with the help of an Instant Pot. It is a great, quick meal to make that is loaded with flavor.
This creamy Tuscan chicken pasta tastes as good as it looks. It’s a great dinner to serve on a busy night when you still want something delicious and comforting.
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