The 10 Pasta Recipes Our Readers Make on Repeat

Our readers have spoken: These are the pasta dishes you've saved the most.

By Jess Eng
Published September 24, 2025
Spaghetti carbonara getting twirled on a spoon.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Pasta is a favorite for good reason: It's quick, comforting, and endlessly adaptable. Our site features a robust collection of pasta recipes, including creamy penne alla vodka, peppery cacio e pepe, and a variety of pasta salads and one-pot meals. With so many options, it can be hard to know where to begin. That's why we've rounded up our most-saved pasta recipes from MyRecipes, our free tool for saving and organizing recipes. So what are you waiting for? Grab your ingredients, fire up the stove, and find your new favorite pasta recipe.

Love any of these recipes and haven't saved them already? Tap "Save" to add them to MyRecipes, our free tool to save and organize favorites from top food sites.

  • Penne alla Vodka

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    Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

    Silky, tomatoey, and creamy, vodka sauce is the ultimate crowd-pleasing pasta. Use an entire 4 1/2-ounce tube (or can) of tomato paste, plus a small can of whole peeled tomatoes, to add richness, depth, and maximum tomato flavor to the sauce. Don't skip the vodka either: Adding it at just the right time enhances the fruity aroma of the tomatoes and imparts a subtle sharpness, providing a balanced counterpoint to the richness of the sauce.

  • Roman-Style Spaghetti Alla Carrettiera (Tomato, Tuna, and Mushroom Pasta)

    20200224-carretteira-pasta-vicky-wasik-21
    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik.

    A few pantry staples are all you need to make this Roman pasta. Sauté and simmer canned tomatoes, olive oil, dried porcini mushrooms, and olive oil-packed tuna, along with minced garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes, to create a slightly spicy sauce. Then, toss it with al dente spaghetti. You can experiment with traditional toppings—such as olives, capers, and cheese—to add briny pops of flavor.

  • Spaghetti Puttanesca (Spaghetti With Capers, Olives, and Anchovies)

    20210202-spaghetti-puttanesca-melissa-hom-8

    Serious Eats / Melissa Hom

    This dish may have a risqué name ("pasta in the style of prostitutes"), but the potent combination of flavors from a sauce of anchovies, garlic, capers, olives, and tuna undoubtedly works. We recommend cooking the pasta in a relatively small volume of water, which yields a starchy liquid that helps emulsify the sauce later.

  • Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti With Black Pepper and Pecorino Romano)

    Cacio e pepe on a tan ceramic plate alongside two small bowls, one holding shredded cheese and the other holding freshly ground pepper. There is a metal fork with pasta swirled around it on the plate.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

    Cacio e pepe, the Roman pasta sauced with cheese and black pepper, may seem straightforward, but there are pitfalls to look out for when making it: The sauce can easily break, and the cheese may not melt evenly. Our solution is to use finely grated pecorino (or Parmesan, if you prefer) to ensure it melts as smoothly as possible. Adding it to a not-too-hot pan minimizes the risk of clumping, and a few tablespoons of pasta water helps emulsify the sauce.

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  • Sicilian-Style Spaghetti Alla Carrettiera (Fresh Tomato and Garlic Sauce)

    Side view of Sicilian carrettiera

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This easy Sicilian pasta sauce is the best way to showcase ripe plum tomatoes. Grating fresh tomatoes retains their raw, vibrant flavor. Mix them with minced garlic, chopped basil, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, then toss with cooked spaghetti and, as always, some starchy cooking water.

  • Spaghetti Alla Nerano (Zucchini Pasta)

    Side angle view of Spaghetti alla Narano

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This pasta's unique sauce is made from zucchini that's deep-fried, cooled, then mashed into a silky sauce that coats each pasta strand. And in case you're wondering—it is indeed that creamy zucchini spaghetti that Stanley Tucci famously loves.

  • Shrimp Scampi With Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes, and Herbs

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Quick, easy, and delicious, shrimp scampi makes an excellent dinner with or without pasta. Instead of the white wine that's typically called for in scampi recipes, we use vermouth in the silky butter sauce for its pleasant oxidized (in a good way!) aromas and flavors. Stirring and swirling the butter rapidly into the vermouth is the key to a smooth emulsion. A little lemon juice and zest, plus a mixture of parsley, tarragon, and chives, provides a nice finishing touch.

  • 3-Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Having a creamy mac and cheese recipe in your back pocket is a must for lazy days at home. This simple recipe has fewer ingredients than most boxed versions but comes together in the same amount of time.

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  • Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad

    A bowl of orzo pasta salad with chickpeas, garnished with fresh herbs, served with utensils

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Perfectly cooked orzo makes an excellent base for a balanced pasta salad built from pantry staples, such as canned chickpeas and jarred banana peppers, along with a few fresh ingredients. Tossing the orzo with half the vinaigrette while it's still hot prevents clumping and helps it absorb the dressing.

  • Spaghetti With Carbonara Sauce

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik.

    Like many of the best Roman pasta sauces, carbonara’s beauty is in its sheer simplicity. Render some form of cured pork (most traditionally guanciale, but pancetta or even bacon can be used) while spaghetti cooks. As that happens, whisk together whole eggs and yolks, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and black pepper until thoroughly combined. To finish the pasta, mix everything over low heat to thicken the luscious sauce without scrambling the eggs.

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