Stop Overthinking Dinner—These 23 Easy Italian Recipes Are the Answer

Caprese Salad

The only trick here is to use high-quality, in-season ingredients...and not add balsamic. Get the best tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil you can find, put 'em on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, drizzle them with the best olive oil, and stop right there.

Fresh Summer Tomato Bruschetta

These classic, garlic-rubbed toasts are perfect for savoring peak tomato season. Using ripe, perfect tomatoes and a combination of different varieties add lots of color and a better balance of tomato flavor.

Soups and Sauces

Aquacotta Maremmana (One-Pot Tuscan Vegetable Soup)

Aquacotta Maremma is a hearty tomato zuppa Toscana that Tuscans actually cook and eat. Poach eggs right in the thick soup, then serve in bowls with bread for a satisfyingly well-rounded one-pot meal.

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Bean and Pasta Soup)

This minimalist version of the classic starts with dried beans for a creamy finish. Get nice beans that haven't been sitting on a shelf for years and cook them properly, and you'll unlock the beauty of what a bean can really be.

Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato and Bread Soup)

This Tuscan bread-and-tomato soup is one of the best ways to enjoy tomatoes in the winter.

Quick and Easy Italian-American Red Sauce

Simmered with plenty of garlic, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and basil, this Italian-American tomato sauce can be made quickly without missing out on that long-cooked flavor.

Pasta

Spaghetti All'Assassina

This social media–famous crispy Italian pasta is fairly easy to make, but is also very messy. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to recreate it in your own kitchen.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Pasta in Garlic and Oil Sauce)

Most classic pasta sauce recipes begin with gently cooking garlic in oil, but this is the original, and it makes one of the greatest—and easiest—pasta sauces all on its own.

Penne alla Vodka

This vodka sauce is a powerhouse of tomato flavor smoothed over with the silky richness of heavy cream. Use both an entire tube (or can) or tomato paste, plus a small can of whole peeled tomatoes. Combined, they yield a sauce that's nuanced and layered, with richness, depth, and brightness.

Pasta al Limone

Bright and fragrant citrus finds its way into this comforting bowl of spaghetti. Using starchy pasta water instead of cream lets the bright lemon flavor shine through.

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

The Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe is as easy to make as it is delicious. A few simple techniques take it from basic to perfect.

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

This pasta packs an aromatic punch, thanks to garlic, anchovies, capers, and olives.

Penne With Hot-as-You-Dare Arrabbiata Sauce

This simple pasta dish is made with a sauce that's spicy enough to earn its "angry" moniker.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Amatriciana is a pasta sauce made with tomato, guanciale, black pepper and/or red pepper flakes, Pecorino Romano, and white wine—though there's lots of argument about what should and shouldn't go into it.

Stracciatella alla Romana (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

Chicken soup Italian-style, featuring a rich broth filled with a deeply flavorful mixture of beaten eggs and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Italy's version of an egg drop soup.

Pasta alla Gricia

Gricia is a beautiful dish of dry pasta that's cooked and dressed in a sauce made with rendered guanciale, black pepper, pasta cooking water, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

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

Fresh tomatoes, basil, and a few other pantry staples are all you need to whip up a wonderfully fresh Sicilian pasta sauce.

Classic Italian-American Stuffed Shells With Ricotta and Spinach

These pasta shells are plumped with a seasoned ricotta cheese spinach filling and baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo (Shrimp and Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce)

A simple technique and a pantry ingredient imbues this spicy Italian-American classic with rich shellfish flavor.

Chicken and Fish

Chicken Marsala

Quick and easy, this chicken Marsala is packed with flavor, thanks to Marsala wine, sautéed mushrooms, shallots, and garlic.

Fish Piccata

This recipe for fish piccata, featuring pan-fried fillets in a lemony butter sauce with capers and parsley, is wonderfully easy. Cooking the fillets mostly on one side allows for good browning without overcooking the delicate fish, and incorporating a small amount of flour into the butter ensures the sauce is emulsified and creamy.

Sicilian-Style Baked Cod Recipe

Here, baked fish fillets are cooked with some well-seasoned breadcrumbs and some good olive oil, paired with sweet red onion, plenty of fresh mint and basil, a sour note from a shot of vinegar, and a squirt of anchovy paste to add the salty intensity of the sea. Olives bring a final touch of richness to the plate.

Desserts

Affogato

The affogato is Italy's easiest dessert. Hot espresso melts the cold vanilla ice cream, and the ice cream cools the espresso, resulting in a glassful of delicious temperature contrasts.