Easy Italian Pasta Recipes: 3 Classics You Can Make Tonight

Let's be honest. When you search for "easy Italian pasta recipes," you're not looking for a culinary project. You're tired. You're hungry. Maybe you've got kids asking what's for dinner in ten minutes. You want something that tastes like it came from a trattoria in Rome, but feels as simple as boiling water. I get it. I've cooked pasta in cramped apartments, in kitchens with one pot, and for crowds that needed food now.

After years of cooking, eating, and even messing up plenty of pasta dishes, I've learned one thing: authentic Italian cooking at home is about subtraction, not addition. It's about a few good ingredients treated with respect. Forget the cream-laden, over-sauced imitations. The real magic happens with just olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and cheese.

Below, I'm sharing three classic recipes that are my weeknight heroes. They have fewer than 10 ingredients each (most you already own), take under 30 minutes, and follow one golden rule: the pasta water is your secret weapon. We'll get to that.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Garlic & Oil)

This is the ultimate pantry pasta. It's the dish every Italian nonna makes when there's "nothing to eat." Its simplicity is its strength, but that also means there's no place to hide. Get it right, and it's sublime. Get it wrong, and it's just oily pasta with burnt garlic.

Penne all'Arrabbiata (Angry Penne)

"Arrabbiata" means angry, referring to the heat from the chili. This Roman classic is a tomato sauce with attitude. It's vibrant, fast, and incredibly satisfying. The key is letting the tomato sauce reduce and concentrate in its own time.

Cacio e Pepe (Cheese & Pepper)

This Roman dish has a reputation for being tricky. The cheese can clump into a sticky mess. I've been there. The problem is usually heat. This recipe uses a "slurry" method that I find foolproof for home cooks. It bypasses the traditional, more temperamental technique.

The One Pasta Mistake Everyone Makes (And How to Fix It)

It's not about the brand of pasta. It's about the water.

I see people add a pinch of salt to a giant pot. Or worse, add oil to the water to "prevent sticking." Please, never do that. Oil coats the pasta and prevents the sauce from clinging to it later.

Your pasta water should be salty like the Mediterranean Sea. A good rule is 10g of salt per liter of water. This seasons the pasta from the inside out. It's the difference between bland noodles and flavorful pasta.

And that reserved pasta water? It's liquid gold. The starch released from the pasta thickens and binds your sauce, making it silky and helping it stick. It's the magic glue for aglio e olio, arrabbiata, and cacio e pepe. Always, always save a cup before you drain.

Your Pasta Questions, Answered

Can I use dried herbs instead of fresh in pasta recipes like Aglio e Olio?

For parsley in Aglio e Olio, fresh is non-negotiable. Dried parsley tastes like hay and adds nothing but green specks. However, for the dried chili or oregano in a tomato sauce, dried is actually preferred—their flavors concentrate during drying and stand up to cooking better than fresh would. It's a case-by-case basis, but when a recipe calls for a fresh leafy herb as a finish, don't substitute.

My tomato sauce always tastes acidic. What am I doing wrong?

Two common culprits. First, you might be cooking it too quickly over too high heat. A fast boil makes tomatoes taste sharp. Let them simmer gently. Second, you're probably not cooking it long enough. A quick 5-minute sauce will be brighter and more acidic. Letting it simmer for 15-20 minutes allows the water to evaporate and the sugars to concentrate, mellowing the acidity naturally. A tiny pinch of sugar is a last resort, but try time and low heat first.

How do I know when pasta is truly "al dente"?

"Al dente" means "to the tooth." Don't just trust the package time. Start tasting a minute or two before the suggested time. Perfect al dente pasta has a firm bite at its core—a slight resistance when you chew it. It should not be crunchy, but it should definitely not be soft and mushy all the way through. It continues to cook a bit in the hot sauce, so err on the side of slightly firmer when you drain it.

What's the best type of olive oil to use for cooking pasta sauces?

Have two bottles. Use a moderately priced, good-quality extra virgin olive oil for the actual cooking (like gently frying garlic). Its flavor is stable enough for low-to-medium heat. Then, keep a more expensive, fruity, fresh extra virgin olive oil for finishing—drizzling over the plated pasta just before serving. The heat of cooking dulls delicate flavors, so save the best stuff for where you'll actually taste it. The International Olive Council has great resources on olive oil grades and uses.

I'm vegetarian. Are these recipes suitable?

Absolutely. All three recipes are naturally vegetarian. Just pay attention to the cheese. Traditional Pecorino Romano in Cacio e Pepe is made with animal rennet. If you follow a strict vegetarian diet, look for a vegetarian Pecorino or a hard, aged vegetarian cheese as a substitute. For the others, you can use a vegetarian Parmesan alternative or simply omit the cheese—the Aglio e Olio and Arrabbiata are still fantastic without it.

So there you have it. Three paths to a fantastic, easy Italian dinner. Start with the Aglio e Olio. Master the garlic and oil. Then get angry with the Arrabbiata. Finally, conquer the cheese with Cacio e Pepe. Remember the salty water, save that starchy liquid, and treat your ingredients simply. That's the real secret. Now go boil some water.