I've cooked over 1,000 Ina Garten recipes. Here are 10 of my favorites for a pasta dinner. (2024)

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Her lasagna with turkey sausage has creamy goat cheese.

"Barefoot Contessa Family Style," page 100

This beast of a lasagna has four kinds of cheese — ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and goat cheese.

It tastes dreamy, and the goat cheese adds a nice tang. When I make this, I use hot turkey sausage rather than sweet.

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I love her combination of pasta, pesto, and peas.

"Barefoot Contessa Parties!," page 101

Ina's simple pesto recipe has been my go-to for years, and this is one of my favorite ways to use it.

To help keep the pesto from browning, she adds spinach and lemon juice — and what would a pasta salad be without a little mayo for creaminess?

The pesto is tossed with fusilli and bow-tie pasta, Parmesan, peas, and pine nuts for the perfect summer picnic dish.

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Garten's spicy shrimp and linguine fra diavolo is an absolute stunner.

"Modern Comfort Food," page 130

The homemade arrabbiata is infused with 24 cloves of garlic, Chianti, and crushed red-pepper flakes.

The result is a spicy, satisfying sauce that's delicious on its own.

Add shrimp, linguine, and a crunchy sautéed panko and parsley mixture, and you have magic. I'd recommend tripling the panko mixture and putting it on everything.

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Her truffled mac and cheese is incredible.

"Modern Comfort Food," page 139

Of Garten's five mac and cheese recipes, this is my favorite. Truffle butter just makes everything better.

This recipe is deliciously decadent with sautéed shiitake and cremini mushrooms infused with cream sherry. Those get mixed with cavatappi and a mornay sauce made with truffle butter, gruyere, and extra-sharp white cheddar.

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Greek orzo salad is light and refreshing for any picnic.

"Go-To Dinners," page 101

This is an update on her orzo salad from "Parties!" — a dish many have told me is their all-time favorite from Garten.

I prefer this version, which skips the roasted veggies and features chickpeas, red onion, red pepper, capers, dill, Kalamata olives, and arugula.

It's dressed with a lemon vinegarette and, of course, chunks of feta.

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Her lemon linguine with zucchini and basil is a new favorite of mine.

"Go-To Dinners," page 164

Pasta can often feel like such a heavy dish, but this one is light and bright.

It's a new favorite of mine, perfect for those trying to sneak in extra produce — half the pasta is swapped with julienned zucchini.

From there, the dish uses a simple mix of butter, lemon, basil, parm, and toasted pine nuts.

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Baked rigatoni with lamb ragù is the perfect hearty dish for Sunday supper.

"Modern Comfort Food," page 134

This comforting baked pasta dish is a mix of flavorful lamb ragù tossed with rigatoni, eggs, and cream.

It's topped with mozzarella and Parmesan, and baked until warm and bubbly.

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I even make my own ricotta for Garten's shells with broccoli rabe and pancetta.

"Cook Like a Pro," page 128

I'm usually team store-bought is fine, but Garten's recipe for ricotta convinced me that's not the case for this creamy topping.

Her ricotta is astronomically better than the packaged stuff, and for a simple dish like this, that makes all the difference. It perfectly contrasts the salty pancetta, bitter broccoli rabe, and spicy crushed red-pepper flakes.

This recipe proves preparing high-quality ingredients simply is often the best way to go.

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The fresh crab and pea risotto is worth the high cost.

"Modern Comfort Food," page 133

This is a special-occasion meal for me because crab is pricey — but it's so worth the cost.

The risotto is flavored with shallots, fennel, poblano peppers, garlic, thyme, saffron, and red-pepper flakes. Creme fraiche gives it a rich, decadent creaminess.

It's finished with peas, chives, and lemon zest and is my ultimate happy place.

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Capellini with tomatoes and basil is perfect for using perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes.

Food Network

I love this pasta dish, where fresh tomatoes are cooked with basil, garlic, and red-pepper flakes until they soften.

This method is one of the best ways to get the most flavor out of ripe tomatoes.