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Italian Night

Pastas, sauces, and classics

24 recipes

From bubbling lasagna and crispy chicken parmesan to homemade focaccia and tiramisu, this is a full Italian feast worth lingering over.

Appetizers

Classic Bruschetta

Classic Bruschetta

A timeless Italian appetizer featuring golden, garlic-rubbed toasted bread topped with a vibrant mixture of fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and a hint of balsamic. Simple, stunning, and endlessly crowd-pleasing — this is the bruschetta you'll make on repeat all summer long.

Classic Antipasto Platter

Classic Antipasto Platter

A stunning Italian-style antipasto platter loaded with cured meats, marinated vegetables, olives, cheeses, and crusty bread — the ultimate crowd-pleasing appetizer. This no-cook spread comes together in minutes and is endlessly customizable. Perfect for entertaining, holiday gatherings, or a relaxed evening with wine. The key is balance: salty, briny, creamy, and savory elements arranged beautifully for guests to graze.

Soups

Classic Minestrone Soup

Classic Minestrone Soup

A hearty, vegetable-packed Italian soup that's been a staple of home kitchens for generations. This minestrone is thick, deeply flavored, and endlessly adaptable — loaded with tender vegetables, creamy cannellini beans, and pasta in a rich tomato broth. It tastes even better the next day, making it a perfect make-ahead meal for busy families.

Salads

Balsamic Butternut, Kale and Cranberry Panzanella

Balsamic Butternut, Kale and Cranberry Panzanella

This vibrant Balsamic Butternut, Kale and Cranberry Panzanella is a hearty, vegetarian salad that combines roasted butternut squash and crispy seed-studded croutons with fresh kale and tart cranberries, all tossed in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. It's a satisfying, colorful dish that's perfect for meal prep or entertaining, offering a wonderful balance of sweet, savory, and acidic flavors with delightful textural contrasts.

Classic Caprese Salad

Classic Caprese Salad

A timeless Italian summer salad of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil, finished with good olive oil and a pinch of flaky salt. No cooking required — just great ingredients arranged beautifully. The secret is simplicity: use the best tomatoes and mozzarella you can find, and the dish practically makes itself.

Dinner

Spinach Lasagna

Spinach Lasagna

This classic Italian Spinach Lasagna is a hearty, vegetarian-friendly dish featuring layers of tender pasta, creamy ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and sautéed spinach bound together with rich marinara sauce. It's a comforting, crowd-pleasing meal that's perfect for family dinners or meal prep, combining fresh ingredients with satisfying, cheesy layers.

World's Best Lasagna

World's Best Lasagna

This lasagna recipe from John Chandler is our most popular recipe! With sausage, ground beef, basil, and 3 types of cheese, it lives up to its name!

Mains

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

A classic Roman pasta dish that's rich, silky, and deeply satisfying — made the traditional way with eggs, Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, guanciale (or pancetta), and plenty of black pepper. No cream needed. The secret is a smooth egg-and-cheese sauce that coats every strand of spaghetti without scrambling. This home-cook-friendly version walks you through every step to nail that perfect, creamy texture every time.

Classic Homemade Lasagna

Classic Homemade Lasagna

A timeless, hearty lasagna layered with rich meat sauce, creamy béchamel, velvety ricotta, and melted mozzarella. This is the kind of recipe that fills the whole house with an irresistible aroma and feeds a crowd with ease. Reliable, comforting, and even better the next day.

Classic Chicken Parmesan

Classic Chicken Parmesan

A timeless Italian-American comfort dish featuring golden, crispy breaded chicken cutlets smothered in rich marinara sauce and melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. This reliable, home-tested version delivers restaurant-quality results with straightforward techniques — perfect for a weeknight dinner or a crowd-pleasing family meal.

Margherita Pizza

Margherita Pizza

A timeless Neapolitan classic made approachable for the home kitchen. This Margherita pizza features a chewy, blistered crust, a bright and simple San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil — all baked at the highest heat your oven can muster. No fancy equipment required, just a hot oven, good ingredients, and a little patience with the dough.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo

A classic, restaurant-worthy Fettuccine Alfredo made the traditional way — just pasta, butter, Parmesan, and pasta water. No cream needed. The magic is in the technique: emulsifying the starchy pasta water with butter and freshly grated cheese to create a silky, glossy sauce that clings to every strand of fettuccine. Simple ingredients, stunning results.

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

A classic Italian-American comfort dish featuring tender slices of eggplant, breaded and pan-fried until golden, then layered with rich marinara sauce and plenty of melted mozzarella and Parmesan. This well-tested home recipe strikes the perfect balance — crispy outside, silky inside, saucy, cheesy, and deeply satisfying. Salting the eggplant first is the key step that ensures every bite is perfectly seasoned and never bitter or soggy.

Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom Risotto

A classic, creamy Italian mushroom risotto made the traditional way — slowly adding warm broth, ladle by ladle, while stirring to coax out the starch and build that signature silky texture. Earthy mushrooms, white wine, Parmesan, and a finishing knob of butter make this a deeply satisfying dish that's well within reach for any home cook.

Sides

Classic Garlic Bread

Classic Garlic Bread

Golden, buttery, and packed with garlicky flavor — this classic garlic bread is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. A rich herb butter is slathered onto a crusty Italian loaf, then baked until crispy on the edges and perfectly soft in the middle. Simple, reliable, and absolutely irresistible alongside pasta, soups, or salads.

Breads

Classic Homemade Focaccia

Classic Homemade Focaccia

A bakery-worthy focaccia with a golden, crispy bottom, pillowy-soft interior, and the signature dimpled top glistening with olive oil and flaky sea salt. This approachable, no-knead recipe uses a long, relaxed rise to develop deep flavor — the result is a thick, airy flatbread that's perfect for tearing and sharing, dunking in soup, or piling with toppings.

Desserts

Classic Tiramisu

Classic Tiramisu

A timeless Italian dessert that's creamy, coffee-soaked, and utterly irresistible. This classic recipe uses a rich mascarpone cream layered with espresso-dipped ladyfingers and dusted with cocoa powder. No baking required — just a little patience while it chills. Perfectly balanced between indulgent and elegant, this is the version you'll make again and again.

Classic Homemade Cannoli

Classic Homemade Cannoli

Crispy, golden fried shells filled with a lusciously sweet and creamy ricotta filling — this is the classic Sicilian cannoli, made the traditional way at home. The shells shatter with every bite, and the filling is rich, smooth, and studded with mini chocolate chips. With a few simple techniques and a little patience, you'll produce bakery-worthy cannoli that will impress everyone at the table.

Classic Panna Cotta

Classic Panna Cotta

Silky, creamy, and elegantly simple — panna cotta is the Italian dessert that looks impressive but comes together in minutes. Made with just a handful of pantry staples, this classic vanilla version sets to a perfectly wobbly, melt-in-your-mouth custard that unmolds beautifully onto a plate. Serve it with fresh berries, a berry coulis, or a drizzle of honey for a restaurant-worthy finish at home.

Snacks

Basil Pesto Party Almonds

Basil Pesto Party Almonds

These roasted, pesto-covered almonds make an irresistible snack or party appetizer. Recipe yields 2 cups pesto almonds.

Drinks

Aperol Spritz

Aperol Spritz

The quintessential Italian aperitivo — bright, bittersweet, and endlessly refreshing. This classic Aperol Spritz follows the beloved 3-2-1 ratio (Prosecco, Aperol, soda water) for a perfectly balanced drink that's as easy to make for one as it is for a crowd. Light, fizzy, and gorgeous in the glass, it's the go-to warm-weather cocktail for a reason.

Italian Cream Soda

Italian Cream Soda

A refreshing, café-style Italian cream soda made with sparkling water, flavored syrup, and a luscious float of heavy cream — endlessly customizable and ready in minutes. Light, bubbly, and just sweet enough, this classic soda fountain treat is perfect for summer entertaining, afternoon treats, or a fun mocktail alternative at any gathering.

Condiments

Basil Pesto Salad Dressing

Basil Pesto Salad Dressing

This simple basil salad dressing takes cues from pesto and pairs marvelously with green salads, Italian/Greek flavors and a variety of bold, summery flavors. Recipe yields about 1/2 cup dressing and keeps well for up to 10 days.

Favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette

Favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette

Balsamic vinaigrette is the perfect dressing for almost every salad. This balsamic vinaigrette recipe is easy to make and strikes the perfect balance between tangy and sweet. Recipe yields just over 3/4 cup.

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