Italian cooking at home splits into two traditions that get mixed together constantly. There is the Italian-American side: lasagna layered with ricotta and mozzarella, chicken parmesan, meatballs the size of a fist. And there is the Italian side, which is usually simpler and shorter: gnocchi with sage butter, pastina in broth, a fish ragu with four spices.

Both are here, twenty-five recipes grouped by dish. Lasagna and baked pasta first, then meatballs and sausage, gnocchi and risotto, chicken, seafood, soups, and the parmesan vegetable sides that go with all of it. Every entry lists the real total time, the servings and the ingredient count.

Lasagna and Baked Pasta

Four baked dishes, all serving eight. The ravioli version skips noodle layering entirely, and the cottage cheese one is the fastest.

Cottage Cheese Lasagna

Two cups of cottage cheese bound with an egg in place of ricotta, with three cups of marinara, nine noodles, mozzarella and a cup of parmesan. Sixty minutes, the quickest lasagna here. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 8 servings · 12 ingredients

Ravioli Lasagna Bake with Beef and Sausage

Twenty-four ounces of cheese ravioli stacked in place of noodles and ricotta, with half a pound each of ground chuck and sweet Italian sausage, thirty-two ounces of marinara and a full pound of mozzarella. No layering of sheets at all. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · 8 servings · 8 ingredients

Classic Meat Lasagna

A pound of ground beef simmered with twenty-eight ounces of crushed tomatoes, layered with fifteen ounces of ricotta, three cups of mozzarella and three quarters of a cup of parmesan. Twelve ingredients and the version to learn. View the full recipe — 1 hour 35 minutes · 8 servings · 12 ingredients

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna with Ricotta and Mozzarella

Nine ounces of fresh spinach and eight ounces of cremini mushrooms with three cups of ricotta, a cup and a half of parmesan and three cups of mozzarella. Vegetarian, and the longest at an hour forty. View the full recipe — 1 hour 40 minutes · 8 servings · 16 ingredients

Meatballs and Sausage

Four. The meatballs are thirty-five minutes and the bolognese cooks the pasta in the sauce.

Classic Italian Meatballs with Parmesan and Parsley

Ten ingredients: a pound of ground beef with half a cup of parmesan, half a cup of breadcrumbs soaked in a quarter cup of milk, garlic, parsley, oregano and an egg. The milk-soaked breadcrumbs are what keep them tender. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Creamy Parmesan Sausage Pasta

A pound of smoked sausage with eight ounces of pasta in a sauce of a cup of heavy cream and a cup of grated parmesan. Nine ingredients, thirty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · 6 servings · 9 ingredients

One Pot Pasta Bolognese

A pound of lean ground beef with twenty-four ounces of tomato passata and three cups of beef broth, with twelve ounces of spaghetti cooked right in it. One pot, forty minutes, serves six. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 6 servings · 14 ingredients

Italian Sausage and Pepper Casserole

Nine ingredients: a pound of Italian sausage with all three colors of bell pepper, onion, garlic, diced tomatoes and a cup of mozzarella. No pasta, no rice, no filler. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 6 servings · 9 ingredients

Gnocchi, Risotto and Pastina

Four dishes closer to how Italians actually cook at home. Two are under twenty-five minutes.

Creamy Parmesan Pastina

Thirteen minutes and eight ingredients: a cup of pastina cooked in four cups of broth with butter, half a cup of parmesan, nutmeg, an egg stirred in off the heat and frozen peas. The fastest recipe in this collection. View the full recipe — 13 minutes · 2 servings · 8 ingredients

Creamy Lemon Orzo Risotto

Seven ingredients: a cup of orzo cooked risotto-style in two cups of broth with half a cup of cream, half a cup of parmesan and a whole lemon. Twenty-two minutes and no stirring for forty. View the full recipe — 22 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce

Half a cup of drained pumpkin puree and half a cup of whole milk ricotta into a dough with a cup and a quarter of flour, then browned in butter with twenty whole sage leaves. Twelve ingredients. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

A cup of full fat ricotta with three quarters of a cup of parmesan, an egg, a yolk and a single cup of flour, served in a quick crushed tomato sauce. Lighter than potato gnocchi and far harder to overwork. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 17 ingredients

Chicken

Three Italian-American chicken dishes. Two use already-cooked chicken, which is what makes them weeknight food.

Asiago Tortellini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

A pound of chicken breast with eighteen ounces of cheese tortellini in a sauce of a cup and a half of heavy cream, a cup of Asiago and half a cup of parmesan, brightened with lemon juice. Forty minutes. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients

Chicken Parmesan Rigatoni Casserole

Eight ingredients: twelve ounces of rigatoni with three cups of shredded chicken, twenty-four ounces of marinara, two cups of mozzarella, a cup of parmesan, plus broccoli and spinach stirred in. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 6 servings · 8 ingredients

Creamy Parmesan Breaded Chicken

Four breasts breaded through flour, egg and Italian breadcrumbs with parmesan, then baked under a topping of a cup of parmesan, provolone, ranch and heavy cream. Two hours and thirteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 2 hours · 4 servings · 13 ingredients

Seafood

Three fish dishes, two of them done in under half an hour.

Parmesan Crusted Flounder

Four flounder fillets under a cup of parmesan with a cup of breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Nine ingredients, twenty-six minutes. View the full recipe — 26 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Parmesan Garlic Herb Salmon

Sixteen ounces of salmon with four tablespoons of butter, three cloves of garlic, half a cup of parmesan and Italian seasoning. Ten ingredients, twenty-seven minutes. View the full recipe — 27 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Calabrian Fish Ragu Pasta with Pangrattato

Eight ounces of firm white fish broken into a sauce built on fennel seeds, smoked paprika, chili flakes and nutmeg, with tomato puree and linguine, finished with pangrattato made from stale bread. Twenty ingredients and the most authentically southern Italian thing here. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 3 servings · 20 ingredients

Soups

Three soups, all under an hour. One is vegetarian, one is lasagna in a bowl, one is the restaurant chicken gnocchi.

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Sixteen ounces of potato gnocchi with two cups of cooked chicken in a base of three and a half cups of broth and three cups of half and half thickened with a quarter cup of flour, plus three cups of baby spinach. Eighteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 6 servings · 18 ingredients

Italian Lentil Soup

Fourteen ingredients, no meat: a cup of lentils with carrots, celery, onion, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary in three cups of vegetable broth. Fifty minutes. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients

Easy Lasagna Soup

A pound of ground beef with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and a third of a cup of tomato paste in four cups of broth, with eight ounces of bowtie pasta, then ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan dolloped on top of each bowl. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 6 servings · 17 ingredients

Parmesan Vegetable Sides

Four sides, all four under forty minutes and all four built on parmesan. These are what fills out the plate next to everything above.

Parmesan Air Fryer Zucchini

Six ingredients and twenty minutes: three zucchini with Italian seasoning, three tablespoons of parmesan and a spray of oil in the air fryer. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 6 ingredients

Lemon Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Six ingredients: a pound of asparagus with olive oil, a whole lemon and a quarter cup of finely grated parmesan. Twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 6 ingredients

Parmesan Garlic Broccoli Fritters

Three cups of broccoli bound with half a cup of flour, a quarter cup of parmesan and an egg, pan fried and served with a yogurt and lemon dip. Twelve ingredients. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

A pound of green beans with three quarters of a cup of parmesan, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and lemon zest. Seven ingredients, thirty minutes. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Italian Cooking Questions, Answered

Ricotta or cottage cheese in lasagna?

Both work and the difference is texture. Ricotta is drier and grainier, cottage cheese is wetter and milder, which is why the cottage cheese version here binds it with an egg. If you use cottage cheese, drain it first or the lasagna will be loose.

What is pastina and why is it only thirteen minutes?

Pastina is tiny pasta, usually star or dot shaped, and it cooks in about five minutes in broth rather than water. The starch thickens the broth as it goes, so the dish is creamy without cream. It is the Italian equivalent of chicken soup when you are sick.

Is ricotta gnocchi easier than potato gnocchi?

Much easier. Potato gnocchi turns gluey if you overwork the dough or use the wrong potato. The ricotta version here is a cup of ricotta, parmesan, an egg, a yolk and one cup of flour, mixed and shaped in minutes with far less that can go wrong.

Which of these can I make ahead?

All four lasagnas and the chicken parmesan casserole can be assembled a day ahead and baked when you need them. Meatballs freeze well raw or cooked. The soups are better the next day. Gnocchi should be cooked and eaten the same day.

What is the fastest Italian dinner here?

Creamy Parmesan Pastina at thirteen minutes, then lemon orzo risotto at twenty-two. Of the full dinners for four or more, the parmesan crusted flounder at twenty-six and the salmon at twenty-seven are the quickest.

Why does the fish ragu use so many spices?

Because Calabrian cooking does. Fennel seeds, smoked paprika, chili flakes and nutmeg on fish is a southern Italian combination, not a northern one, and the pangrattato, toasted stale breadcrumbs, is the traditional stand-in for parmesan in a region where cheese on fish is not done.

Which recipes feed the most people?

All four lasagnas and the ravioli bake serve eight. After that, six servings each for the bolognese, the sausage casserole, the lasagna soup, the chicken gnocchi soup and the chicken parmesan casserole.