Name: 44 Italian recipes
Cuisine: Italian

Two bowls of tomato pasta with glasses of white wine

Learn about Italian coffee culture with our expert barista Celeste Wong's guide, including traditional rituals, how to order it and the perfect recipe for at-home brewing.

Tuck into your Italian food and escape to Italy virtually with our foodie road trip in Sardinia and Sicily.

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Easy Italian recipes

Italian antipasti ideas

Grilled peaches with burrata

Juicy peaches give a sweet contrast to creamy burrata and salty serrano ham in this showstopping summer salad.

A grey plate topped with green leaves, orange peaches and a ball of white cheese

Italian scotch olives

This Italian scotch egg-style dish sees olives rolled in sausagemeat and breadcrumbs before frying. This recipe comes from Italian restaurant Luca, where it's served with confit garlic mayo and crispy sage leaves.

A plate of olives coated in golden breadcrumbs with fresh herbs

Grilled vegetable antipasti

Kick off a classic Italian meal with these gorgeous grilled veggies. Serve with fresh focaccia, olives and cured meats for an impressive spread.

Burrata bruschetta

Make this posh bruschetta from London's Mortimer House restaurant for a pretty Italian dish to serve as a dinner party starter.

Italian-style flatbread with pear, walnut and gorgonzola

The combination of gorgonzola, pears and walnuts is usually found in a salad but works brilliantly on this molten cheesy bread. It’s great hot but equally good for lunchboxes the day after.

Italian Flatbread Recipe with Pear, Walnut and Gorgonzola

Figs with Grana Padano and pink peppercorn dressing

Adding finely grated Grana Padano to the dressing gives a creamy but piquant contrast to the sweet figs for a vibrant starter.

’Nduja arancini

Try this crunchy arancini with punchy 'nduja, Grano Padano and saffron. This easy yet impressive recipe comes from Italian restaurant Bancone in Covent Garden.

Rosemary and olive oil focaccia

Check out our simple focaccia with rosemary and olive oil. This incredibly moreish bread recipe is easy to make and the perfect side with any starter.

Focaccia Bread Recipe With Rosemary and Olive Oil

Italian pasta dishes

From homemade pasta skills to easy midweek ideas, try our Italian pasta dishes. We have plenty more pasta ideas, from vegetarian pasta recipes to posh pasta recipes for a dinner party and our quick and easy pasta dishes.

Classic carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale (cured pork jowl), but smoked pancetta works well, too. Prep all your ingredients first, as it comes together quickly.

Bowl of spaghetti carbonara topped with grated parmesan

Tagliolini alle vongole

A simple, flavour-packed dish combining clams with punchy garlic, fiery red chilli and fragrant herbs, including salty samphire and fresh parsley.

Anchovy pasta

This is inspired by a traditional Sicilian pasta which has a drier sauce consistency. If you like it saucier, add more pasta cooking water.

Spinach, mascarpone and ham hock rotolo

Spirals of salty ham hock, creamy mascarpone and spinach create this showstopping pasta bake.

Find more flavoursome ham hock recipes, from risottos to salads.

Spinach Rotolo Recipe with Ham Hock and Mascarpone

Sicilian pasta with cauliflower

If you’re looking for an alternative to your go-to pasta dish, check out this recipe, which originates from Palermo, the capital of Sicily, and draws heavily from Arabic influences.

A large white bowl of pasta on a grey stone background with a white linen napkin

Classic homemade ravioli

Turn your hand to these homemade Italian dumplings, patterned with fresh herbs for an extra-special decorative twist.

A white bowl of fresh ravioli on a black board with a fork

Black seafood risotto

This dish from the kitchens of Covent Garden’s Ave Mario sees risotto topped with clams, mussels, squid and langoustines.

A red and white patterned bowl full of risotto with squid, clams and langoustines

Prawn orecchiette with roasted-shell olive oil

Check out our easy orecchiette recipe with large juicy prawns and punchy chilli. Impress with this simple yet flavour-packed pasta recipe this weekend.

Casarecce with raw tomato sauce

This vegan casarecce is super simple and only takes 15 minutes to make. Casarecce is a twisted short pasta that retains a good bite, perfect for this dish.

Vegan Casarecce Pasta With Raw Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti alle vongole with samphire

Spaghetti alle vongole with clams makes a classic Italian supper. The clams are cooked in dry white wine, which combined with the natural clam juice and samphire make a lovely rich sauce for the pasta.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole Recipe With Samphire

White lasagne

White lasagne, like white pizza, doesn’t contain tomato sauce but is still rich and savoury. This version with porcini and pancetta is a bit posher than the usual. Look for high-welfare or rose veal mince. We have loads of lasagne recipes here, from classic lasagne to posh porcini lasagne.

Lamb, pea and wild garlic lasagne

Mitshel Ibrahim, head chef of Venetian-styled restaurant Ombra, shares his showstopping lamb, peas and wild garlic lasagne, perfect for a lazy weekend project or Italian dinner party.

Grating parmesan over a plate of lasagne

Trofie al pesto

Using fresh, homemade pesto, this quick to make pasta dish is ready in 20 minutes. A fast and easy weekday meal that all the family will love.

Pizza recipes

It doesn't get much more Italian than pizza! Here is a selection of our favourite pizza recipes.

Sicilian-style aubergine pizzas

These super-easy Sicilian aubergine pizzas are a great twist on a family favourite. They use crème fraîche instead of a tomato base, charred aubergines, sultanas and pesto, with rocket and pine nuts for a bit of extra crunch.

Pizza sauce

Flavoured with basil and oregano, slather this tomato pizza sauce over doughy bases to make homemade pizza.

An uncooked pizza base with tomato sauce spread over it, next to a plate of grated cheese, bowl of more sauce and some fresh basil leaves

No-knead pizza with Italian sausage, fennel and burrata

This recipe for no-knead pizza is a bit of a leap of faith, but once you get used to the dough it’s a great method to have up your sleeve.

No-Knead Pizza Dough Recipe with Sausage, Fennel and Burrata

Pizza bianca with smoked salmon and spring onions

Try this delicious pizza bianca (with a creamy white base rather than tomato sauce). Spring onion, rocket and smoked salmon mean this pizza is piled high with fresh summery flavours.

Other Italian primi dishes

From gnudi to gnocchi, panzanella to pasta, here are our favourite primi recipes.

Fried gnocchi with broad beans, parma ham, ricotta and sage

This combo of cool lemony ricotta and crisp golden fried gnocchi is an absolute winner.

Pan Fried Gnocchi Recipe with Broad Beans, Parma Ham and Ricotta

Ricotta gnudi with sage butter

These delicate, light-as-air ricotta dumplings will work perfectly as long as you follow the rules. Don’t be tempted to skip the draining or overnight coating time as these are both essential to the gnudi holding their shape.

Broad bean and mint panzanella with burrata

This recipe makes a great spring salad, packed with lots of tangy flavours from anchovies and capers as well as creamy burrata and fresh broad beans.

Puntarelle salad with anchovies and capers

If you’re looking for a green salad to add to your Italian spread, try this super-fresh puntarelle, anchovies and caper salad from Ombra restaurant's Mitshel Ibrahim. It’s also perfect as a side to lasagne.

Italian main course ideas

From fresh fish with almond dressing to Italian sausages and family-style meatball ideas, try our best Italian main meals here.

Cacciucco (Tuscan fish stew)

Cacciucco is a fish stew from Livorno, a port on the coast of Tuscany, and it should contain five types of seafood. This recipe comes from Caldesi in Campagna, an Italian restaurant in Bray.

Scallop risotto

Browning your butter adds nuttiness to this creamy scallop risotto, enlivened by garlic, fresh chives, lemon juice and a pinch of aromatic ground mace.

Two bowls of creamy risotto topped with scallops

Italian sausage and veg tray roast

This easy recipe is ideal when you're short on time. Just bung it all in the oven and you have yourself a hearty and healthy springtime meal.

Braised Italian sausages with cheesy polenta

Italian-style sausages with streaky bacon, herbs and a splash of red wine. Serve with some cheesy polenta for extra flavour and you've got a quick and easy midweek meal for all the family.

Courgette parmigiana

This is great for using up a glut of courgettes you might have acquired over the summer months. Top with golden toasted pine nuts for extra crunch.

Italian baked meatballs

Meatballs baked in rich tomato sauce with a melting mozzarella topping - this recipe is all about comfort food. It's also perfect for freezing, making it a great option for when you don't want to cook mid-week.

Italian desserts

Try our Italian dessert recipes, from summery Amalfi lemon cake to rich semifreddo, we've got lots of treats to end your Italian meal. More Italian dessert recipes here.