Spaghetti

An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.

Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.

This marinara sauce is great tossed with any pasta for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that will leave you thinking, “Why didn’t anyone try this sooner?”

Cabbage is the unsung hero of the winter kitchen—available anywhere, long-lasting in the fridge, and super-affordable. It’s also an excellent partner for pasta.

Mexican pasta probably isn’t something you’ve thought about before, but this poblano sauce may have you rethinking your devotion to the red variety.

With lightning-quick shrimp and an easy garlic butter sauce, this crowd-pleasing pasta builds flavor fast.

In this wafu pasta recipe from author Sonoko Sakai, the only cooking involved is boiling spaghetti.

A restaurant-quality sauce that comes together in minutes.

Bright and briny, this eight-ingredient seafood pasta is an Italian classic for good reason.

This zesty pasta relies on a jar of peperoncini—including the brine—to do the heavy lifting.

Tangy caramelized kimchi adds much appreciated acidity to an Italian classic. This version will soon become your new favorite. 

This spaghetti with fennel and sardines turns a few simple pantry ingredients into a rustic seafood feast.

Once it is cooked, the melon is mostly unrecognizable, and it’s fun seeing if people can guess what this pasta sauce’s secret ingredient is.

Diced zucchini provide a surprisingly delicious variation of this classic Roman pasta sauce.

This classic Roman pasta only has a few ingredients, but they merge into a surprisingly silky, flavor-packed sauce.

Toss leftover turkey and peas (or green beans! or brussels sprouts!) with spaghetti and creamy mushrooms for this classic day-after-Thanksgiving baked pasta.

No chopping required for this weeknight dinner. Just blend spinach, kale, basil, and garlic with feta, cream cheese, and olive oil to make a fresh, rich sauce that wraps itself around pasta.

For a gluten-free version, toss the shallots in cornstarch rather than flour.

We highly recommend finishing the pasta with finely grated Parmesan and some extra cracked black pepper—they’re great flavors with the creamy lemon sauce.

This pesto variation is built on a combination of toasted nuts, creamy ricotta, salty Parm, and a little kick of raw garlic. You don’t need a food processor or a blender to make it; everything comes together in a single bowl.