I made 12 easy Ina Garten pasta recipes and ranked them by deliciousness
- Ina Garten has published many pasta recipes, and I've made 12 from her repertoire so far.
- Her mac and cheese is creamy and comforting, while her lemon pasta is ready in 10 minutes.
- But Garten's easy and rich penne alla vodka takes my top spot.
From a comforting mac and cheese to the quick pasta, pesto, and peas, you'll find a variety of pasta recipes spread across Ina Garten's 13 cookbooks and her Barefoot Contessa site.
I started cooking Garten's recipes after I spent a day following her quarantine routine in May 2020. At the height of the pandemic, it was often her pastas that I turned to for simple but comforting dinners.
I've now made a dozen of Garten's pasta dishes. Some are vegetarian and take almost no prep, while others are loaded with meat or cheese and are a little more complex.
Here's how they all stack up.
Garten's broccoli and bow-ties pasta was the first "Barefoot Contessa" pasta I ever made. It was also the very first recipe Garten shared with her Instagram followers after much of the US went into lockdown in 2020.
The Food Network star promised that her broccoli and bow-ties pasta was "crazy easy" and could be easily adapted with whatever was in your pantry.
The simple recipe includes garlic, lemon, butter, and Parmesan cheese, along with the pasta and broccoli (or, in my case, Broccolini).
The sauce is made with just lemon zest, butter, olive oil, and minced garlic, which all work together to give the dish a burst of flavor. The sharp Parmesan cheese also adds a nice hint of richness.
While I loved how bright and healthy this dish tasted, I would soon discover other "Barefoot Contessa" pastas that were far more memorable.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's pantry-friendly pasta here.
Garten says her three-ingredient lemon pasta is "just about the fastest weeknight pasta meal you can make," and she's not wrong.
The recipe consists of just pasta, unsalted butter, and the juice and zest of two lemons.
Better yet? You'll have dinner on the table in 10 minutes or less.
There's not much depth of flavor in Garten's three-ingredient pasta. I whipped up her dish for a dinner party, and my friends agreed that it worked better as a side.
"The pasta had me mad at myself for every time I've bought a $20 pasta limon from a restaurant when it's so simple to make," my friend Tyler said. "But if we were just having the pasta on its own, I would have been a little disappointed because it wasn't anything too special."
I would serve Garten's lemon pasta alongside her incredible "Outrageous" garlic bread, which goes well with just about everything — and would give this meal some more flavor and heft.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's three-ingredient lemon pasta here.
Garten shared the recipe for her spring green spaghetti carbonara on Instagram, revealing that it was the dish she wanted to make for her first post-vaccine dinner party.
As with all the recipes in her "Modern Comfort Food" cookbook, Garten wanted to take a traditional dish — in this case, spaghetti carbonara — and give it a modern twist.
Garten's carbonara comes packed with green veggies, including asparagus, scallions, and two types of peas.
I was pleasantly surprised by this pasta, which I think is perfect for spring or summer. The carbonara sauce is creamy without being too heavy, and it's balanced perfectly with the fresh flavors from all the veggies.
The pancetta also adds a nice crunch and savoriness to the pasta — I only wish there had been more of it!
I served the dish to my parents, who both loved it as well. My dad called it "light and lemony," while my mom thought it'd be ideal for a barbecue.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara here.
Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù comes from her cookbook "Modern Comfort Food," which was released in October 2020.
It's one of Garten's more complex pasta dishes. The recipe is packed with a long list of ingredients — including two types of cheeses, red wine, and plenty of veggies — and takes almost two hours to make.
The rich sauce has that comforting, traditional Italian taste thanks to the carrots and other vegetables, and the rigatoni noodles are perfect for capturing a nice helping of ragù with every bite.
I made this dish for a group of friends who definitely thought the pasta was worth the wait.
"The dish reminded me of a cross between Bolognese and a baked ziti!" my friend Sara said. "Definitely a labor of love but, to someone not cooking, highly worth it!"
My sous chef Zach also loved the taste, although he didn't agree that it was worth the extra effort in the kitchen.
"As Prue would say on 'The Great British Bake-off,' it was worth the calories — but I wouldn't say it was worth the time," he said. "While it was definitely fun cooking it, I think you could genuinely make a dish that was 90% as good with just focusing on the ragù and broiling the pasta, versus fully baking it."
Next time I make this dish, I'll be taking Garten's tip to make the ragù a day in advance — which you can refrigerate before baking and serving.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù here.
On a 2017 episode of "Barefoot Contessa," Garten said this rigatoni with sausage and fennel was one of her "all-time go-to dinners."
"You can make the whole thing in one big pot, bring it to the table, and everyone loves it," Garten told her viewers.
Garten's recipe is packed with a variety of exciting ingredients. In addition to sausage and fennel, the pasta features dry white wine, heavy cream, parsley, tomato paste, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel has a gorgeous golden color, and there's a comforting richness to it that I didn't expect. The rigatoni noodle perfectly captures the delicious meaty sauce, and I thought the sweetness of the sausage helped balance the saltiness of the Parmesan.
While I think this pasta is perfect for cheese lovers, it may be too rich for some. I'd recommend using a quarter cup of Parmesan first and tasting the sauce before adding more. But I love that Garten's rigatoni is a one-pot dinner, and I think it's perfect for cold days when you need something super comforting.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel here.
Garten makes her "grown-up" mac and cheese in an early episode of "Barefoot Contessa," calling it a "cozy and comforting dinner for Jeffrey and me."
"When it comes to comfort food, I'd say mac and cheese is pretty high on everybody's list," Garten says at the beginning of the episode. She's not wrong!
Garten gives the classic dish her "grown-up" twist by adding blue cheese and thick-sliced bacon, as well as freshly chopped basil and homemade croutons.
The cheese sauce is velvety, the bacon is smoky, and the blue cheese adds a satisfying kick of tang. Garten's "grown up" mac and cheese is comforting yet unexpected, and sure to be a crowd-pleaser on any dinner party or holiday menu.
I made Garten's "grown up" mac and cheese for my family before our last Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone loved this cheesy and satisfying dish. But surprisingly, this isn't even my favorite Barefoot Contessa mac and cheese.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's "grown up" mac and cheese here.
Garten's overnight mac and cheese is a bonus recipe in the reissue of her first cookbook, "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," and I tested it for a Thanksgiving dinner.
The simple but comforting dish features both Gruyère and sharp white cheddar cheeses, along with heavy cream, breadcrumbs, and cavatappi or elbow macaroni.
Garten's mac and cheese needs just 25 minutes in the oven, and it comes out a beautiful golden-brown color.
The dish also stole the show at my Friendsgiving (as did Garten's incredible corn bread). The breadcrumbs gave each bite a nice crunch, and the sauce was creamy and decadent without overpowering the pasta.
And since you can make it a day or two ahead, Garten's overnight mac and cheese is perfect for a dinner party where you'll be juggling quite a few things — or a quick but easy dish to delight everyone at a potluck.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's overnight mac and cheese here.
Garten shared the recipe for her favorite weeknight pasta in her cookbook, "Go-To Dinners," which was released in October 2022.
"Everyone needs a few quick pasta dinners in their repertoire, and this one is really adaptable," she writes in the recipe description. "It's wonderful as is, but you could also serve it with veal meatballs one night and with a big dollop of ricotta the next. The pancetta and red wine give it fantastic flavor."
The dish features spaghettoni or bucatini, San Marzano tomatoes, and freshly grated Italian pecorino cheese.
There's a rustic charm to Garten's weeknight pasta that took me right back to Cotenna, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City.
I loved how the rich pancetta paired with the earthy basil and Chianti, and the dish had a subtle sweetness from the San Marzano tomatoes that delighted my taste buds. The red pepper flakes gave each bite a nice kick, and the pasta looked lovely on the plate.
Overall, I was really surprised by how elevated Garten's dish tasted despite the very minimal prep and effort. I'll definitely make this pasta again.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's favorite weeknight pasta here.
Garten's summer garden pasta is one of her simplest, yet it has some of the richest flavors of any that I've tried.
While the "Barefoot Contessa" star's dish only has five main ingredients — angel hair, Parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and basil — it has one very important step. You need to soak the tomatoes, garlic, and basil in olive oil for four hours.
I could honestly eat Garten's olive-oil tomatoes as a snack every day. And even though I usually love heavy red-sauce pastas, these tomatoes were able to carry the entire dish on just the strength of their intense and rich flavor.
You also can't beat how pantry-friendly this dish is. I almost always have tomatoes and basil in my kitchen, making Garten's summer garden pasta an incredibly easy dinner staple. This is one "Barefoot Contessa" dish I know I'll be returning to time and time again.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's summer garden pasta here.
I first made Garten's five-cheese penne when temperatures started to dip and discovered that it was the perfect fall or winter dish.
Garten's pasta includes pecorino Romano, Italian fontina, Italian Gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella, and ricotta cheese, along with penne pasta, crushed tomatoes, basil, and heavy cream.
The penne turns into a beautiful golden color after baking it in the oven for 17 minutes, and there are inviting chunks of mozzarella poking out from the top.
I initially expected that five different cheeses — along with all that butter and cream — would be way too heavy. But Garten's penne strikes the perfect balance of being rich and soothing without being overwhelming.
I can't wait to make this dish the next time I need a really comforting meal again.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's five-cheese penne here.
The weeknight bolognese is another recipe that Garten has shared on Instagram. She told her fans that the dish can be made with a variety of meats or veggies, making it especially pantry-friendly.
Plus, the rich and flavorful dish — which includes ground sirloin, orecchiette, and dry red wine — will only have you in the kitchen for 30 minutes.
The weeknight Bolognese has the comfort of Garten's five-cheese penne and the richness of her baked rigatoni but with far less work in the kitchen.
It's a modern twist on a classic, and Garten's little tweaks all work perfectly together. The orecchiette shells catch some of the sauce in every bite, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese melts beautifully into Garten's warm sauce.
Garten's recipe has so much flavor, but it's also far less heavy than some of her other pastas on this list. I'd happily make the weeknight Bolognese on any night of any season.
Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's easy weeknight Bolognese here.
Garten's penne alla vodka was inspired by one of her favorite dishes, the Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola from Nick & Toni's in East Hampton. Joe Realmuto, Nick & Toni's longtime executive chef, showed Garten how to make the dish on an early episode of "Barefoot Contessa."
The rich and comforting dish features penne, vodka, Parmesan cheese, and fresh oregano leaves.
It took me over a year to discover a "Barefoot Contessa" pasta I loved more than the weeknight Bolognese, but Garten's penne alla vodka changed everything.
The dish looks absolutely stunning on the dinner table and tastes even better. The vodka sauce is creamy and smooth, and Garten's trick of roasting the tomato sauce in the oven infuses each bite with so much depth and flavor.
While you'll need some extra time, Garten's easy penne alla vodka doesn't require too much effort. It's the perfect dish when you need to make an impressive dinner but can't spend too much time doing extra prep. And when it's super chilly, this dish will bring you tons of comfort.