Recipes

29 Cheesy Pasta Recipes for the Coziest Dinners

Like artichoke dip penne, pillowy ricotta gnocchi, and French onion shells with Gruyère.
Broccoli Mac and Cheese in a oval dutch oven
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Taneka Morris, prop styling by Tim Ferro

When all you want is a big hug on a plate, cheesy pasta is almost always the answer. (The other half of the time, it’s pie.) Pasta cooked with cheese is comfort food in its truest form. And it’s a dinner just about anyone can get behind, no matter the night of the week.

Here you’ll find a dead-simple roux-free mac and cheese you’ll want to pull out for the holidays; a parm-heavy vodka pasta you can whip together on Tuesday night; and pastas that use blue cheese, mozzarella, aged cheddar, and more. In short, these cheesy pasta recipes are sure to fill that void inside you. (We mean hunger.)

  • Casserole dish of baked ziti on gray marble surface.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    1/29

    BA’s Best Baked Ziti

    We don’t use “best” lightly. This cheesy pasta is rife with gooey melted mozzarella cheese pulls and ​​a creamy Parmesan béchamel, plus it features salty, porky bits of pancetta in every forkful.

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  • A plate of fettuccine Alfredo pasta topped with grated Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
    Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott
    2/29

    Fettuccine Alfredo

    Classic Alfredo sauce is all about technique. There’s no cream to hide behind; just butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and patience results in the creamy cheese sauce that clings to perfectly al dente fettuccine noodles.

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  • Ravioli and mushroom skillet topped with breadcrumbs with some removed and placed on a side plate
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni
    3/29

    Ravioli and Mushroom Skillet

    What do you get when you cook frozen cheese ravioli in a mushroom-cream sauce enriched with a cup of Parmesan cheese, then scatter an extra handful of parm over the top? This no-separate-pasta-pot-required pasta dish that’s both plenty cheesy and plenty easy.

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  • Cottage Cheese Lasagna on a white plate on a light blue background
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
    4/29

    Cottage Cheese Lasagna

    When our friends at Epicurious held a cottage cheese taste test, their favorite for cooking was Good Culture for its rich, cheesy flavor. Use it in this truly excellent lasagna, and you’ll see why this other tub cheese isn’t necessarily a downgrade from ricotta.

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  • Image may contain Plate Food and Food Presentation
    Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr, Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling Emilie Fosnocht
    5/29

    Broccoli Cheddar Orzotto

    Part of our Fourth Trimester series for new parents, this recipe is as much a soul-nourishing dish for adults as it is one toddlers will happily gobble up.

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  • Amiel's Pasta Alla American dish with grated cheese
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
    6/29

    All-American Cheeseburger Pasta

    Call it American Chop Suey, American Goulash, or DIY Hamburger Helper. The point is: Who needs a bun when you’ve got pasta in the house?

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  • Baking dish of mac and cheese with crispy panko topping with one serving scooped out.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    7/29

    BA’s Best Mac and Cheese

    This homemade macaroni and cheese recipe is our Platonic ideal. It is intensely cheesy, thanks to Gruyère, Fontina, and sharp cheddar, and has a crispy crust. Plus, the recipe easily doubles for a crowd.

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  • A serving of cacio e pepe pasta in a shallow white bowl with a fork tangled into the noodles.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley
    8/29

    Cacio e Pepe

    This streamlined pasta has just five ingredients. The headliner is cheese—Parmesan and Pecorino Romano—plus freshly ground black pepper and butter. You’ll also need salt, so…okay, six ingredients.

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  • Corkscrew pasta in a sauce of cherry tomatoes feta cheese and Calabrian chiles in a baking dish garnished with torn basil.
    Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
    9/29

    Spicy Tomato Feta Pasta

    A dose of Calabrian chile paste lights up our version of the vial baked feta pasta. Unfamiliar? You just dump a brick of feta and a pint of cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and stick it in the oven, boil some corkscrews (or whatever), then marry the two in a creamy, briny, saucy delight.

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  • Mapo Chilin in a bowl on a turquoise color surface
    Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell
    10/29

    Mapo Chili Mac

    Midwestern chili mac meets mapo tofu in this blend of ground pork, elbow pasta, and doubanjiang (Chinese chili bean paste). The dish is further flavored with garlic, ginger, and scallions; saucified by canned tomatoes; and turned velvety with tons of melted cheddar cheese.

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  • Pasta with cheese and caramelized onions in a dutch oven with a wooden spoon.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    11/29

    One-Pot French Onion Pasta

    We turned French onion soup into a cheesy one-pot pasta and the results were showstopping. Serve it with a simple green salad tossed in a vibrant vinaigrette.

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  • Manicotti in a ceramic dish
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon
    12/29

    Manicotti

    Making the crepes (crespelle in Italian) may take some practice, but once they’re covered in three types of cheese and sauce, no one will notice their flaws.

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  • Ricotta Gnocchi plated in a orange bowl placed on a green surface
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kat Boytsova, prop styling by Gerri Williams
    13/29

    Creamy Ricotta Gnocchi

    Think you can’t make pasta from scratch? Well you can make ricotta gnocchi. These homemade dumplings come together without fuss and are as pillowy and cheesy as can be.

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  • SpinachArtichokeDip Pasta in a cast iron skillet
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Sean Dooley, prop styling by Gerri Williams
    14/29

    Spinach-Artichoke-Dip Pasta

    While we wouldn’t judge you for eating spinach artichoke dip for dinner, this inspired dish may be a better approach. It’s a cheesy pasta dinner recipe you will surely add to your regular roster.

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Sheela Prakash is a freelance food and wine writer, registered dietitian, and the author of Salad Seasons and Mediterranean Every Day. She spent nearly 8 years as an editor at Kitchn and has also worked on staff at Epicurious and Food52. Her articles and recipes appear in many online and ... Read More
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