29 Cheesy Pasta Recipes for the Coziest Dinners
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.)
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman1/29BA’s Best Baked Ziti
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni3/29Ravioli and Mushroom Skillet
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht4/29Cottage 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.
Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr, Prop Styling by Christina Allen, Food Styling Emilie Fosnocht5/29Broccoli 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.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman7/29BA’s Best Mac and Cheese
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley8/29Cacio 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.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie9/29Spicy Tomato Feta Pasta
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne11/29One-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.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon12/29Manicotti
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kat Boytsova, prop styling by Gerri Williams13/29Creamy 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.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Sean Dooley, prop styling by Gerri Williams14/29Spinach-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.
Photograph by Guang Xu15/29Fresh Fettuccine With Vegemite and Aged Cheddar
Even the vegemite skeptics among us were rocked by the depth of flavor in this luscious pasta from chef Shaina Loew-Banayan of Hudson, New York’s Cafe Mutton. The nutty intensity of aged cheddar works especially well with the yeast paste, but Parmesan, grana Padano, or aged Gouda also work well.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams16/29Shortcut Baked Rigatoni With Spicy Italian Sausage
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams17/29One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca21/29Spinach Lasagna With Ricotta
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Heather Greene22/29Sausage and Ricotta Baked Cannelloni
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Taneka Morris, prop styling by Tim Ferro24/29One-Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li25/29Baked Pasta Alla Norma
“Perfect!” praised one reader of this baked eggplant and spaghetti skillet, based on pasta alla Norma. Fresh basil, salty capers, and plenty of grated cheese add dynamic flavor. Though she thinks she may have underseasoned her pot, she confessed, “I kept eating more!”
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco27/29The Gooiest Baked Mac and Cheese
The easy recipe’s cheese sauce skips the roux, relying instead on American cheese for supreme meltability. Add more shredded cheese, melted butter, onion, milk, and spices, and that’s a dinner win in our books.
Photo by David Malosh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Cindy Diprima29/29Spicy Baked Pasta With Cheddar and Broccoli Rabe
If broccoli cheddar soup is your jam, you’ll want to make this cheesy pasta dish ASAP. It delivers all those familiar flavors with an upgraded twist, thanks to bitter broccoli rabe, sharp cheddar, and crunchy, olive-oil-soaked breadcrumbs.
