18 Fast and Easy Italian (and Italian American) Dinners

You'll love this comforting combination of clams, garlic, and brown butter.

Essentially a spin on pasta amatriciana, this hearty pasta dish packs in the bold flavors of bacon, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

This hearty option packs three of our favorite things — kale, meatballs, and white beans — into one broth-y, piping-hot bowl.

Like a cross between pasta carbonara and mac and cheese, this creamy option is ultracomforting.

Even out-of-season cherry tomatoes will shine in this pesto-slicked option, as a brief trip to the oven concentrates their flavor. For a final flourish, toss the linguine with garlicky toasted breadcrumbs for crunch.

If you have the time, make pizza dough from scratch; it's actually incredibly easy to do. If not, there's no shame in picking up a ball of dough at the store.

Marcella Hazan's iconic three-ingredient tomato sauce combines tomatoes, butter, and a yellow onion into the lushest pasta topping imaginable.

Bring this bold, colorful pasta salad to a potluck dinner and prepare to get inquiries for the recipe.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be bland and boring, but not when napped in a lemon-bright white wine butter sauce.

Pureed butternut squash gives pasta carbonara an extracozy spin.

Don't let the name of this Italian pasta dish scare you. Translated, it means spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chili pepper flakes. It's a simple yet flavor-packed recipe.

Basil, bell peppers, and tomatoes combine in this simple recipe to create a sweet, summery sauce that's perfect on pasta shells and in other dishes.

Like a greener take on pasta carbonara, this scaled-for-one dinner satisfies.

A sandwich may sound more like an option for lunch, but this chicken parmesan sub is robust, meaty, and worthy of your evening meal.

For a fresher take on pasta carbonara, add slightly sweet leeks, a handful of parsley, and candy-sweet sun-dried tomatoes.

Macaroni and cheese might not seem like a speedy, weeknight-friendly affair, but when simmered on the stovetop (rather than baked) like this caprese-salad-inspired stunner, it's totally doable.