Food World Cuisines European Cuisines Italian Cuisine 36 Irresistible Italian Main Dishes Celebrate Italian foods with handmade pasta, imported cheese, and Italian cuts of meat and techniques. By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 21, 2024 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines in America, while pizza and pasta rank among the world's favorite dishes. Though the cuisine varies across Italy's 20 geographical regions and throughout American interpretations, the myriad combinations of iconic Italian ingredients like garlic, olive oil, rich tomatoes, fresh cheeses, pasta, and wine are infinitely compelling. Get inspired by the flavors of Italy with these delicious main dishes, from Florentine steak to Tuscan grilled trout and Piedmontese agnolotti. Here's how to re-create some of your favorite meals from Italy. 01 of 36 Chicken Scarpariello Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster Traditional scarpariello — chicken sautéed in a tangy lemon glaze with bell pepper — is typically made with a whole chicken cut into pieces, then cooked on the stove for hours. To speed things up, we opt for faster-cooking boneless thighs and skip the bell pepper in favor of jarred Peppadews, a sweet-spicy pickled pepper. Get the Recipe 02 of 36 Italian Wedding Risotto Diana Chistruga For a more substantial, main-course variation on Italian wedding soup, serve this garlicky meatball and spinach risotto with a drizzle of olive oil, grated Parmesan, and parsley. Get the Recipe 03 of 36 Florentine Butter Chicken Greg DuPree This recipe is inspired by Editor in Chief Hunter Lewis' trip to 150-year-old Trattoria Sostanza in Florence and takes only 20 minutes. Get the Recipe 04 of 36 Agnolotti del Plin Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen These tiny, meat-filled Piedmontese agnolotti (the name translates as "agnolotti with the pinch") originated as a means of using up braised meat. In this version from Casa di Langa's Fàula Ristorante, the agnolotti are stuffed with a pork, chicken, veal, and vegetable filling bound with butter and cheese. Get the Recipe 05 of 36 Risotto alla Milanese Diana Chistruga Risotto alla Milanese is a classic dish from the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It's said to have come about in the mid-1800s, when a team of glassmakers took some of the saffron they were using to color the stained glass windows in Milan's Duomo cathedral and added it to the risotto being served at dinner. Get the Recipe 06 of 36 Braciole Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Braciole is an Italian-style roulade, a rolled and stuffed meat that's a staple at Italian family gatherings. It is also called involtini, or bruciuluni in Sicilian. For this cozy version, stuff rolled flank steaks with breadcrumbs and cheese and then cook in tomato sauce. Braciole 07 of 36 Pork Chop Milanese Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox Preparing something Milanese (or Milanesa) style means dredging thin slices of meat in flour, eggs, and seasoned breadcrumbs and frying them. In this recipe, a rib-cut pork chop is the meat used, but it can be made with beef, veal, or even chicken. Get the Recipe 08 of 36 Italian Casserole with Baked Rice and Steamed Clams Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Tiella, a classic Italian casserole from Puglia, was F&W recipe developer Marianne Williams’ inspiration for this hearty oven-to-table skillet dish. To make it, layers of potatoes, clams, tomatoes, salty cheese, broth, and arborio rice are baked until the rice is tender and creamy. Get the Recipe 09 of 36 Stracotto di Fassona Piemontese (Piedmont Braised Beef) Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Chef Otto Lucà considers this rustic top blade roast, slow-braised in red wine until it's falling-apart tender, the most important main course of classical Piedmontese cuisine. Get the Recipe 10 of 36 Bolognese Meat Sauce Photo and Styling by Julia Gartland Ragù, as the Bolognese call their celebrated meat sauce, is characterized by mellow, gentle, comfort flavors. Serve this sauce over fettuccine or your pasta of choice. Get the Recipe 11 of 36 Cioppino (Seafood Stew) Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Cioppino is a tomato-based stew that was created in the late 1800s by Italian-American fishermen who fished off the North Beach of San Francisco. Bobby Flay's version includes a range of shellfish like Dungeness crab, squid, and mussels. Get the Recipe 12 of 36 Pappardelle with White Bolognese Antonis Achilleos This tomato-free Bolognese features pancetta, ground beef, ground veal, cremini mushrooms, and fresh herbs. In Italy, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Bolognese that contains garlic and herbs other than bay leaves, but this inventive white Bolognese has both, lending the dish even more flavor complexity. Get the Recipe 13 of 36 Pasta ’Ncasciata (Sicilian Baked Pasta) Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In Sicily, ’ncasciata has many variations. Chef Michael Gulotta’s version combines tender eggplant, buttery caciocavallo cheese, and crushed tomatoes with al dente rigatoni. Baking the eggplant rounds rather than frying them cuts down on the prep time. Get the Recipe 14 of 36 Italian Bone-In Pork Loin Victor Protasio Finishing the pork on a slow roast gives it time to cook through without drying out and gently caramelizes the tender fennel, onion, and shallots. Get the Recipe 15 of 36 Soppressata Pizza with Calabrian Chiles and Hot Honey Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Top homemade pizza with Italian cured meat and fiery chiles from Italy, which add heat and a distinctly fruity flavor balanced by the sweetness of hot honey. Get the Recipe 16 of 36 Tuscan Grilled Trout Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist Lydia Pursell A simple garlic-and-herb-infused oil combined with wine vinegar acts as both a basting liquid and a sauce for the fish. Get the Recipe 17 of 36 Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Pair creamy butter, nutty farro pasta, and a fortifying mix of wild mushrooms with just enough truffle to elevate each forkful in this recipe from chef Karen Akunowicz of the Northern Italian restaurant Fox & the Knife in Boston. Get the Recipe 18 of 36 Baked Stuffed Eggplant with Italian Sausage Greg Dupree If you don't love eggplant yet, you will after one bite of these over-the-top stuffed dreamboats. Ripe tomatoes and roasted eggplant come together to yield a hearty filling, made even better with the addition of Italian sausage. Get the Recipe 19 of 36 Spaghetti ai Ricci di Mare (Sea Urchin Spaghetti) Cedric Angeles This classic Sicilian pasta dish from chef Evan Funke has a beautiful orange-red color thanks to a sauce made from sea urchin. The rich, briny flavor of sea urchin benefits from the salt, the bright acidity of the lemon juice, and the herbaceousness of the parsley that all come together to create the finished, glossy dish. Get the Recipe 20 of 36 Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint © TINA RUPP Chef Chris Cosentino braises beef shank and oxtail in red wine to make a brasato he serves with housemade mint pappardelle. This easier version uses just beef shank; feel free to purchase the fresh pappardelle from the store instead of making your own. Get the Recipe 21 of 36 Bistecca alla Fiorentina © Dan Goldberg One of the simplest yet most succulent dishes of Florence is the renowned Florentine beefsteak. Thick T-bone steaks of the highest quality and a very hot grill are the keys to success. Get the Recipe 22 of 36 Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato-Butter Sauce © Catherine Ledner Chef Tommy Habetz describes gnudi as "ravioli filling without the pasta." Gnudi are of Tuscan origin, and a fresh Tuscan white wine — particularly a Vernaccia — makes a perfect pairing for Habetz's recipe. Get the Recipe 23 of 36 Swordfish Sicilian-Style © Greg DuPree In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe from the late, legendary cookbook author Marcella Hazan as one of our 40 best. Hazan joined F&W as a contributing editor in 1992; of all the wonderful recipes she created, our all-time favorite is this quick-cooking swordfish, where an oregano-infused sauce imparts bright flavor to hot-off-the-grill steaks. Get the Recipe 24 of 36 Gorgonzola, Fig, and Pancetta Pizza © Anson Smart This pizza hits all the right notes. It's topped with salty pancetta, funky gorgonzola, and sweet, juicy fresh figs. Get the Recipe 25 of 36 Braised Chicken all'Arrabbiata © Quentin Bacon All'Arrabbiata means "in an angry style" in Italian. At Marzano in Oakland, California, chef Robert Holt braises his chicken with five kinds of peppers in a wood-fired oven. Here, spice the chicken with poblano and chile flakes, then braise it. For extra kick, toss in some hot pickled cherry peppers. Get the Recipe 26 of 36 Bomba di Riso (Stuffed Rice Cake) with Shredded Duck Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Thom Driver At the iconic restaurant Ostreria Fratelli Pavesi in Emilia-Romagna, the three Pavesi brothers pay homage to a mid-19th-century delicacy: the molded baked rice “bomb” stuffed with a hearty filling of shredded duck and earthy porcini mushrooms. Get the Recipe 27 of 36 Balsamic and Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak © Marie Hennechart Chef Matt Molina prepares this dish by marinating porterhouse steak in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lots of fresh chopped rosemary overnight. It gets a char on the grill, then roasts in the oven to finish cooking. Get the Recipe 28 of 36 Osso Buco with Citrus Gremolata © Kana Okada Chef Ethan Stowell sticks to Italian tradition when making osso buco, topping braised veal shanks with a citrusy gremolata (orange and lemon zest mixed with garlic and parsley). He advises spooning out and eating all of the marrow from the bones for what he calls "a mouthful of fatty goodness." Get the Recipe 29 of 36 Grilled Fish with Artichoke Caponata © Stephanie Foley To top meaty mahimahi, chef Michael White makes a vinegary caponata (a Sicilian relish) with fresh artichoke hearts, not the traditional tomatoes and eggplant. Trimming artichokes can be time-consuming, so buy marinated artichoke hearts from the grocery store instead. Get the Recipe 30 of 36 Tuscan-Style Spareribs with Balsamic Glaze © Tina Rupp Sausage aficionado and cookbook writer Bruce Aidells loves to barbecue spareribs, but his top way to prepare them is to generously season the ribs with a mix of aromatic herbs and spices and slow-roast them until tender and crisp. Like his favorite Tuscan cooks, he finishes the ribs with a simple balsamic glaze. Get the Recipe 31 of 36 Roman-Style Braised Chicken with Roasted Peppers © John Kernick This lush, homey Roman favorite is a simple braise of chicken with white wine, tomatoes, garlic, and a colorful mix of roasted red, green, and yellow bell peppers. As a shortcut, substitute roasted peppers from a jar. Get the Recipe 32 of 36 Cavatelli with Mussels, Lillet, and Dill © Quentin Bacon The perfect match for this creamy cavatelli and mussels dish: Muscadet, a coastal wine that's superb with shellfish. Get the Recipe 33 of 36 Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni © Quentin Bacon Chef Bryan Vietmeier merges two Italian-American favorites here: chicken parm and pepperoni. Get the Recipe 34 of 36 Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce on Spaghetti © Fredrika Stjärne This tomato-based pasta sauce is easy to make — just let all the ingredients simmer in a slow cooker for a few hours and serve with your favorite spaghetti. Get the Recipe 35 of 36 Rabbit Stew with Olives and Rosemary © John Kernick "This is one of my favorite things on the planet," says chef Marco Canora about his savory rabbit stew. He loves sharing the recipe with his students because it's an opportunity to teach them about making battuto (similar to soffrito), a mixture of sautéed onion, celery, and carrots that's the base for many Italian dishes. Get the Recipe 36 of 36 Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe © John Kernick Pasta cacio e pepe ("cheese and pepper") is made with Pecorino Romano, a tangy aged sheep's milk cheese originally from Rome, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. In Lazio, chef Antonio Ciminelli serves an elegant version with short pasta on the menu and a rustic one with spaghetti for staff. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit