36 Irresistible Italian Main Dishes
Celebrate Italian foods with handmade pasta, imported cheese, and Italian cuts of meat and techniques.
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.
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.
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.
Florentine Butter Chicken
This recipe is inspired by Editor in Chief Hunter Lewis' trip to 150-year-old Trattoria Sostanza in Florence and takes only 20 minutes.
Agnolotti del Plin
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stracotto di Fassona Piemontese (Piedmont Braised Beef)
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.
Bolognese Meat Sauce
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.
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.
Pappardelle with White Bolognese
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.
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.
Italian Bone-In Pork Loin
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.
Soppressata Pizza with Calabrian Chiles and Hot Honey
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.
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.
Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms
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.
Baked Stuffed Eggplant with Italian Sausage
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.
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.
Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint
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.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina
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.
Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato-Butter Sauce
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.
Swordfish Sicilian-Style
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.
Gorgonzola, Fig, and Pancetta Pizza
This pizza hits all the right notes. It's topped with salty pancetta, funky gorgonzola, and sweet, juicy fresh figs.
Braised Chicken all'Arrabbiata
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.
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.
Balsamic and Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak
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.
Osso Buco with Citrus Gremolata
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."
Grilled Fish with Artichoke Caponata
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.
Tuscan-Style Spareribs with Balsamic Glaze
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.
Roman-Style Braised Chicken with Roasted Peppers
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.
Cavatelli with Mussels, Lillet, and Dill
The perfect match for this creamy cavatelli and mussels dish: Muscadet, a coastal wine that's superb with shellfish.
Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni
Chef Bryan Vietmeier merges two Italian-American favorites here: chicken parm and pepperoni.
Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce on Spaghetti
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.
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.
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
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.
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