I made 12 easy Ina Garten pasta recipes and ranked them by deliciousness

Anneta KonstantinidesSep 19, 2024, 03:39 IST

I've made many of Ina Garten's pasta recipes, including her weeknight bolognese.Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Ina Garten has published many pasta recipes, and I've made 12 from her repertoire so far.
Her mac and cheese is creamy and comforting, while her lemon pasta is ready in 10 minutes.

From a comforting mac and cheese to the quick pasta, pesto, and peas, you'll find a variety of pasta recipes spread across Ina Garten's 13 cookbooks and her Barefoot Contessa site.

I started cooking Garten's recipes after I spent a day following her quarantine routine in May 2020. At the height of the pandemic, it was often her pastas that I turned to for simple but comforting dinners.

I've now made a dozen of Garten's pasta dishes. Some are vegetarian and take almost no prep, while others are loaded with meat or cheese and are a little more complex.

Here's how they all stack up.

In 12th place is Garten's broccoli and bow ties pasta.

Ina Garten's broccoli and bow ties pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's broccoli and bow-ties recipe has a light sauce that makes it perfect for spring.

Garten's broccoli and bow ties has a lovely bright sauce.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Taking the 11th spot is Garten's simple three-ingredient lemon pasta.

Ina Garten's three-ingredient lemon pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's lemon pasta has a lovely bright flavor, but it doesn't stand out enough to be the main course for dinner.

Garten's lemon pasta works great as a side dish for a dinner party.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara takes the 10th spot.

Ina Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's spring carbonara is deliciously light and creamy.

Garten's carbonara features asparagus, scallions, and two types of peas.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

In ninth place is Garten's comforting baked rigatoni with lamb ragù.

Ina Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù is super delicious — but it's a lot of work.

Garten's baked rigatoni is super comforting but takes quite a bit of work.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel takes the eighth spot.

Ina Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's sausage rigatoni looks beautiful, and it's perfect for cheese lovers.

Garten's rigatoni includes sweet Italian sausage, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

In seventh place is Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese.

Ina Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's "grown up" mac and cheese is packed with delicious flavors.

Garten's "grown up" mac and cheese has so much depth of flavor.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's overnight mac and cheese takes sixth place.

Garten's overnight mac and cheese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's mac and cheese is super comforting and is sure to impress your friends and family.

Garten's overnight mac and cheese is creamy and decadent.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's favorite weeknight pasta rounds out the top five.

Ina Garten's favorite weeknight pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's weeknight pasta doesn't just look like it comes from a cute little Italian restaurant — it tastes like it does, too.

Garten's weeknight pasta includes San Marzano tomatoes and Italian pecorino cheese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's favorite summer pasta takes the fourth spot.

Ina Garten's summer garden pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

That extra prep resulted in some of the most incredible tomatoes I've ever tasted.

Garten's recipe includes marinating the tomatoes and basil in olive oil for four hours.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Making the top three is Garten's creamy (and dreamy) five-cheese penne.

Ina Garten's five-cheese penne pasta.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's five-cheese penne is incredibly comforting.

There are five different cheeses in Garten's comforting penne dish.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

My second favorite "Barefoot Contessa" pasta dish is Garten's weeknight Bolognese.

Ina Garten's weeknight Bolognese.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's weeknight Bolognese is a quick and delicious twist on a classic recipe, and it's incredibly easy.

I would make Garten's weeknight Bolognese during any season.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Taking the top spot is Garten's penne alla vodka, which tastes as amazing as it looks.

Ina Garten's penne alla vodka.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

Garten's penne alla vodka is the most beautiful pasta I've ever made.

Garten's penne alla vodka is the perfect winter comfort dish.Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

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