14 of The Pasta Queen’s Very Best Recipes
If you’re ever in need of a luxurious bowl of pasta for dinner, just turn to The Pasta Queen on TikTok. Food content creator Nadia Caterina Munno has fashioned a classic Italian concept (pasta!) into something novel and cool enough to attract millions of views on the internet.
You’ll notice most of her posts do not come with clearly stated instructions. But thanks to her clear shots and verbal cues, you don’t actually need a written recipe to bring a meal to life. Her positive affirmations, like “The sauce is simply butter, sage, pecorino romano cheese, and a splash of pasta water. A work of beauty, just like you are,” help, too. Here are 14 popular recipes from the Pasta Queen that keep us coming back for more. Ready to dig in?
Spaghetti Carbonara
A pasta so ridiculously creamy and rich — sans butter or cream. How? As contributor Sara Tane explains in her recipe review, a whole egg tempered with the rendered fat of guanciale creates a silky, clingy sauce you can’t help but slurp up by the forkful.
Italian Mac and Cheese Bake
The Pasta Queen would like you to know that this baked mac and cheese recipe is over 400 years old. We want you to know it has a jaw-droppingly cheesy taste that will never go out of style.
Siren’s Enchantment Gnocchi
A one-skillet meal starring store-bought gnocchi with a flavor akin to baked ziti that comes together in under 30 minutes? Hello, weeknight hero!
Lemon Temptress Pasta
If you love bright, aromatic pastas but hate accumulating a mountain of dirty dishes just to make one recipe, you will adore Nadia’s uncomplicated, oh-so-lemony, one-pot wonder.
Lazy Princess Pasta
Ditch any preconceived notions you had about making pasta and get familiar with the Pasta Queen’s straightforward cooking technique. (It’s not too different from how you’d prepare risotto.)
The Supreme Cheese Balls
A few of these cheesy drops are the makings for an unforgettable dinner (even if it’s just another Monday). If you want to doctor up the sauce-laden cheese globs into a more complete dinner, the answer is a no-brainer for Pasta Queen devotees: Pair it with cooked pasta!
The Rebellious Carbonara
This summertime-friendly meal, which swaps out pork for zucchini, is a euphoric vegetarian riff on classic pasta carbonara.
The Snappy Harlot
This vibrant pasta with puttanesca sauce is “mind-blowingly simple.” Its maximalist flavor hinges on a small list of pantry staples: olive oil, garlic, olives, capers, crushed tomatoes, and Calabrian peppers.
The Cobbler’s Wife Spaghetti
Add this to your recipe bucket list if you want to savor every last juicy bit of peak tomato season. While this simple recipe for spaghetti alla scarpariello rewards you with ultimate deliciousness, three steps are crucial in order to get the most bang for your buck: Use the ripest sweetest grape tomatoes you can find, save the pasta water, and cook the pasta just shy of al dente.
The Assassin’s Spaghetti
If making a kitchen whoops once in a while is wrong, then one taste of this spaghetti cooked risotto-style will entice you to never be right.
The Pesto of Your Dreams
Herbaceous from the basil and garlic, salinity in full force thanks to the Parmesan cheese, all whizzed together with olive oil in the blender, Nadia’s recipe for pesto pasta is, as the name would suggest, the dish of your dreams.
Minty Mistress Mac and Cheese
The Minty Mistress Mac and Cheese features four types of cheese: Parmesan, provolone, fontina, and Gruyère. If that doesn’t sell you on making it, the cozy dish gets hit with fresh mint for pop. Plus, from start to finish, the whole thing comes together in 20 minutes.
The Devil’s Kiss Pasta
Penne alla Vodka is good, but the Devil’s kiss takes it up a notch without any additional fuss. The addition of pancetta provides a salty, meaty bite, while incorporating Calabrian chiles and fire-roasted tomatoes to the mix creates a velvety sauce with spicy nuance.
Best Italian Hangover Food
This dish is so undemanding, you can make it when you’re half-asleep and groggy after a night out. The cooking instructions are simple and there are minimal ingredients. The best part? It comes together in under 10 minutes.