Do you still remember the time when you’d wake up to your Nona’s cooking? The smell of fresh tomatoes, herbs, pasta, and garlic invites you to come outside and see what’s cooking. What if we tell you that you can make those authentic gourmet pasta recipes at home and bring back those beautiful memories?
This article will give you different types of recipes including tomatoes, pasta, fresh vegetables and herbs, and of course, meat.
We are pretty sure that some of these will become a staple in your household, so we won’t keep you waiting. Here are 4 delicious gourmet pasta recipes to try.

Gourmet Pasta Recipes: Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken cacciatore pasta with homemade pasta sauces can delight your palate.
Before we proceed with the recipe, did you know that when something is cooked “cacciatore” style it means that is cooked in a “hunters” style?
A hunter’s style refers to a meal that is prepared with herbs, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and sometimes wine. This chicken cacciatore recipe is no different.
Even though this recipe calls for a lot of ingredients, 21 to be precise, it’s still very easy to make. All you really have to do is cook the chicken in a skillet and combine it with fresh pasta. Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 1/2-4 pounds), cut up
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 sliced celery ribs
- 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
- 1 large green pepper cut into strips
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 can of tomatoes, cut up with juice reserved (28 ounces)
- 1 can of tomato paste (6 ounces)
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 can of tomato sauce (8 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Pasta, cooked as box instructions say
- Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- First, lightly coat chicken with flour, then season with salt and pepper (as desired). Once done, prepare your large skillet on medium heat, brown chicken on both sides with oil and butter.
- Once the chicken is browned on each side, remove from heat and put the chicken on a platter. Using the same skillet, combine and cook the onion, pepper, celery, and mushrooms for five minutes.
- Next, stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, herbs, garlic, wine, and sugar. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for thirty minutes.
- Once done simmering, return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is tender.
- Serve over your pasta (cook as directed on the box) and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese.
Linguine With Fresh Tomatoes
Linguine is a type of pasta with long, skinny strands. It’s perfect for a tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, or even a fresh veggie mixture like this recipe calls for.
It’s perfect if you’re looking for a light pasta with an assortment of flavors.
This recipe also has fresh chopped tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, onions, basil, and garlic, to give it a summery feel. This pasta is perfect for a get-together (a sure crowd-pleaser) or an easy weeknight dinner.
You can also modify this recipe by adding different vegetables or adding cooked meat. Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients:
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped (Use whatever type of tomato you prefer but they should be fresh)
- 8 ounces of uncooked linguine (which is 1/2 a standard box)
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup of minced fresh basil or 4 teaspoons of dried basil
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 3 tablespoons of butter
Directions:
- Cook your linguine according to package directions.
- While linguine is cooking, you can place the tomatoes, Parmesan, onion, basil, garlic, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well to combine.
- When the linguine is done, drain the pasta and add the butter. Stir well.
- Add in tomato mixture and toss.
- Serve warm and enjoy. It’s that easy!
Italian Stuffed Shells
Here’s another Italian noodles recipe to love. These stuffed shells are cheesy, warm, and gooey. They are stuffed shell pasta covered in beef, onion, garlic, tomato paste, and cheese.
Then they are baked until they are warm and soft. They are perfect to eat on a rainy Sunday dinner with family.
You can make these Italian stuffed shells in just about an hour (including the pasta) with just a few steps. Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients:
- 24 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups 4% cottage cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons, dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
- 1 can of tomato (12 ounces)
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 cup of chopped onion
- 1 pound of ground beef
Directions:
- In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic, and beef over medium heat, crumbling beef. Then, make sure to cook until the meat is no longer pink and drain.
- Stir in the hot water, tomato paste, oregano, and bouillon. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in water, and tomato paste. bouillon and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine your egg, 1 cup of mozzarella, and cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Stuff shells with cheese mixture.
- Preheat your oven to 350. Arrange the cooked shells in a greased 13×9 baking dish. Pour meat sauce over the shells.
- Cover and let it bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.
- Serve and enjoy.
Easy Pasta Carbonara
Pasta carbonara used to be a dish exclusively reserved for restaurants. The reason is that it’s challenging to make.
Carbonara noodles have a lot of steps, and somehow never seem to turn out as good as it does at the restaurant. But this recipe changes that.
This recipe breaks down how to make carbonara into easy, manageable steps so that everyone can make it. Believe us, once you try it the first time, you will want to continue making it.
Though, as a reminder, there is one tricky step. But if you follow the directions exactly, your carbonara will be just as good as the restaurant version.
This carbonara is full of bacon, garlic, cheese, and spices. Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces of spaghetti (uncooked)
- 6 slices of thick-cut bacon cut into bite-size pieces
- 5 cloves of minced garlic
- 4 quarts of water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons minced parsley
- 1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen (defrosted)
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- Cook your pasta according to package instructions.
- While hot water is boiling, cook your bacon by heating a large pan over medium-high heat. Add olive and once the olive oil is hot, add the bacon. Cook until crispy, stirring every minute or so. This should take about 6-7 minutes.
- Next, drain off excess bacon grease, leaving two tablespoons in the pan to grease it.
- Now, you can add your garlic to the pan and sauté on high until soft and fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Get your peas to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Stir to combine the peas, garlic, and bacon. Turn off the heat and set aside until the pasta is ready.
- By this time, your pasta is ready. Turn the heat back on, and add the hot pasta straight into the pan. Make sure to reserve the boiling water in a different pan (you will need it in just a minute!)
- Go ahead and toss the bacon and peas with pasta for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it on the stovetop.
- Then, in a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and Parmesan cheese together with a whisk.
- Add the pasta mixture to the egg mixture and stir until everything is combined.
Here is the tricky part of making carbonara noodles
- You need to gradually add 1/4 cup of pasta water to the noodles, and continue to stir it constantly. A lightly thickened sauce should be created that coats the pasta.
- Once that is done, place the bowl of pasta over the pot with the boiling pasta water. The pasta bowl should not touch the water, so you may need to throw out some of the boiling water.
- While the bowl is on top of the pasta water, continue stirring the bowl of pasta frequently until the sauce thickens.
- You know you’re doing it right if it looks creamy and coats the spaghetti. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Make sure you stir the bottom of the bowl so that the sauce at the bottom does not curdle.
- Taste pasta and season as desired. You’re almost done.
- Serve immediately with parsley, Parmesan, and pepper on top.
In a Nutshell
No need to go to fancy restaurants to get a plate of your favorite gourmet pasta. These recipes can be done by any beginner and will surely mimic your Nona’s gourmet pasta recipes.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and pick one to try out for dinner.
Sources: Taste Of Home, Genius Kitchen, Taste Of Home, Taste Of Home, Tastes Of Home, Genius Kitchen, The Recipe Critic, Mom On Timeout, Taste Of Home, Tastes Of Home