The 30 best pasta recipes you ABSOLUTELY must try

At Crazy Leeks, we’re not just crazy about leeks; we’re crazy about pasta, too! In fact, we’ve already given you all our tips for making your own homemade pasta (in French) and a few Italian recipes (including pasta dishes 🍝) for eating as if you were in Italy.

Today, we’re pushing the (pasta) machine a little further with our top 30 pasta recipes. We’re warning you right now: you’ll probably be hungry the whole time you’re reading this article because we were hungry the entire time we were writing it!

The 3 best mac’n cheese recipes

We’re starting our pasta list with a bang with the delicious mac ’n cheese. Since we love cheese as much as pasta, mac’n cheese was a must in our top 30! Our 3 favourite recipes:

• Macaroni and cheese with cauliflower and leek sauce (in French)

• Macaroni with leeks and 3 cheeses

• Macaroni and cheese with caramelized onions

The 3 best vegetarian pastas in the world

There are many advantages to eating less meat. And as Serge told us in his article, vegetarianism is a trendy way of life... and pasta recipes are no exception. Having tested several of them, we can confirm that you won’t be bored of eating meat with these 3 recipes; so succulent are they:

1. Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, olives and feta cheese
2. Linguine with tofu and arrabbiata sauce (in French)
3. Orecchiette with arugula and basil pesto

Top 3 pasta recipes with meat

Not ready for vegetarianism? You can still eat meat on occasion 😉. And it’s hard to resist chicken, tacos or the slightly salty taste of pancetta in a creamy sauce with peas.

1. Pasta with leek and chicken
2. Pasta with tacos (in French)
3. Creamy pasta with chicken and pancetta

The top 3 seafood pasta recipes

Yum, seafood! Moreover, we’re lucky in Quebec to have such good seafood. If the situation allows it and we can travel this summer, it will be to Quebec. We’re sure that many of you will be able to enjoy seafood from the Gaspé Peninsula or the Magdalen Islands right on the spot! And if we can’t, or if plans change, at least we’ll be able to sample some delicious seafood dishes:

1. Ocean pasta (in French)
2. Seafood paccheri
3. Gaspé lobster pasta with white wine sauce

The classic tomato sauce for the 3 best pasta dishes

Ah, tomato sauce! Everyone adds a little personal touch to their recipe. Whatever your secret recipe, we invite you to try our 3 pasta recipes with red sauce... with a little grated Parmesan on top, of course 😉. :

1. Rigatoni with Italian sausage and leek
2. Pasta with tomato sauce (in French)
3. Pasta with beef and red wine ragù sauce (in French)

3 fabulous pasta recipes with white sauce

Those who prefer white sauce will be delighted by our top 3 pasta dishes! We must admit that we have difficulty choosing between a cream and white wine sauce and a béchamel sauce made with butter, flour, cream and chicken stock. One thing’s for sure: we think we’ve identified the 3 best pasta recipes in the world:

1. Portofino pasta (in French)
2. Pasta with shallot and sage cream sauce (in French)
3. Linguine with mushroom sauce (in French)

3 wonderful pasta recipes with rosé sauce

The rosé sauce perfectly balances the tangy taste of the tomato sauce and the creamy taste of the white sauce. For the red sauce part, it’s easy to make a classic tomato sauce. For the white sauce, either make a béchamel sauce and mix it with the tomato sauce later or add cream to the tomato sauce. You could also add cream cheese to the tomato sauce! Whatever the mix, all 3 versions are good 😊: 

1. Pasta with rosée sauce (in French) (tomato sauce + béchamel sauce)
2. Pasta in a rosé sauce with two tomatoes (tomato sauce + cream)
3. Creamy chicken and tomato pasta (tomato sauce + cream cheese)

Brown sauce in 3 pasta recipes

After white sauce, red sauce and rosé sauce, now brown sauce is making its way into pasta recipes, and it’s pure delight! We’re particularly fond of poutine-style gnocchi 🤤:

1. Poutine-style gnocchi in brown sauce (in French)
2. Beef noodles
3. Beef scallop, creamy sauce (in French)

3 au gratin pasta dishes for cheese lovers

It’s not just macaroni that can be baked au gratin! Cheese lovers know that any pasta can be baked au gratin to create the world’s best pasta recipes. Fire up the oven; it’s going to smell like good grilled cheese with these 3 recipes:

1. “Classic” lasagna (in French)
2. Pasta with Alfredo sauce and broccoli au gratin
3. Pasta gratin with tuna (in French)

3 must-try pasta salad recipes

Obviously, we couldn’t devote an entire article to the best pasta recipes without presenting a few pasta salad recipes! They’re the perfect accompaniment to BBQ evenings and bring freshness to your plate on those hot days just around the corner. Plus, they’re packed with delicious vegetables! You can even personalize your pasta salads with whatever fruits and vegetables you have on hand from your local grower’s basket delivered straight to your door 😊:

1. Orzo salad with asparagus and grilled chicken
2. Warm farfalle salad with ham, sun-dried tomatoes and asparagus
3. Italian pasta salad

Want more? It's a good thing we’ve categorized more recipes by pasta type (in French) for you! We’ve also got a whole host of pasta recipes on our website 😊 With all these choices; you really can make tons of different dishes with the load of pasta you’ve been storing up during confinement!