The 14 Best Pasta Cookbooks, According to Pros

Flour + Water: Pasta

Orig. $35 $20 at Amazon View on Abebooks.com $35 at Barnesandnoble.com

In this pasta cookbook, chef Thomas McNaughton of San Francisco's Flour + Water restaurant dishes on his strategies and tips for creating simple, flavorful pasta. "Not only is the book beautifully photographed, but I find that it's one I actually use at home," says Amanda Wilson, culinary director at Tortazo. "It's for a home cook but definitely doable for someone who wants to experiment with new shapes and cooking with seasonality in mind."

Favorite recipes include tagliatelle Bolognese, pumpkin tortellini with sage and pumpkin seeds, and tomato farfalle with chicken polpettine, roasted peppers, and basil. "I love the simplicity and the seasonal breakdown [of recipes]," says Kristyn Brewer, executive chef at Winona's in New York City.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

View on Amazon View on Folkwayswines.com Orig. $41 $39 at Bookshop.org

Our list of the best pasta cookbooks wouldn't be complete without a nod to Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Originally published in the early 1990s, this book combines two of Hazan's most popular recipe collections: The Classic Italian Cookbook and More Classic Italian Cooking. It includes her famed tomato sauce with onion and butter, plus recipes for gnocchi, Bolognese, and other pasta dishes. It goes far beyond the dough and covers every delicious layer of Italian specialties.

Pasta by Hand

Orig. $25 $9 at Amazon $3 at Barnesandnoble.com

Written by 2012 Food & Wine Best New Chef Jenn Louis, Pasta by Hand is the definitive guide to making pasta dough from scratch. With more than 65 recipes for traditional shapes of pasta and dumplings (plus savory, simmering sauces to enjoy alongside), Louis's detailed explanations are easy to follow and master.

"This book is really unique in that it focuses solely on hand-formed shapes and dumplings and includes a number of different dough recipes from all over Italy," say Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, chefs at Don Angie in New York. "We love the tactile experience of forming pasta piece by piece, completely by hand, and this book focuses on just that."

Encyclopedia of Pasta

Orig. $45 $17 at Amazon

As you learn the art of making pasta, take some time to read up on its fascinating role in Italy's history with this book by scholar Oretta Zanini De Vita. While it isn't a traditional pasta cookbook, it's a valuable deep-dive into the culture, ingredients, and stories around pasta. "This is an amazing and deeply valuable work of culinary scholarship — an anthropology of Italian pasta that is also a major contribution to Italian cultural history," says Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking.

Mastering Pasta

Orig. $30 $17 at Amazon $23 at Walmart

After researching pasta for more than a decade, award-winning chef Marc Vetri finally felt ready to publish the ambitiously named Mastering Pasta. Whether you're a home cook or a professional, this comprehensive guide covers a wide variety of pastas as well as Italian specialties like gnocchi and risotto, and it includes a range of classic to modern sauces. There are more than 100 easy-to-follow recipes, plus engaging anecdotes and informative explanations. Vetri even writes about the science of flour types to explain how to craft the very best pasta by hand or with a machine.

"He gives so many great tips, tricks, and techniques in the book, and there are some incredible recipes," says James Beard Award–winning New Orleans chef Nina Compton. "I call Marc the 'Pasta Don' because he has a way with flour and water that is truly special."

Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well

Orig. $66 $41 at Amazon

Originally published in 1891 as La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene, this book has been a beloved standard in Italy for more than a century. It was one of the first cookbooks to include Italian recipes, in Italian and intended for home cooks. Its recipes and advice are confidence-builders today as much as they were back then.

"This is not just a cookbook about pasta; it also sheds light on the history and intention for these pasta recipes," says Alex Tubero, executive chef at Amali in New York. "In many cases, there is more than just one recipe for a specific dish and there aren't exact measurements for ingredients (a half an egg shell of water or a fist full of flour); I think this is important for people learning to cook or to refine their skills because it promotes cooking with your intent rather than just following a detailed recipe with can make a dish taste soulless."

American Sfoglino

Orig. $38 $21 at Amazon

This pasta cookbook won the 2020 James Beard Award for photography and is a favorite among some of today's greatest chefs for its step-by-step explanation and technique for homemade pasta-making. It's so compelling, fellow James Beard Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton says, that "you may never again be tempted to buy dried, packaged pasta at the supermarket." Chef Evan Funke teaches you how to make 15 different pasta shapes and then turn them into dishes like lasagna Bolognese and tagliatelle with bacon and butter.

Pasta

Orig. $40 $25 at Amazon

You can't deny the depth and breadth of Missy Robbins' comprehensive ode to pasta, especially with a title as all-encompassing as, well, Pasta. "Her book is an encyclopedic regional and visual feast and the definitive guide to all things pasta," says Nilou Motamed, former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine and judge on Netflix's Iron Chef. This pasta cookbook achieves the perfect balance of step-by-step instruction, gorgeous imagery, and cheerful storytelling — all the while setting you up for maximum pasta-making success.

Cooking by Hand

Orig. $40 $23 at Amazon $40 at Barnesandnoble.com View on Booksamillion.com

Filled with more than 140 recipes, Paul Bertolli's Cooking by Hand weaves his food memories and personal stories with deep explorations into some of his favorite ingredients and Italian dishes. "Reading this cookbook is like stepping back in time and returning to the motherland," says celebrity chef Marcel Vigneron. "The recipes are deceptively simple but also inspire you to become more creatively involved in the food that you cook, which is what makes them so perfect."

Italian American

Orig. $35 $20 at Amazon

In Italian American, Don Angie chefs Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli (who recommended Pasta by Hand above) highlight a harmonious mash-up of adored family classics with new, innovative riffs. Every dish, however, is equally as comforting: think pinwheel lasagna and saucy shrimp Parmesan meatballs. "Italian American is the first cookbook that I've wanted to cook my way through," says chef Max Sussman. "It's like a perfect blend of red sauce nostalgia and modern creativity. The experience has been unreal — everything I've made turns out perfectly."

Back Pocket Pasta

Orig. $30 $20 at Amazon

In Back Pocket Pasta, Colu Henry caters her collection of recipes to home cooks who are pressed for time — each one of the more than 75 included recipes is weeknight-friendly, which means readers will be able to prepare them in almost the same amount of time it takes to boil the water.

"These recipes are totally doable, delicious takes on all the classics, plus a lot of seasonal pasta recipes inspired by Colu's life in the Hudson Valley," says The New York Times recipe developer Lidey Heuck. "Whether I'm craving any particular pasta dish like a la vodka or linguine with clams, or I'm in the mood for something a little off the beaten track, Back Pocket Pasta is always my first stop on the cookbook shelf."

Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef

Orig. $65 $42 at Amazon

If you've watched Netflix's Chef's Table, then you may have seen a first-hand look into the mind of Massimo Bottura. Consider this book the printed version of the TV show. A tribute to Bottura's 25-year career and the evolution of his three-Michelin-star restaurant Osteria Francescana, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef highlights 50 of his most prized, innovative recipes that home chefs can aspire to create. "[This book is all about] typical ingredients but a different way to see the classic Italian kitchen," says Christian Chirino, executive chef at TUR Kitchen in Coral Gables, Florida.

New Italian Cooking

Orig. $35 $7 at Amazon

If you're looking for a pasta cookbook specializing in recipes that won't take you hours to prepare, this pick is another go-to. Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking includes more than 130 recipes that can be whipped together in 45 minutes or less, spaghetti puttanesca, "boneless" osso buco, and long-simmering classic Bolognese. "I love his approach of modernizing Italian classics but keeping the true soul and flavor of the recipes," says Jose Mendin, chef and restaurateur of Pubbelly Global.

Simple Pasta

Orig. $29 $17 at Amazon $29 at Sur La Table $29 at Macy's

Pasta is a love language that Odette Williams speaks fluently. Her collection of uncomplicated, crave-worthy recipes celebrates the art of cooking in a simple, thoughtful form. With Simple Pasta, Williams makes preparing pasta by hand a painless and fun process for every member of the family. Indulgent carbonara, cheesy cacio e pepe, hearty Italian sausage and broccolini orecchiette; her recipes range in flavor, depth, and complexity. "The book is a must-have for anyone who enjoys cooking or entertaining, you'll turn to these recipes — pasta and so much more — again and again," say Spencer Bezaire and Sabrina Bezaire, co-owners of Eszett in Los Angeles.