There are few foods that can adapt and change with the seasons quite like pasta. It opens its embrace to vegetables like asparagus and artichoke in the spring, gets along famously with fresh tomatoes and basil in the summer, and plays host to mushrooms and squashes in the fall. But let’s be honest, pasta’s true superpower is its ability to stand up to sub-zero temperatures and winter storms, look them in the eye, and be all casually, “yeah? Is that all you got?” As if the Polar Vortex, or any other doomsday-sounding weather event, could hope to compete with rich sauces, layers upon layers of cheese, and forkfuls of hearty peasant meats—the things that turn pasta into a luxuriant, sumptuous, vortex-be-damned feast. It’s the season for breaking out the Crock-Pots and casseroles, and for lingering in the coziness of your kitchen, simmering and baking your way to strands of noodle drenched in ragout, or rigatoni crowned with a crispy, singed top. In case you needed any convincing that winter is the best pasta season of them all, here are 12 pasta dishes that come on strong and warm from the inside out.
1. Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake
Chowhound
It doesn’t get more comforting than rich, creamy penne pasta paired with earthy mushrooms and thyme. This easy pasta bake is the ultimate dish to hunker down with during an epic snow storm, or whenever the temperature outside is savage enough to try to kill you. Get our Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake recipe.
2. Orecchiette with Sausage, Brown Butter, and Sage
Chowhound
Brown butter and sage are a match made in pasta sauce heaven, especially when the conditions in the out-of-doors are anything but heavenly. You know what else is heavenly, though? Sausage. When winter is getting you down, take advantage of the cold and cook up a batch of this addictive pasta, and you’ll be warmed up in no time. Get our Orecchiette with Sausage, Brown Butter, and Sage recipe.
3. Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
Chowhound
Snow days, and otherwise bitterly cold days, are the perfect time for putting together a pot of something slow-cooking, rib-sticking, and hearty. Our spaghetti Bolognese has you covered even more so than your multiple pairs of sweatpants, with spices and a healthy dose of red wine to make your place smell like maybe you’d be happy not to have to leave the house until March. Get our Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese recipe.
4. Tortellini in Broth
Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
Speaking of Netflix and going stir crazy, why not put a bit of elbow grease into making some fresh pasta? Rolling and folding little tortellini like the ones in this recipe will have you embracing your crafty side, while the soothing broth is sure to stave off any post-vortex viruses. Get the Tortellini in Broth recipe.
5. Pumpkin, Feta, and Pea “Pastitsio”
Souvlaki for the Soul
What’s better than lasagna? Very little, in my opinion, unless you want to talk about adding a layer of potatoes and béchamel sauce. Oh, hello. Pastitsio is pretty much that, and therefore my new cold weather boyfriend. This recipe also features puréed butternut squash and is studded with feta crumbles and peas, taking the creamy factor, and our relationship, to new heights. Get the Pumpkin, Feta, and Pea “Pastitsio” recipe.
6. Cavatelli with Pork Ragu
Bon Appétit
Real-deal ragu demands the right shape of pasta to soak up the thick and meaty sauce. Cavatelli couldn’t be better suited for the job, with its little grooves and pockets that hold every bit of flavor. In this particular recipe, sturdy kale and delicately sweet currants round out the dish, resulting in a satisfying one-plate meal. You will barely be able to hear the howling wind over the “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing.”
Get the Cavatelli with Pork Ragu recipe.
7. Four-Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Drunken Pasta Bake
Half Baked Harvest
If pastitsio is my cold weather boyfriend, then drunken pasta is definitely my BFF. Some people may spend the beginning of the year picking at salads or gulping juices, but in my opinion, it’s just the season for feasting on indulgent hibernation fare. Four cheeses and a layer of rigatoni doused in a wine-infused sauce? Bring it on. I’ll be sipping from the rest of the Cabernet bottle while it bakes. Get the Four-Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Drunken Pasta Bake recipe.
8. Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
The Wicked Noodle
Creamy, buttery, cheesy, umami—alfredo sauce has all the elements that dairy lovers’ dreams are made of. And when you put it into a pasta bake, you get an added bonus: a layer of crispy stuff on top, for some crunch along with all that oozy, gooey goodness. Get the Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake recipe.
9. Pasta with Cauliflower, Sausage, & Breadcrumbs
The Kitchn
Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that play well with whatever you pair them with, unlike myself during exceedingly cold weather. In this dish designed for a crowd, pasta, sausage, tomatoes, and breadcrumbs are no exception, making for a pan-full of happy bedfellows. Get the Pasta with Sausage, Cauliflower, & Breadcrumbs recipe.
10. Pappardelle with a Duck Ragout
Urban Cookery
Wide and long pappardelle noodles team up with tender, braised duck for a combination that slithers and twirls around your fork in a way that could only be described as sultry. And this cold is definitely causing me to hallucinate the seductive intentions of my dinner. Get the Pappardelle with a Duck Ragout recipe.
11. Pasta e Fagioli
Martha Stewart
Pasta e fagioli may be more of a soup with pasta than a proper pasta dish in its own right, but…but nothing. Second to pasta, the only other thing that could hope to heal you when the temperature begins with a minus more than pasta is soup. Plus, it has something special: You can cook the tubes of ditalini right in the broth. That’s one less pot to deal with, plus the pasta soaks up all that flavor while releasing starch to help thicken things up. Get the Pasta e Fagoli recipe.
12. Egg Yolk Ravioli with Bacon-Sage Sauce
Chowhound
Sorry, I just swooned a little bit. First of all, every one of those words in the title is one of my most favorite things. For another, do you see that yolk ooze? Eggs and bacon aren’t only for breakfast. Eggs and bacon are for always. In this dinner-party-worthy stunner, the yolks are tucked into ravioli sheets and cooked for a brief moment, releasing a stream of runny, golden goodness waiting to be sopped right up when served. Get our Egg Yolk Ravioli with Bacon-Sage Sauce recipe.
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Related Video: 5 Pasta Shapes You’ve Probably Never Seen Before
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This post was originally published on January 26, 2015, and was updated with new images, links, and text on January 31, 2019.
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