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Justine Lee
Justine LeeRecipe Production Coordinator
Justine Lee is Kitchn's Recipe Production Coordinator and a food writer and recipe developer based in NYC. Her writing frequently appears in Food52, Bon Appetit, Food Network, The Infatuation, among others. She has also been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In her past, Justine has worked in various professional kitchens and food companies. This, along with her Korean-American culinary identity and a lifelong passion for baking, often informs her work. You will find Justine drinking iced coffees year-round, even in a snowstorm with gloves on.
published Jul 16, 2022
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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.
Read more: I Tried The Pasta Queen’s Spaghetti Carbonara and It Was Absolutely Divine
Italian Mac and Cheese Bake
The Pasta Queen would like you to know that this baked mac and cheese recipe is over 400 yearsold. We want you to know it has a jaw-droppingly cheesy taste that will never go out of style.
Read more: The Pasta Queen’s “400-Year-Old” Mac and Cheese Bake Is Old-School Delicious
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!
Read more: I Tried The Pasta Queen’s “Siren’s Enchantment” Gnocchi and Will 100% Make It Again
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.
Read more: I Tried The Pasta Queen’s “Lemon Temptress Pasta” and It’s Impossibly Simple and Delicious
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.)
Read more: The Pasta Queen’s “Lazy Princess Pasta” Is a Total Game-Changer (I Can’t Recommend It Enough)
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!
Read more: I Tried the Pasta Queen’s Recipe for Supreme Cheese Balls and It’s a Cheese-Lover’s Dream
The Rebellious Carbonara
This summertime-friendly meal, which swaps out pork for zucchini, is a euphoric vegetarian riff on classic pasta carbonara.
Read more: The Pasta Queen’s Vegetarian “Rebellious Carbonara” Is Quick, Easy, and Oh-So Good
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.
Read more: The Pasta Queen’s “Favorite Recipe of All Time” Is Mind-Blowingly Simple
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.
Read more: I Tried the Pasta Queen’s “The Cobbler’s Wife” Spaghetti and It’s as Simple as It Is Delicious
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.
Read more: The Pasta Queen’s “Assassin’s Spaghetti” Is So Good It Doesn’t Even Need Cheese
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.
Read more: I Tried the Pasta Queen’s Pesto of Your Dreams Recipe and Here’s Why I Think It’s Probably One of Her Best Yet
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.
Read more: I Tried The Pasta Queen’s “Minty Mistress Mac and Cheese” Recipe and Now It’s One of My Favorites
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.
Read more: I Tried the Pasta Queen’s “Devil’s Kiss Pasta” and It’s Outrageously Good
Best Italian Hangover Food
This dish is so undemanding, you can make it when you’re half-asleep and groggyafter a night out. The cooking instructions are simple and there are minimal ingredients. The best part? It comes together in under 10 minutes.
Read more: I Tried The Pasta Queen’s Best Italian Hangover Food Recipe and It’s the Cure We All Need
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