Giada De Laurentiis Reveals Her Favorite Pasta Dish

If you know anything about Giada De Laurentiis, you know that she loves cooking—and eating—all things Italian. So when the folks over at Giadzy, De Laurentiis’s recipe blog, asked her to narrow down which of her most popular recipes was actually her favorite, we had to have a listen.

Trust us, there’s some fierce competition among those recipes, and De Laurentiis starts off by choosing between two instant classics: her Sheet-Pan Lasagna and her sweet-spicy Roasted Broccoli & Brussels Sprouts Salad.

“Uh, Sheet Pan Lasagna,” De Laurentiis says with a smile, a nod, and a look that says there is no comparison between the two.

Next up is a face-off between Sheet-Pan Lasagna and Simple Bolognese, a classic and hearty dish that her daughter, Jade, loves. De Laurentiis quickly opts for the Bolognese, kicking the lasagna to the curb.

Simple Bolognese wins the next two rounds, beating out tasty dishes like Chicken Piccata Meatballs and Zucchini Scarpaccia. But the dish meets its match when it comes up against De Laurentiis’s Lemon Spaghetti recipe, a simple dinner you can make with just four ingredients.

Lemon Spaghetti then goes on to win every round to the end, easily edging out Lemon Ricotta Cookies, Chicken Marsala, Turkey Tuscan Soup, White Pesto and—once again—Sheet-Pan Lasagna. Though De Laurentiis finds it tough to choose between the lasagna and the spaghetti, her choice eventually becomes all too obvious.

“Lemon Spaghetti will always be my favorite child,” De Laurentiis says.

The recipe in question—Giada’s Original Lemon Spaghetti—is luscious yet oh-so-simple. Unsurprisingly, it’s also a five-star fan favorite, gaining notoriety for being the No. 1 seller at her Las Vegas restaurant, GIADA. The spaghetti is coated in an unpretentious sauce made with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Pasta water and fresh basil finish this sauce off, making it silky smooth and herbaceous—perfectly complementing the citrus flavors. If you really want to bring the lemon flavors home, De Laurentiis recommends using lemon-infused olive oil.

To keep things simple, De Laurentiis even makes the sauce in a serving bowl, so you can combine your ingredients, cook your noodles, toss everything together and be ready to serve without having to get out a second pot or pan. Starchy pasta water does the heavy lifting to warm the no-cook sauce and make all the ingredients come together and harmonize—so be sure to dunk a measuring cup into your pot of noodles before draining.

We totally get the attraction to lemony pasta dishes. Our Creamy Lemon Pasta with Shrimp, Lemon Zucchini Pasta and One-Pot Lemon Lemon-Broccoli Pasta with Parmesan are not only delicious and healthy but come together in just 25 minutes or less. And while De Laurentiis’s recipe makes a perfect date night dish, our lemony pasta dishes would also make great regular additions to your weeknight line-up.