dinner
Chicken Parmesan
Crispy breaded chicken cutlets topped with marinara and melted mozzarella.
⏱ 55 min🔥 620 kcalMedium
★4.9(11,800)
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Italian Cheese Recipes
13 recipes using cheese — Pasta, pizza, risotto and more from la bella Italia.
These 13 italian cheese recipes are ready in about 45 minutes on average, with 310–680 kcal per serving, and 38% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
13
recipes
45 min
average time
487 kcal
avg per serving
38%
easy recipes
How Italian cuisine cooks with cheese
Italian cooking is built on restraint — a handful of excellent ingredients treated simply, letting each one taste of itself. When Italian cooks work with cheese, they reach for olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, tomatoes, parmesan and a good splash of wine, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are baking, boiling, simmering and frying.
A concentrated hit of savoury, salty richness used to melt, gratinate, crumble or finish a dish. In this collection it's most often cooked with olive oil, fine sea salt, caster sugar, breadcrumbs, spaghetti and all-purpose flour. The dishes here span italian classics ready in as little as 12 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Spaghetti and Meatballs is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 12,400 ratings.
13 Italian Cheese Recipes
dinner
Meatball Marinara
Tender Italian-American meatballs simmered in a rich, garlicky marinara sauce.
⏱ 70 min🔥 440 kcalMedium
★4.8(8,600)
dinner
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Classic spaghetti tossed in marinara with tender homemade meatballs.
⏱ 80 min🔥 680 kcalMedium
★4.9(12,400)
✨ Newdinner
Aglio e Olio Pasta
Classic Roman pasta with garlic, olive oil, and chili flakes.
⏱ 12 min🔥 480 kcalEasy
★4.7(3,200)
✨ Newdessert
Tiramisù (Authentic Italian Recipe)
The real Italian tiramisù — espresso-soaked savoiardi, mascarpone-egg cream, cocoa dusting and nothing artificial. Rich, light and impossible to stop eating.
⏱ 30 min🔥 420 kcalMedium
★4.8(1,000)
☕
dessert
Classic Tiramisu
The ultimate Italian coffee dessert — layers of espresso-soaked ladyfingers and whipped mascarpone cream, dusted with bittersweet cocoa.
⏱ 30 min🔥 420 kcalMedium
★4.9(3,650)
dessert
Tiramisu
Italy's most beloved dessert — espresso-soaked savoiardi layered with a cloud-light mascarpone cream, dusted with bitter cocoa.
⏱ 30 min🔥 430 kcalEasy
★4.9(4,512)
dessert
Sicilian Cannoli
Sicily's iconic fried pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta cream, studded with chocolate chips and candied orange peel.
⏱ 90 min🔥 310 kcalHard
★4.8(1,876)
dinner
Cacio e Pepe
Roman pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper, nothing else
⏱ 20 min🔥 620 kcalMedium
★4.8(1,420)
✨ Newbread
Roman Lemon Herb Flatbread
Roman Lemon Herb Flatbread turns italian pantry flavors into a complete flatbread with flatbread dough, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and aged cheese, and a fresh basil finish.
⏱ 35 min🔥 485 kcalEasy
★4.5(2,015)
✨ Newbread
Italian Festival Lemon Herb Flatbread
Italian Festival Lemon Herb Flatbread brings italian flavor to a practical flatbread built with flatbread dough, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and aged cheese, and a fresh basil finish.
⏱ 37 min🔥 490 kcalEasy
★4.5(2,085)
✨ Newlunch
Piadina with Prosciutto, Arugula, and Stracchino
A soft Italian flatbread folded around creamy stracchino cheese, prosciutto, and peppery arugula.
⏱ 35 min🔥 420 kcalEasy
★4.6(32)
✨ Newdinner
Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables and Toasted Sesame Breadcrumbs
A hearty baked ziti loaded with roasted seasonal vegetables and finished with a crisp, sesame-flecked breadcrumb topping.
⏱ 62 min🔥 520 kcalMedium
★4.3(46)
Choosing & preparing cheese
How to choose
Buy in blocks and grate fresh — pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking starch that hampers melting. Match the cheese to the job: good melters (mozzarella, gruyère) versus crumblers (feta, parmesan).
Prep & storage
Let cheese come to room temperature for the fullest flavour. Add delicate cheeses off the heat to stop them splitting; build a smooth sauce with a roux or a starch.
Nutrition
A calcium- and protein-rich food; it is also high in saturated fat and sodium, so a little sharp cheese goes a long way.
Classic flavour partners: tomatoes, bread, wine, pasta, black pepper, honey
Italian Cheese Recipes — FAQ
How long do Italian cheese recipes take to make?
Most of these 13 Italian cheese recipes are ready in around 45 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Aglio e Olio Pasta, takes about 12 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 90 minutes.
How many calories are in Italian cheese dishes?
Across this collection they range from about 310 to 680 kcal per serving, averaging 487 kcal — Sicilian Cannoli is the lightest option at 310 kcal.
What is the easiest Italian cheese recipe for beginners?
Aglio e Olio Pasta is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 12 minutes. 38% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
What goes well with cheese in Italian cooking?
In these recipes, cheese is most often paired with olive oil, fine sea salt, caster sugar, breadcrumbs, spaghetti and all-purpose flour. Italian kitchens also lean on olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, tomatoes, parmesan and a good splash of wine.
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