16 Big-Batch Pasta Recipes for Feeding a Crowd A big pot of slow-cooked Sunday sauce, a giant casserole of lasagna, sheets of ravioli — pasta is one of the most delicious ways to feed a crowd. By Mrigaa Sethi Mrigaa Sethi Mrigaa Sethi is a writer, editor, and home cook with over 13 years of experience in food, travel, and lifestyle magazines, ranging from alt-weeklies in Bangkok to monthly airline glossies in Singapore and New York City. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines and Alexandra Domrongchai Alexandra Domrongchai Alexandra Domrongchai is a food and travel writer based out of New York. With years of experience in the restaurant industry, food culture research, and as an avid traveler, she joins Travel + Leisure where she writes about all the best travel gadgets and more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 27, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Food & Wine / Photo by Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel Big batches of pasta are great for two reasons: They can feed a crowd if you’re entertaining or have a large family, but if you’re cooking for yourself or a smaller group, they’ll leave you with plenty of leftovers (and less cooking to do during the week). Here, we’ve gathered 16 delicious options, from an ambitious and sculptural timpano to our easiest baked ziti and variations on lasagna, stuffed pasta, mac and cheese, and more. Each recipe serves at least eight, so you’ll have plenty to go around. Read on for the full spread, and start clearing room in your fridge and freezer. Love these recipes? Join MyRecipes — your personal home for recipes — to easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place. 01 of 16 Timpano Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Gabriel Greco Let’s start with the biggest, most impressive, and most labor-intensive of the bunch — a vegetarian showstopper that feeds up to 12 people. Layers of pasta, roasted vegetables, and a pound of Pecorino Romano cheese bake together inside a simple homemade pasta shell, making it the perfect centerpiece for a holiday table. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 16 Sunday Sauce Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Lauren Mcanelly / Prop Styling by Natalie Ghazali While this classic of the Italian American canon traditionally relies on a medley of different meats, Pat LaFrieda’s version focuses on a single star: bone-in beef short ribs. The meat is seared, then slow-cooked all afternoon with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and a carrot until it can be shredded and added back in. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 16 Spinach Lasagna Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Layers of spinach-laced ricotta, Mornay sauce, noodles, and mozzarella bake up into a golden, decadent pasta masterpiece that’s guaranteed to please everyone at the table. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 16 Marry Me Chicken Crock-Pot Mac and Cheese Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Ward / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall Sun-dried tomatoes and condensed cream of chicken soup bring Marry Me Chicken flavor to this mac-and-cheese mashup without the need for a roux. It takes just 15 minutes of active time to assemble it — your slow cooker will do the rest. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 16 Baked Ziti with Shortcut Vodka Sauce Alex Lau / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox F&W recipe developer Liz Mervosh makes an easy vodka sauce with jarred marinara for this baked ziti with three types of cheese and spicy Italian sausage. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 16 Italian Grinder Pasta Salad Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Christina Daley / Prop Styling by Torie Cox With salami, pepperoni, provolone, and peperoncini, this zesty, easy-to-share pasta salad is a satisfying mix of textures and flavors, just like the sandwich on which it’s based. Toss together a few hours before serving, then add the croutons at the very last minute to keep them crunchy. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 16 Smoked Mozzarella Mezzelune with Braised Onion Sauce Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Missie Neville Crawford Meaning “half moons” in Italian, mezzelune are a crescent-shaped stuffed pasta similar to ravioli. They’re also easy to form and freeze in large batches. This recipe from Pasta Social Club founder Meryl Feinstein is filled with smoked mozzarella and rosemary — it makes enough mezzelune for eight to 10 servings. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 16 Pasta ’Ncasciata (Sicilian Baked Pasta) Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley There are many versions of ’ncasciata in Sicily. This one by New Orleans-based chef Michael Gulotta features baked (not fried) eggplant, crushed tomatoes, sweet peas, rigatoni, and two cups of traditional southern Italian caciocavallo cheese, though provolone also works nicely. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 16 Spaghetti Pie with Wild Mushrooms and Spinach John Kernick Top Chef judge Gail Simmons has prepared multiple flavor variations of spaghetti pie; this version incorporates plenty of wild mushrooms, spinach, and herbs. Add a spoonful of chopped oil-packed black truffles, if desired, as Simmons sometimes does. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 16 Pasta Bolognese Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Former F&W senior test kitchen editor Grace Parisi’s big-batch Bolognese — which yields eight to 10 servings — comprises a traditional mix of ground beef, pork, veal, and tomato enriched by savory pancetta. It’s tossed with penne rigate and finished with freshly grated Parmesan. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 16 Basil Three-Cheese Ravioli with No-Cook Fresh Tomato Sauce Greg DuPree The no-cook heirloom tomato and basil sauce in this dish requires zero fuss, letting you focus entirely on making enough ravioli to feed eight people. Pressing fresh basil leaves directly into the homemade dough makes the three-cheese pasta as beautiful as it is delicious. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 16 Easy Classic Lasagna Food & Wine / Photo by Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel Skip the leftover half-containers of pasta, cheese, and sauce. This streamlined lasagna utilizes whole packages of ingredients to eliminate waste, using smart techniques to deliver rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta, and bubbling mozzarella in perfectly neat layers. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 16 Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Traditional Alpine farmers’ macaroni, or älplermagronen, is served alongside applesauce. This adaptation skips the fruit in favor of shallots quick-pickled in apple cider vinegar, but it keeps all the Swiss-inspired goodness of Gruyère and creamy Raclette cheese. Nutmeg and fresh chives add a bit of complexity. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 16 Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Meatballs Jen Causey F&W senior food editor Ann Taylor Pittman’s Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Meatballs features smart swaps, using instant potato flakes instead of breadcrumbs in the meatballs and corn-and-rice gluten-free spaghetti instead of regular spaghetti. You’ll get eight servings out of the meal. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 16 Pasta alla Norma Justin Walker With just a handful of ingredients in this simple Sicilian classic, execution is everything. First, small, sweet onions and plum tomatoes are simmered until soft, then passed through a food mill for ultimate smoothness. Next, cubes of summer eggplant are patiently fried in batches before joining the sauce alongside fresh basil. The end result is a vibrant dish that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 16 Baked Rigatoni with Milk-Braised Pork, Ricotta, and Lemon © Con Poulos Braise pork in whole milk, then use that cooking liquid to create the sauce for this extra-creamy baked rigatoni from chef Ryan Hardy. To serve, dust with plenty of grated pecorino. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Ingredients Pasta + Noodles Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit