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Best Italian Foods
Italy’s most emblematic culinary creation, the genuine pizza Napoletana is made with just a few simple ingredients and prepared in only two variations – marinara, the basic Neapolitan pizza topped with a tomato-based sauce flavored with garlic and oregano, and margherita, which is topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves, a delicious combination whose colors are said to represent the Italian flag.
The crust is very thin at the base, and the dough puffs up on the sides, which results in airy crust that should have typical charred 'leopard spots' if baked properly. The origins of this iconic Neapolitan dish can be traced to the early 1700s, when what we know today as pizza marinara was first described by Italian chef, writer, and philosopher Vincenzo Corrado in his treatise on the eating habits of the people of Naples.
MOST ICONIC Pizza Napoletana
View morePasta 'ncasciata is a traditional pasta dish originating from Sicily. In order to prepare it, pasta such as penne or rigatoni is cooked in boiling water, then strained and mixed with a rich tomato sauce (in Palermo) or a beef ragu (in Messina), cubes of fried eggplant, pieces of cheese such as caciocavallo or mozzarella, and bechamel sauce.
The combination is placed in a springform cake tin, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, then baked until the filling becomes hot. The dish is inverted from the mold and served warm. It's recommended to pair it with a glass of red wine such as Nero d'Avola or Frappato.
Serve with
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Pasta al forno
Burrata, literary meaning buttered, is an artisan cheese from the Puglia region of Southern Italy, especially the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani. The cheese is made by hand with cow's milk, rennet, and cream. It is believed that the cheese was created by Lorenzo Bianchino Chieppa, a cheesemaker who had an idea to form a shell of stretched mozzarella strings and fill it with luscious, rich cream and smaller, leftover pieces of mozzarella.
The result was a true delicacy with the creamiest interior and a rich flavor of fresh milk, which very quickly became extremely popular. Burrata should be eaten as fresh as possible - ideally within 24 hours of being made. It can be served alone, seasoned only with some salt, pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, but it is also delicious when accompanied by fresh tomatoes and prosciutto crudo, or when used as a topping for pizzas or bruschettas.
Pair with
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Mozzarella
Carefully crafted with the same diligent care since the Roman times, Prosciutto di Parma is a true masterwork of time and tradition, and a gold standard of Italian prosciutto. The pigs of the Large White, Landrace and Duroc breed used in the production of this ham must also meet high quality standards, be bred in one of 10 northern and central Italian regions and fed a diet of grains, cereals and whey of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, which contributes to the complex taste of the meat.
Apart from the characteristic microclimate of the Parma region, which is ideal for the drying of prosciutto, a vital part of the curing process is salting. The expert Maestro Salatore (salt master) measures the minimum amount of sea salt required to preserve the meat.
Produced in the hilly area around the town of San Daniele in the province of Udine, Prosciutto di San Daniele is even sweeter and darker in color with a more delicate flavor than in other varieties. In the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, where the winds from the Carnic Alps meet the breezes coming in from the Adriatic, Prosciutto di San Daniele is made using only local sea salt.
The curing process here differs a little from other regions since San Daniele hams are stacked on top of each other and left to mature for at least 13 months. Up until recently, only large pig breeds such as Landrace, Large White and Duroc were used for ham production, however due to an increase in demand, San Daniele hams can now be made with other local breeds.
Produced exclusively on the island of Sardinia, Pecorino Sardo is a semi-cooked, hard cheese made with whole milk from the pasture-grazing Sarda sheep. This breed is indigenous to Sardinia, raised throughout Italy and considered to be among the best domestic breeds for milk production.
Highly adaptable to different terrains, Sarda sheep feed on fragrant Mediterranean shrubs, which gives Pecorino its distinctive aromatic flavor. It is available in two varieties: Pecorino Sardo Dolce (mild), a sweet and more delicate version, and Pecorino Sardo Maturo (mature), a much stronger flavored cheese that's matured for at least 2 months and pleasantly piquant.
Pair with
Known as crème de la crème of Italian hams, with a tradition dating back to the 14th century, Culatello di Zibello is one of the most prized products of Parma nowadays made only with pigs raised in the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia.
Culatello is tender, rich in flavor and has a refined, winey taste. It is one of the leaner forms of cured pork, cut from the best part of the whole fresh ham, and cured with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic and dry white wine. Since it is stuffed in a natural casing, most often a pig's bladder, and tied with twine, Culatello is sometimes classified as a type of salami.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
I bigoli con l'anatra, locally known as bigoi co' l'arna, is a traditional dish that originated in the city of Thiene, but over time it became very popular throughout the province of Vicenza. Bigoli is a thick, egg-based pasta variety whose size and texture make the perfect match for a rich duck ragú made with onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, sage, and dry white wine.
Originally, this dish used to be prepared with cleaned offals and duck fat, while duck meat was either used in other recipes or preserved in fat. Nowadays, only the best parts of meat and livers are used, while duck fat is substituted with butter and olive oil - the result is an equally delicious, yet much lighter dish.
MOST ICONIC Bigoli con l'anatra
MAIN INGREDIENTS
The carbonara we know today is prepared by simply tossing spaghetti with guanciale (cured pork jowl), egg yolks, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Despite its simplicity, this dish remains one of Rome's favorites, equally popular throughout the country.
Even though carbonara is considered a typical Roman dish today, its origins are quite vague and often disputed. The name is said to have been derived from the carbonari, woodcutters and charcoal-makers who lived in the Appenine mountains northeast of Rome, and who supposedly cooked their pasta over a hardwood charcoal fire and tossed it with eggs and cheese.
MOST ICONIC Carbonara
View moreTagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese is a traditional dish originating from Bologna, consisting of tagliatelle pasta and a rich ragù made with a mixture of minced beef and pork, and tomatoes as key ingredients. Even though they are often thought to be synonymous, tagliatelle al ragù—one of Bologna's signature dishes—bears little or no resemblance to the dish known as spaghetti Bolognese in the rest of the world.
In fact, the world famous Italian ragù alla Bolognese meat sauce is never served with spaghetti in Bologna. Instead, when it isn't served over fresh tagliatelle, you will most often find it topping a bed of some other other ribbon-like pasta, such as fettuccine or pappardelle.
MOST ICONIC Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese
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TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 Italian Foods” list until March 20, 2025, 57,406 ratings were recorded, of which 45,621 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.