Rachael Ray is a TV food personality, business woman, and author who has managed to permeate mainstream US culture through her easy and quick recipes that lend themselves to the busy domestic and work lives of the 21st century American.
Many of her recipes show how to use ingredients well and are targeted to a more beginner audience, encouraging your average American to cook more than get take out and take pride in their cooking, all while making her recipes as efficient for the working American as possible.
As a result of her success she’s had many TV shows that all center around food, as well as writing her own recipes and cookbooks based from her life in the food business.
Today we are going to look into some of her top pasta recipes, something easy we all love to cook, to demonstrate her approach to cooking and hopefully to inspire you to get into the kitchen yourself, today! Keep reading to learn more about Rachael Ray (see also “Amazing Rachael Ray Turkey Meatloaf Recipes To Try Today“), her pasta recipes, and cooking in general, below !
This is a tasty and fragrant pasta that will have your kitchen smelling great and everyone will sit waiting for you to serve this delicious delight to them.
This is effectively your classic Italian style shrimp pasta, but Rachael adds a few classically Cajun twists that provide the Chesapeake Bay Style sauce you may recognise thanks to the seasonings, celery, and spicy additions.
While there may be a long ingredient list and what seems like some harder skills, it’s actually an easy one to make that any domestic goddess can easily conquer.
Ray, in her classic fashion, makes all her steps super easy to follow so you can successfully serve your family this Cajun inspired twist on pasta that any American would love.
This one is your classic Italian pasta recipe (Also check out Amazing Rachael Ray Leftover Pasta Recipes), likely taken from Rachael’s own Scillian roots as inspiration.
This recipe uses fresh artichokes, a vegetable that can be particularly toilsome to prepare, but luckily Rachael guides us seamlessly through the process with a video on her website.
Alternatively you can use jarred artichokes for a similar result, but it’s always good to know how to prepare one fresh.
Beyond preparing the artichokes the dish is really easy and simple and uses all your basic pasta making skills, without m any particularly hard steps.
If you choose to make this recipe you can be guaranteed to be transported to the Scillian coast with its fresh and summery flavors, perfect for a day by the pool.
Here again we see Rachael revitalize an Italian American classic into something that is healthier, low calorie, and high protein. Ideal for feeding lots of hungry kids, while also unknowingly filling them up with the good stuff.
There’s no chance your kids will turn their nose up at jalapeno popper mac ‘n’ cheese, it’s the stuff of childhood dreams, and it’s not even bad for them.
By using cottage and cream cheese, as well as skinless chicken breast you can really amp up the nutritional value of the meal, as well as reducing sugar without sacrificing loads of flavor.
This is a great dish on its own that is perfect to bring to potlucks or BBQs but is also perfect for a Friday night dinner at home.
Cascatelli? You bet, it’s the new pasta on the block and it’s no surprise Rachael is showcasing it to the nation’s homecooks.
It’s a new type of pasta invented not that long ago which was designed by engineers as the pasta shape that can catch the most sauce possible.
Regardless of what pasta shape you use, the base recipe is one to die for.
This pasta has all the signs of Fall, with sage and bacon being the main flavorings.
Caponata, as described by Rachael, is an Italian snack, but she has created her own ‘green’ version that uses zucchini instead of eggplant, a practical swap for something abundant in her garden.
This is a tasty and healthy dinner that can come together in minutes and is a great way to welcome in the colder fall months!
This recipe is from some of Rachael’s championed stars Sarah Raffetto and Emily Fedner, who have appeared with and on Rachael’s website before.
While we’re all for platforming other female food creators, this pasta needs no reason to be showcased beyond it being totally delish.
The pasta is so easy to make and while sumptuous and rich the pasta doesn’t require any crazy technique but actually uses simple ingredients you may already have in your cupboard.
For what is a rich dish with lots of cream, the lemon really helps to brighten things up with the leek without adding anything to weigh the dish down.
A classic Rachael tip is to wash your leeks as they can often have sand in their fronds when harvested.
We love this recipe, not just because the title rhymes, but also because, as Rachael describes, it’s a ‘simple, silly, fun dish and it’s so delicious’.
This pasta is based on vodka pasta sauce to some degree and is a great dish to make for a girls night or for a fun date.
Don’t worry, this pasta dish doesn’t taste like an alcohol spill, the alcohol flavors will naturally burn off under the heat of the pan and you are left instead with the vegetal, floral, and flavorful notes of the spirits instead of the alcohol smack.
That said, the dish does actually use all the ingredients of a martini in there, which is what makes it unique, but that won’t stop you making yourself a martini while you cook!
Two things: pappardelle is just a long pasta shape like linguine but probably double the width, and yeah, pheasant, but you can totally sub this with chicken as Rachael describes in the recipe.
The sauce is a white ragu, which is easy to make and pairs perfectly with your classic Italian meat of choice, pheasant.
Pheasant is pretty common in the colder months and is traditional, hence why it is used, but chicken is totally fine to use if you don’t fancy a trip to your local butcher.
As Rachael directs, the pappardelle is perfect to stand up to the white ragu that is creamy and wants something nice and long to cling to. A perfect dish to welcome the holidays.
This simple pumpkin pasta rides that pumpkin trend that seems to come back into the fad station every fall. As Rachel says herself: ‘People are obsessed with pumpkin lattes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin everything.
I’m obsessed with cooking with pumpkin’ and this recipe shows us exactly why.
With all the pasta skills you will learn with this article, the recipe is not skin off your back. Or, put another way, this is another simple pasta that shows us how to use the bounty of fall to feed our families.
Expect all the usual pasta suspects of garlic and red pepper flakes, but also some autumnal creme fraiche and nutmeg to get the winter warming done.
Final Thoughts
As you can see Rachael knows her pasta well, and isn’t afraid to show it.
From using pheasant to making a dirty martini pasta, there is so much to learn with Rachael Ray and to share with your family through healthy home cooked food.
Rachael is a never ending source of cooking wisdom and useful tips in the kitchen, as well as a great role model homemaker we can all learn from.
We hope this article has inspired you to get into the kitchen, and has given you an idea for what might be for dinner tonight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Rachael Ray?
Rachael Ray is a TV cook, food personality, business woman, and food writer, who rose to fame after a career in the food industry in the late 90s.
After successfully managing many restaurants, as well food stores, she became experienced enough to advise others through her media and cookbooks.
Her TV career started around 2000 where she was eventually invited to host the $40 a Day show for 3 seasons as well as being a mainstay on other food publications.
Her fun demeanor and personality was naturally suited to TV and her experience within the kitchen, but outside professional training, allowed her to speak candidly to America’s everyday people on how to cook easily and quickly but with lots of love.
Following her success in the early 2000s Rachael Ray has written many cookbooks that are still in print on many topics as well as the domestic lifestyle, and won many Daytime Emmy Awards for her outstanding TV shows that have likely informed much of America’s home cooks throughout the years.
Rachael Ray is the homecook fairy godmother and has so much to teach us. Here are our favorite pasta dishes from the TV personality for you to try today! Ready, steady, cook!
I'm Barbara Hunt, the founder of WomenChefs.org. Being a mom of two, I understand the challenges of meal planning and the monotony it can bring.
That's why I created WomenChefs.org, a platform dedicated to showcasing the skills and delicious dishes crafted by amazing women. My goal is to provide a space where women can find delectable recipes that tantalize their taste buds and ignite their senses.
I hope you'll join me in exploring WomenChefs.org and discovering your next favorite recipe. Let's embrace culinary diversity and try something new together!
