Pasta Puttanesca

This pasta puttanesca recipe stars a flavorful tomato sauce packed with garlic, olives, and capers. Perfect for weeknights, it's ready in 30 minutes!

Pasta puttanesca is a perfect example of what I love about Italian cooking. This Southern Italian dish features a garlicky tomato sauce spiked with briny olives, capers, and anchovies. It requires simple ingredients and minimal prep, but it still delivers rich, bold flavor. I shared a puttanesca recipe with zucchini noodles in Love & Lemons Every Day, but since this classic pasta is one of my weeknight favorites, I thought it was about time I shared a more traditional recipe too. It calls for 10 ingredients, cooks in under 30 minutes, and is absolutely delicious. I hope you love it as…

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30 Best Summer Vegetable Recipes

These summer vegetable recipes star veggies like corn, tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini. Try one to make the most of the season's best produce!

These summer vegetable recipes are my unofficial summer cooking bucket list. They’re the dishes I come back to every July and August, when zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, and more are in full swing and I want to make the most of them. If you’re looking for ways to use your latest farmers market haul or garden bounty, I think you’ll love these summer vegetable recipes too. Most of them are super simple—think quick sautés and salads you can throw together on a weeknight. A few are a little more involved (looking at you, tomato galette), but I think they’re well…

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20 Fresh Summer Pasta Recipes

These summer pasta recipes are packed with peak-season produce like tomatoes, basil, and zucchini. Try one for a fresh, easy weeknight dinner!

I’ve written a LOT of summer pasta recipes over the years. The reason is simple: anytime I come home from the farmers market with a pile of the season’s best produce and no plan for how to use it, a pasta dish feels like the perfect solution. This delicious Italian carb can pair with any vegetable, and it cooks in a matter of minutes. So if I want to get a veggie-packed summer dinner on the table quickly, pasta always does the trick. I’m sharing 20 of my best summer pasta recipes below. If you could use some new ideas for your weeknight…

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Pesto Gnocchi

Ready in 20 minutes, this pesto gnocchi recipe is a perfect dinner for summer weeknights! With a vibrant pesto sauce, it's fresh and delicious.

This pesto gnocchi recipe is exactly the kind of easy dinner I’m craving right now. It’s fresh and summery, featuring bursty cherry tomatoes and plenty of basil pesto. But at the same time, it’s super simple. Made with store-bought gnocchi, it comes together in 20 minutes or less. File it under “summer weeknight dinners to make on repeat!” This recipe is my extra-veggie spin on the Italian dish gnocchi al pesto. Hailing from Liguria, pesto’s home region, it traditionally consists of gnocchi tossed in a vibrant basil pesto sauce—that’s it. No other add-ins or garnishes, except for maybe a little cheese on…

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Caprese Pasta Salad

This Caprese pasta salad recipe is perfect for summer picnics! It's super bright and fresh, filled with tomatoes, basil, and a light balsamic dressing.

This Caprese pasta salad recipe is practically summer in a bowl! As you can probably tell from its name, it’s a delicious fusion of two summer favorites: pasta salad and Italian Caprese salad. If you ask me, it’s a match made in heaven. A classic Caprese salad is bursting with fresh summer flavor, thanks to the famous combination of creamy mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and aromatic basil. But it isn’t as packable as pasta salad, a staple at picnics and potlucks. This easy Caprese pasta salad recipe combines the best of both. You get all the fresh flavor of a Caprese…

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Homemade Potato Gnocchi

This homemade gnocchi recipe is simple to make with 4 ingredients. It's delicate, soft, and pillowy—perfect for serving with your favorite sauce!

Let’s make gnocchi! My homemade pasta is one of the most popular recipes on Love & Lemons, so it’s about time I shared my favorite potato gnocchi recipe too. These homemade gnocchi are soft, pillowy, and light. Served with a flavorful sauce, they’re absolutely delicious. If you think you like store-bought gnocchi, prepare yourself: this homemade version is so much better. This simple recipe calls for 4 basic ingredients—flour, potatoes, eggs, and salt. It’s a bit of a project, so I’d save it for a weekend or date night, but it’s 100% worth the effort. These potato gnocchi are like…

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Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e pepe is a classic Roman pasta with a glossy sauce made of pecorino cheese and black pepper. Learn how to make it with this simple recipe!

Cacio e pepe is like mac and cheese’s cool Italian cousin. It’s creamy and comforting, sure, but it’s also simple and elegant. Traditionally, this Roman dish consists of three ingredients: Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and pasta. A little pasta water helps the cheese and pepper come together to form the pasta’s silky sauce. I’ve been a fan of cacio e pepe since I first tasted it on a trip to Rome years ago. I love the salty funk of the cheese against the bite of the black pepper. I’ve made it at home many times…with mixed success. Despite…

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85 Best Vegan Recipes

With everything from creamy pastas to burgers and beyond, these 85 vegan recipes will get you excited to cook (and eat!) plant-based meals at home.

Most days in our house, Jack and I eat vegan recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course, there are exceptions, but the food I most enjoy cooking and eating often happens to be plant-based. I love putting vegetables at the center my plate. It’s not just good for my health and for the world—it’s also downright delicious. To kick off the New Year, I’ve rounded up my top 85 easy vegan recipes. This list includes everything from hearty vegan dinner recipes (think creamy pastas, veggie burgers, tacos, etc.) to vegan basics that can serve as starting points for improvising…

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Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e fagioli is a hearty Italian soup made with pasta, beans, and veggies. Served with crusty bread, it's vegetarian comfort food at its best.

Pasta e fagioli, sometimes shortened to pasta fagioli (or pasta fazool if you’re a Sopranos fan), is a classic Italian soup. Its name literally translates to “pasta and beans,” and it consists of tiny pasta, creamy beans, and tender vegetables in a fragrant tomato broth. Here in the US, many people know pasta e fagioli from the menu at Olive Garden, but I’m here to tell you that you HAVE to try making this dish at home. It comes together in one pot. The ingredients are largely pantry staples. AND the combination of pasta, beans, and veggies makes it a…

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50 Fall Recipes and Dinner Ideas

These healthy fall recipes will satisfy any autumn craving! They include quick fall dinner ideas, cozy desserts, side dishes, salads, and more.

Happy fall! To celebrate the start of the season, I’m sharing 50 of my favorite fall recipes below. They include cozy soups, fresh salads, decadent desserts, and everything in between. Whether you’re looking for a quick dinner, a healthy lunch, or a comforting cooking project this season, you’ll find it here. I look forward to making these recipes every year when the temperatures start dropping. I hope they become some of your fall favorites too. Our Top 5 Fall Recipes Butternut Squash Soup No collection of fall recipes would be complete without butternut squash soup! Sage, rosemary, and fresh ginger…

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60 Easy Dinner Ideas

Wondering what to make for dinner? You're in the right place! Below, you'll find easy dinner ideas to satisfy any craving. Think tacos, pasta, and more!

Do you ever have nights when you just don’t know what to make for dinner? When you run through a mental list of easy dinner ideas, but nothing sounds good? If you do, you’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find 60 healthy dinner recipes that are perfect for busy weeknights. Each one is quick and easy to make, but it still packs a punch of flavor. Think roasted veggie tacos with a creamy, zesty sauce. Imagine luxurious baked feta and a comforting pasta ready in under 30 minutes. You’ll find all that and more among the easy dinner ideas…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.