Top 10 Best Italian-American Dishes

This Milanese speciality delivers the goods with a juicy, tender crosscut piece of meat and well-seasoned aroma to go. Ossobuco - meaning bone with a hole - refers to the bone marrow of the veal shank that’s usually used in this dish. Taking hours to prepare, the meat is slowly braised in a broth comprised of vegetables, herbs, spices, and/or wine. The meat falls off the bone, tastes incredibly juicy, and boasts an almost unbelievable flavor that is well worth the wait and will have you going back for seconds. It’ll not only melt in your mouth, but is a wonderful choice for a mainmeal – whether you’re having for the modern version with tomatoes, or the original version without.

Translating into English as Cooked Cream, this wobbly treat of mouth-watering pudding boasts an outright delicious taste. Cream and sugar are carefully heated together, then combined with gelatin as a thickening agent. The dish itself boasts several possibilities depending on preference, so if you should want to flavor your cream with coffee, liqueur, or even vanilla then go right for it. Its smooth texture makes for a well-rounded dessert, and it is a well-loved menu favorite all around the world. Commonly served with fruit, biscotti, sweet sauces, or syrup, the dish is as appealing to look at as it is to eat. Yum yum!

This dish takes toasted bread to another level of gourmet delight. Its simplicity and combination of flavors has seen it become popular all over the world. Bread is grilled and topped with olive oil, garlic and various toppings to preference, such as tomato, cheese, vegetables, and much more - with an optional amount of seasoning to give it that extra kick. While bruschetta is easy to make, its overpowering burst of zest from each bite sees it celebrated in many Italian restaurants and households as a common antipasto, or starter, dish. Which is best because it’s generally a small serving, and that means it’s easier to have seconds, thirds, and fourths!

Said to be a traditional Roman dish, Carbonara sits itself quite comfortably among the best of the best of Italian pasta dishes - though unlike others is not centered on a single type of pasta. It’s a creamy meal that contains several combinations of ingredients, and can include bacon, chicken, cheese, mushrooms, black pepper, onions, garlic or vegetables, which are all fused together through the power of an egg or two. Despite being more commonly served with spaghetti, any kind of pasta form will perfectly compliment the rest of your chosen ingredients in a carbonara. Talk about appetising!

This is one of those dishes with endless opportunities for culinary success, whether it’s eaten as a starter, hunger-quenching main, or sweet dessert. Rice is slowly cooked in a flavoured based, which eventually amounts to a creamy texture when drained. There is no single way of flavoring this dish, which leaves the possibility of adding several ingredients of preference to help guarantee a satisfying end result. Italians endlessly cook their rice with this method as it allows for the biggest punch of taste and a smooth texture from the rice grain, which in itself is a reward for anyone eating it.

Sink your teeth into a well-prepared slice of tiramisu and no doubt you’ll keep going back for more. This famous Italian dessert boasts a sweet combination of a mascarpone cheese mixture layered against Savoiardi biscuits, also known as lady’s finger biscuits in English. These are soaked in coffee, with sometimes a little hint of liquor or Marsala wine to go. The creamy topping can be lightly sprinkled with coco or chocolate, complementing the delicious combination of flavors throughout. It’s coffee and cream all in one mouth-watering hit, so… does anyone have a fork?

This Italian delight is notably among one of the oldest and most traditional Italian dishes on our list. The original parmigiana is customarily baked with eggplant as the main ingredient, then topped with cheese, Italian tomato sauce, and various vegetables throughout. The colorful dish is proof that a combination of meat and vegetables are a cook’s match made in heaven. The parmigiana has also stood the test of time among modern variations of the dish, such as the well-loved chicken parmigiana. It’s truly an original classic that we’re awarding a spot to for boasting a delicious combination of ingredients all in one.

Among the most well-known and universally served Italian dishes in the world, the appeal of long strings of pasta smothered in rich tomato sauce has seen it end up on up on countless menus worldwide. And when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it does just that when perfectly complemented by juicy meatballs throughout. Delicious and simple to make, spaghetti always brings the family together. Go ahead and top it all off with as much cheese as you like, and then have fun wrapping it around your fork and eating it like a true Italian.

Several pasta sheets are folded between layers of rich minced meat sauce and fresh pieces of cheese to create a lasagna. Hungry yet? This type of pasta is oven baked and allows you to add different ingredients or create several variations of the dish, using whatever meats, vegetables, seasonings or cheeses you like to create a beautiful filling. Closely related to cannelloni, a cylinder shaped pasta containing a filling, the perfectly prepared lasagna is truly a winner, whether you decide to have a vegetarian or traditional meat version. If the need is there to satisfy your hunger with an appetising meal, then lasagna is the way to go.

Before we order up our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

Cannoli
Scaloppine
Arancini
Gnocchi
Gelato

It’s the ultimate classic that people just keep going back to, and we really can’t blame them. Roll out your dough and top it with virtually whatever endless options you'd like; tomato sauce, cheese, meat, vegetables, seasonings, seafood, and so much more. There is no right or wrong way to prepare a pizza, making it fun to make and even better to eat. Directly related to the calzone, which is the folded and enclosed version, this dish can be savory or sweet and is among the best-selling foods in the world. The best part? There’s always a pizza for everyone!