Last updated on July 28th, 2024
If you’ve booked accommodation in Italy with a kitchen and want to do a little cooking, itās helpful to have an idea of what to make.
These Italian meals require either little effort ,no cooking or only a few ingredients – perfect for travelers in Italy who want to dip their toes into preparing a meal without buying carts of ingredients or spending hours in the kitchen.
These classic Italian recipes are prepared by Italian families (mine included) on a regular basis. They’re delicious and simple!
Read on to get my top easy Italian meals to cook at your rental in Italy. I’ve included my printable shopping list.
Note: Some of these meals are quite light and perhaps seem like more of a snack but Italians typically only eat one large meal a day. If you make one of the lighter dinner options such as bruschetta, plan on eating a larger meal at lunch.
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Peposo
Peposo (serves 6) in a peppery red wine beef stew from of Tuscany. Itās an ancient recipe dating back to the Renaissance times requiring almost no effort. Throw 5 ingredients in a pot and sit down with your aperitivo and relax until itās finished. You donāt even have to brown the meat!
Get The Recipe: Learn to make this no-fuss Tuscan beef stew in Brunelleschiās Peposo: The Easiest Italian Stew.
What You Need
To make peposo at your accommodation, you will need:
- 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Ā½ pounds braising or stewing beef such as chuck, cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 whole garlic cloves
- 1 Tablespoon roughly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 750 mL bottle Chianti red wine
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but they are optional ingredients that give good color to this meal:
- 1 lb (500 grams) seasonal vegetable of your choice such as asparagus, carrots, peas, beans, zucchini or enough lettuce for a side salad
- 1 loaf fresh bread
- 1-2 bottles of Chianti red wine for drinking
How To Serve It
Peposo has a lot of sauce which is best mopped up with plenty of fresh bread. Choose one green vegetable of your choice (salad, zucchini, beans or even frozen peas) based on what is in season.
Tuscan Kale Soup
Tuscan kale soup (serves 4) is an easy and healthy Italian dinner recipe that is filling and satisfying. Note that this can be made vegan if you omit the cream but you do need some kind of blender, food processor or immersion blender to make it creamy.
Get The Recipe: Learn to make all my favorite kale recipes in Popular Tuscan Kale Recipes and this soup with Creamy Italian Kale Soup.
What You Need
To make Tuscan kale soup at your accommodation, you will need:
- 2 leeks
- ā cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 lbs raw Tuscan kale (about 10 cups)
- 1 lb potatoes any kind
- 1 liter vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ā cup cream, optional
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but they are optional items to pick up for serving:
- 1 loaf fresh bread or Italian flatbread such as schiacciata or focaccia
- 2-3 local cheese such as pecorino, tomino, taleggio, parmigiano, etc.
- 1-2 bottles white wine of your choice
How To Serve It
Serve Tuscan kale soup hot drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Should you wish, you can cut the bread up into bite size pieces and make your own croutons by toasting them in the oven with olive oil and salt at 375Ā°F until golden (anywhere from 12-20 minutes depending on the oven).
This vegetable soup is quite light, which is why I always like to bulk it up with a cheese board.
Caprese Salad
Caprese salad (serves 4) is an easy to make no-cook Italian dinner ideal perfect for hot evenings and a light meal made from just fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil and olive oil.
Get The Recipe: Learn how to make caprese salad.
What You Need
- 1 Ā½ lbs (3-4) medium vine ripe tomatoes of your choice
- 16 oz fresh mozzarella
- Ā½ bunch basil leaves
- Ā¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but they are optional items to bulk up and serve with the caprese salad:
- Cured meats such as prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto, mortadella, salami or other cold cuts for a charcuterie board
- Fresh bread
- 1-2 bottles white wine or prosecco
How To Serve It
Caprese salad can be served as is with fresh bread of your choice or bulked up with local cured meats. I like to make a little Italian charcuterie board using what is regional but this is totally optional. Alternatively, you can pick up some lettuce or arugula to add a touch of green to your dinner.
Pizza Pinsa
Pizza pinsa (serves 4-6) is a fun and easy dinner idea to make while staying in Italy. Pizza pinsa is very trendy and can be purchased at many pizza windows across the peninsula. Nowadays, you can pick up pre-cooked pizza pinsa dough in supermarkets, top it with your favorite pizza toppings and have a light dinner ready in no time.
Get The Recipe: Learn how I like to top my pizza pinsa in What Is Pinsa? ā All About Romeās Healthy Pizza.
What You Need
- 4 pizza pinsa pre-cooked crusts (usually in refrigerator section next to pastry crust and stuffed pastas or in the bakery section)
- 1 jar passata di pomodoro (pureed tomatoes)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- pizza toppings of your choice (prosciutto, sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers, ham)
- Mozzarella cheese for pizza (not fresh or bufala mozzarella).
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to make pizza pinsa but itās nice to have a side salad:
- 1 head lettuce or 1 bags pre-washed greens of your choice
- balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make an easy vinaigrette
- 1-2 bottles of red or white wine
How To Make Pizza Pinsa
- Preheat the oven to 450Ā°F
- In a small bowl, combine half the bottle of passata di pomodoro with the olive oil and Ā½ teaspoon salt.
- Arrange the pizza pinsa crust on an oven tray and top with 2 tablespoons of the pureed tomato mixture, leaving a border.
- Top with small pieces (or shredded) mozzarella cheese and your chosen toppings.
- Bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is melted, about 7-12 minutes.
Note: If you would like to use fresh mozzarella or bufala (buffalo), add it AFTER the pizza pinsa has been baked right before serving.
How To Serve It
Serve pizza pinsa warm or hot, straight out of the oven with a side salad dressed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Tortellini
Tortellini (served 4) is a kind of stuffed pasta that is often served as an easy, 15 minute meal in Italy. Tortellini come in many flavors (meaning stuffed with different ingredients), the most popular being with prosciutto, veal, pork, ricotta and spinach or gorgonzola. The most classic way to serve tortellini is in a brown butter sage sauce.
What You Need
- 2 packages (250 grams each) of stuffed tortellini of your choice (Giovanni Rana is a great option, readily available at all supermarkets) or choose from an artisan variety.
- 1 small package of butter
- 10-15 sage leaves
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but they are optional items to bulk up and serve with the tortellini:
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for serving (buy pre-grated or pick up a whole wedge)
- 1 head lettuce or 1 bags pre-washed greens of your choice
- balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make an easy vinaigrette
- 1-2 bottles of red or white wine
How To Make Tortellini
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. To learn more about how to cook pasta correctly, read How To Cook Pasta Like an Italian ā Step-by-Step.
- Meanwhile, gently tear the sage leaves in half with your fingers and place them in a small saucepan. Add about 6 tablespoons of butter to the saucepan and melt over low heat. Keeping your eye on the butter, keep it over the lowest heat possible, swirling the pan often, until the butter starts to turn golden. At this point, the butter is infused with the sage and browned correctly. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the tortellini al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and dress with the brown butter.
How To Serve It
Serve tortellini immediately with grated parmesan cheese and a side salad dressed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Roman Chicken Cacciatore
Roman chicken cacciatore (serves 4) is a stewed chicken dish flavored with rosemary, sage, white wine and lots of vinegar and garlic. This meal is a bit more labor intensive than the others but itās worth the extra effort.
Get The Recipe: To make Roman chicken cacciatore, follow my instructions in White Chicken Cacciatore Recipe ā Roman Chicken Cacciatore.
What You Need
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large chicken cut into pieces with the skin on
- 4-5 oil-packed anchovies
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Ā½ cup white wine vinegar
- Ā½ cup dry white wine
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but help to make the meal complete:
- 1 package white or brown rice or 1 loaf of fresh bread
- 1 lb (500 grams) seasonal vegetable of your choice such as asparagus, carrots, peas, beans, zucchini or enough lettuce for a side salad
How To Serve It
Serve Roman chicken cacciatore hot with some form of starch (rice is an easy option) or simply fresh bread and a vegetable of your choice (fresh or frozen).
Authentic Italian Bruschetta
Bruschetta (serves 4 as a light dinner) is a slice of grilled or toasted white bread (or other bread of your choice), rubbed with garlic and topped with extra virgin olive oil, chopped vine ripe tomatoes, salt and finished with fresh basil. Itās quite a light meal but can be bulked up with a charcuterie or cheese board.
Get The Recipe: To make bruschetta, follow my instructions in Authentic Italian Bruschetta Al Pomodoro Recipe.
What You Need
- 8 slices Tuscan bread cut about Ā½ inch thick
- 4-5 medium vine-ripe tomatoes
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 10 leaves basil
- 8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for finishing
- salt
Additional Grocery Items
You donāt need these items to cook this meal but they are optional items to bulk up the authentic Italian bruschetta:
- 3-4 cheeses of your choice to serve with the bruschetta OR 200 grams of thinly sliced prosciutto crudo and 1 seasonal melon
- 1-2 bottles of white or rosƩ wine
How To Serve It
If you are making authentic Italian bruschetta as a no-cook dinner while in Italy, consider adding a side salad, a couple of wedges of your favorite cheese or with prosciutto crudo and melon.
Three Key Ingredients For Cooking In Italy
These three ingredients will be in all of these recipes and most recipes in general. Buy according to how many meals you plan on serving (if you plan on cooking all seven meals, you may need more than 1 liter of olive oil).
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
In addition, you may want to invest in some good quality balsamic vinegar if you plan on serving several salads with your meals. With just olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper you have the best vinaigrette available in Italy!
Learn more about classic Italian dishes:
Famous Italian Pasta Dishes ā by Region
Homerun Italian Cannellini Beans Recipes
Easy Italian Dinner Ideas ā A Mom Of Four Shares Her Secrets To Stress-Free Dinners
30+ Italian Dinner Recipes
