Best enjoyed around the dinner table as a family, Italian American dishes are renowned for their comforting, heartwarming flavours. And they're not just copies of Italian food; Italian American cuisine has its own distinct identity that’s evolved over more than a century. From chicken Parmesan to fettuccine Alfredo, you won’t even find many of these dishes in Italy – they hail from places like New York and San Francisco rather than Naples and Florence.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the origins of 30 incredible Italian American foods, counting down to the most delicious of all.
We've based our ranking on the enduring popularity of each dish, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
In the US, a classic Italian dressing combines olive oil, vinegar, Parmesan and garlic – and herbs and spices including basil, oregano, parsley and chilli pile on the flavour. It’s tasty, versatile and an essential recipe that everyone should have in their back pocket. It’s also American, and is likely to have been invented around the 1940s. There are two people who claim to have created it (both of whom say they were inspired by their Italian mothers’ recipes): Phillip Sollomi, who owned the Wish-Bone Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, and Florence Hanna, whose husband Ken ran Ken’s Steakhouse in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Not all Italian American dishes are well known outside the US, but Caesar salad is one that has successfully travelled across the globe. Although the salad was invented in Mexico in 1924, its creator was an Italian American chef, Caesar Cardini, who set up a restaurant in Tijuana after leaving California to avoid the effects of Prohibition. It was Prohibition that also drove guests to his restaurant, where he improvised the salad's ingredients – romaine lettuce, Parmesan, lemon, croutons, olive oil, egg and Worcestershire sauce. He instructed his chefs to assemble it at the table to give diners a show.
Beautiful as a standalone sauce but also the base for many Italian American dishes, marinara sauce (sometimes called gravy) is a real staple. This bright red pasta sauce is fairly simple, made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs and onions, although there are variations that might add capers, olives, spices and even a little wine. The Italian original is called alla marinara and typically contains tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic and oregano.
The bright colours and flavours of spring give pasta primavera its fresh look and taste. Seasonal vegetables – such as peas, asparagus, leeks and courgettes – add a lightness to the pasta, together with fresh basil, parsley and oregano. Despite the very Italian name, the dish was first served at Le Cirque, a restaurant in New York City. Chef Jean Vergnes and owner Sirio Maccioni put it on the menu in the 1970s, and the rest is history.
Italian wedding soup originally had nothing to do with weddings at all. Its name comes from a slight mistranslation of minestra maritata, meaning 'married broth'. This soup was a marriage of flavours, tying together meat, vegetables and broth to create a meal that’s the perfect example of cocina povera (poor kitchen), making the most of what’s available. However, the mistranslation turned out to be a happy accident, as wedding soup is now served at many Italian American weddings.
Italians are no strangers to the joys of stuffed pasta shells (conchiglie ripiene), but this spinach and ricotta version has become especially known and loved in Italian American cuisine. What seems like a simple dish at first glance requires skill to prevent a soggy mess, as two ingredients with great potential for wetness are married together. Once the filling is mixed and artfully stuffed into the shells, the whole thing is drowned in marinara sauce, topped with cheese (naturally), then baked until bubbling and crispy around the edges.
The history of penne alla vodka – penne pasta with a distinctly pink sauce of vodka, tomatoes, cream and herbs – is shrouded in mystery. Some say it’s purely Italian, while others are sure it was invented in New York City. There are two potential originators in NYC: Chef Luigi Franzese, a chef who worked at Orsini Restaurant in the 1970s, and James Doty, who may have whipped it up in the 1980s. Meanwhile, its Italian origins could lie in Bologna, or possibly Rome. Nobody knows for sure!
Eggplant Parmesan (or melanzane alla parmigiana) can be traced to Italy, where it’s still enjoyed today. But there’s one key Italian American twist on this dish that you won’t find in any restaurant in Rome or Florence. Breading the aubergine before frying, then layering with tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan will produce a distinctly American dish that’s a little heartier than its refined Italian cousin, which typically skips the breading.
Tuscan chicken obviously comes from Tuscany. Or does it? The answer isn’t so straightforward. The indulgent flavours of cream, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and Parmesan are definitely inspired by Italy, but the creamy, saucy chicken dish was actually popularised by US restaurant chain Olive Garden. Tuscan chicken might not hail directly from the motherland, but it’s the perfect dish when you’re in the mood for something cheesy and luxurious that still boasts a good portion of healthy vegetables.
What’s known as Italian sausage in the US might more accurately be called Italian American sausage. Italy has plenty of its own sausages, including both fresh and dried varieties, but none of them are an exact match for what you’ll find in Italian American kitchens. Italian sausage is usually made from pork and features fennel or anise as the main seasoning, giving it a distinct aniseed flavour. It comes in hot, sweet and mild variations, with hot red pepper flakes or sweet basil added to achieve the desired taste.
For Italian Americans, who usually come from Catholic backgrounds, a big family meal on Sunday is a treasured tradition. Sunday sauce (or Sunday gravy) is often served up at this meal, although many modern families feel that they don’t have time to make the slow-simmering dish. The meat-based tomato sauce – which might contain meatballs, ribs, sausage and more – belongs to Italian Americans, but it has its roots in classic Neapolitan ragù. The biggest difference is that a traditional ragù contains little or no tomato.
Belonging to the pizza family (but not really resembling pizza in looks), the stromboli is a hot, cheesy parcel made with bread or pizza dough. It’s like a rolled-up pizza – usually containing cold cuts of meat or vegetables, as well as plenty of mozzarella – that's sliced and served hot and melty. It’s believed that this pizza roll emerged in Italian American communities in the 1950s; it's not clear who exactly invented it, but Romano’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant in Philadelphia claims to sell the original stromboli sandwich.
Rich Marsala, a type of fortified wine from Sicily, builds incredible flavour in this popular Italian American chicken dish. After the chicken has been lightly sautéed in flour, the same pan is used to reduce the wine until it becomes a sticky, thick syrup. It's then combined with garlic – and sometimes other ingredients such as mushrooms and bell peppers – before being poured over the chicken. There are several stories about who invented it, from French immigrants during the Napoleonic wars to English families living in Sicily, but the modern version we know and love today may hail from New York City.
These almond-flavoured confections, also known as Neapolitan or tricolore cookies, feature three colourful layers of sponge cake, proudly representing the Italian flag. They’re not originally Italian, but they’re an iconic sweet treat that you're sure to find in Italian American bakeries, especially at Christmas. The layers are sandwiched together with sticky raspberry jam, and the whole thing is topped with chocolate for an even sweeter finish. Rainbow cookies might have been inspired by gelato di campagna, a type of multi-tiered Italian nougat that flies the same colours.
Chicken (or veal) Parmesan, also just called chicken Parm, was entirely invented in the US. It sees a succulent and crispy breaded chicken breast smothered in tomato sauce, topped with cheese, then baked to create the ultimate comfort food. Though it emerged in the Italian American community in the early 20th century, it’s possible that it started out as a mash-up of two Italian dishes: parmigiana di melanzane (fried aubergine layered with tomato sauce) and cotoletta, a breaded veal cutlet.
Scampi is the Italian word for langoustines, but there are none to be found in shrimp scampi. To make this dish, Italian Americans swapped scampi for prawns (shrimp) and kept both words. The bright and light seafood favourite adds zingy flavour to prawns with garlic, lemon juice, butter and white wine – resulting in a delightful meal whose origins go back hundreds of years. Some recipes add tomatoes, breadcrumbs or herbs to mix things up. Eventually, scampi became known as an Italian American cooking technique for other seafood, using the same flavours.
Baked ziti (or ziti al forno) is a dish that sees long, tube-shaped pasta broken into smaller pieces, then baked with a Neapolitan-style tomato sauce, sausage and a glorious mix of cheeses (typically mozzarella, Parmesan and ricotta). The origins of ziti pasta itself lie in Southern Italy, but the dish is Italian American – although exactly how it developed is a little murky. What we do know is that it draws on a rich history of baked pasta dishes stretching back to the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Chicken piccata is a simple dish of juicy chicken sautéed in lemon, white wine and capers. However, its history is far more complicated. Some say it’s from the Northern Italian region of Lombardy, while others maintain that it’s from Southern Italy. It could even be from France, if the etymology of the word piccata (which comes from the French word piqué, meaning 'sting') is any indication. The dish could have been invented as recently as the 1930s, but however young it may be, it’s made its way into the hearts of Italian Americans across the USA.
Chicken Francese has Italian roots, an American home and a name implying that it’s French, making it the perfect dish to sum up the melting pot that is American cuisine. It’s popular in Rochester, New York – where locals call it chicken French – and was possibly invented there too, when the veal in the original recipe was swapped for cheaper chicken. The dish sees chicken cutlets dipped in flour and egg, sautéed for a crispy finish, then served with zesty lemon butter and a silky sauce made with either wine or sherry (depending on who you ask).
Carbonara is one of the essential Roman pasta sauces, so it’s definitely Italian. However, you won’t find it prepared with cream in Italy. A true Italian carbonara sauce should get its creaminess only from eggs, cheese and pasta water, but Italian American versions often contain cream for an extra layer of indulgence. Intriguingly, the authentic Italian dish may have been influenced by visiting Americans; rather than being an ancient dish, it possibly only dates to the 1940s, when American soldiers inspired the adaptation of traditional dishes with the addition of eggs and bacon.
Italy is home to magnificent meatballs, beautiful bread and world-famous cheeses – however, you’re unlikely to find all of these packed into a meatball sub. The heartiest of sandwiches originated in the Italian American communities of the US East Coast, where it was probably created in the early 20th century. We don’t know if there’s one inventor, but whoever decided to put perfectly seasoned meatballs and tomato sauce in a soft roll with gooey melted cheese certainly knew what they were doing.
There's no real consensus as to what chicken scarpariello actually is. It was apparently once a dish made by Italian cobblers (scarparielli) – but when the recipe was brought to the US, it began to change. Today, there are multiple versions of the dish. Some feature a sauce with lemon, others include pickled cherry peppers for a sweet, hot and sour sauce, and some go as far as adding potatoes, Italian sausage or even pork ribs. One thing people can agree on, however it’s made, is that it’s a delicious addition to the Italian American culinary canon.
Food historians generally agree that lobster fra diavolo (brother devil’s lobster) – which combines shallots, white wine, tomato sauce and herbs with chilli, lobster and pasta – comes from the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Beyond that, it’s unclear who invented the spicy seafood dish, and when. Wherever and whenever it emerged, the silky tomato sauce, spiked with piquant chilli, makes a glorious accompaniment to meaty lobster (or shrimp, if you're after a more affordable option).
Packed with succulent seafood and richly flavoured with tomatoes and wine, cioppino is a fresh and comforting stew. This endlessly customisable dish can be traced back to San Francisco in the late 1800s – specifically to Italian immigrants working off the coast of Meigg’s Wharf. The fishermen would contribute parts of their catch to a stew for all to enjoy after a hard day’s work on the boats. As for the name, it’s likely that it comes from the Northern Italian word ciuppin, meaning 'fish soup'.
Fettuccine Alfredo was born out of love. Its Italian creator, Alfredo di Lelio, put the creamy dish together to help his wife regain her strength after she gave birth to their son. Di Lelio tripled the amount of butter he'd normally use when making fettuccine and added Parmesan, plus a little pasta water to bring the whole dish together. Over time, the dish became more popular in the USA than in its native Italy. The American take on the recipe evolved to include heavy cream and yet more cheese, resulting in a pasta dish that’s still a great show of love from anyone who makes it.
Another legendary Italian American sandwich, the muffuletta is made using a bread with the same name. The bread was brought to the US by Sicilian immigrants, while the sandwich was created in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 20th century. Muffuletta bread is a round sesame roll, and it's stuffed with olive salad, mortadella, salami, Swiss cheese, ham and provolone for a belly-busting sandwich. One story goes that it was invented at Central Grocery Co. in 1906, but Progress Grocery Co. also lays claim to the sandwich.
The Philly cheesesteak is possibly the most famous thing to come out of Philadelphia – at least when it comes to food. Thinly sliced steak, onion and cheese (often provolone) are piled onto a hoagie roll for a classic sandwich that everyone must try once in their life. Recipes for steak sandwiches began to come into vogue in the 19th century, but it’s generally accepted that Pat Olivieri, the owner of the hugely popular Pat’s King of Steaks, was the first person to add cheese and start slinging Philly cheesesteaks in the 1930s.
Pizza is, of course, one of the most recognisable Italian dishes on the planet – even if some people might argue that the US does it better. Not every pizza style or topping is authentically Italian, though, and pepperoni pizza is one ubiquitous variety that has surprising origins. It’s found on just about every pizza joint’s menu in the USA, but less commonly in Italian pizzerias. In fact, pepperoni itself is all-American, first sold in Italian American markets after the First World War. It’s thought that the spicy sausage had found its way on to pizzas by the 1950s.
The ultimate side dish to accompany pasta (or just a great midnight snack), surely garlic bread is Italian? In fact, you're unlikely to find garlic butter–soaked bread on the peninsula. You could stumble upon some freshly toasted bruschetta topped with aromatic garlic, olive oil and tomatoes, but garlic bread as many people know it is strictly Italian American. Italians might not think it’s authentic but, for many, it’s an essential, unbeatable part of an Italian meal.
If one dish is emblematic of Italian American cuisine, it's spaghetti and meatballs. It might seem as quintessentially Italian as pizza Margherita, but this iconic dish was invented in the United States. Italians brought meatballs with them when they emigrated, and spaghetti and meatballs was probably thought up to help food budgets stretch further. By adding pasta and tomato sauce, the whole family could be fed for less.