Year after year, we get tons of new cookbooks from all kinds of celebrities. But how many hours are these stars spending in the kitchen? Do the rich and famous really have the time (or drive) to develop great recipes? The only way to tell is to try the dishes ourselves.
Allrecipes Culinary Producer Nicole McLaughlin tried seven pasta recipes from celebrities, including models, actors, rappers, influencers, and even royalty. The recipes vary from classic Italian to light and summery—with several iterations in between. There’s even one that we may not even be able to categorize as pasta. It was a “complete abomination,” but others earned near-perfect scores. And there’s one viral dish that Nicole couldn’t find anything wrong with. It earned a perfect 10/10.
The Best Celebrity Pasta Recipes, Ranked
7th Place: Robert Pattinson’s Penne Piccolini Cuscino
Rating: 1/10
This is less of a recipe and more of a collection of ingredients and instructions. You need to DIY a foil bowl. There’s also a hollowed-out hamburger bun involved, sliced American cheese, microwaved noodles, and a ton of sugar—you know, all the authentic Italian pasta ingredients.
“Uh-uh,” said Nicole. “It’s the sugar. I don’t know if this is a dessert, snack, or complete abomination. I’m going with the latter. If this is the combination he wants, I can help him do it better. The execution is terrible. This one gets a 1/10. It gets a one, because if the goal was to prove that he eats like an animal, he nailed it.”
6th Place: Meghan Markle’s Zucchini Bolognese
Rating: 6.5/10
This zucchini pasta sauce is notably not a bolognese, but it did have all the ingredients to make a great sauce: olive oil, onion, garlic, and summer zucchini—so what could go wrong? Meghan Markle even adds chicken bouillon for a savory bite. While the sauce was bright and summery, the texture of the stewed zucchini didn’t work for Nicole. However, it’s important to note that the recipe does call for cooking the sauce for four hours, and Nicole only cooked it for two.
“Even though I didn’t like the name and the way it looked, I thought I was going to love the way it tastes,” said Nicole. “The deliciousness of al dente pasta paired with the mushy zucchini isn’t working. The flavors are good. I taste everything. I like the fresh lemon and the crushed red pepper. Maybe if you put it in a blender, after cooking? Maybe I should have let it go the whole four hours?”
5th Place: Snoop Dogg’s Spaghetti De La Hood
Rating: 7/10
This Spaghetti De La Hood recipe makes a really simple red sauce. In the video, Nicole thought Snoop Dogg’s recipe would be reminiscent of a “Sunday Gravy,” but it’s really more of a straightforward marinara. She enjoyed that the meatballs were made separately, instead of incorporating the meat right into the sauce, but did remark that there was quite a bit of breadcrumbs used in the meatball mixture.
“I think it needs to cook a lot longer to get the rich, meaty flavor from the meatball,” said Nicole. “The meatballs are more tender than I thought they would be, but all I taste is bread. I’m having a hard time tasting the meat. The flavor was excellent, but the meatballs were a 4/10.”
4th Place: Kourtney Kardashian’s Best Pasta Sauce Ever
Rating: 8.5/10
This is a simple weeknight tomato sauce that can be pulled together in as much time as it takes to boil noodles, which should be gluten-free if you’re sticking to Kourtney Kardashian’s recipe. It’s super fresh and light, and while the recipe calls for canned tomatoes, we think fresh would work well here, too.
“There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a fresh, quick, weeknight tomato sauce,” said Nicole. “My crew’s going to want to add in some chicken or shrimp. Best sauce for pasta ever? Questionable. But it’s still good, I’d probably finish this whole plate.”
3rd Place: Chrissy Teigen’s Lemony Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Rating: 9.2/10
There’s a good chance we’re going to be into any variation of the classic Roman pasta Cacio e Pepe. Cheese, freshly-cracked black pepper, and some starchy pasta water to pull it all together? Delicious. And Chrissy Teigen’s lemony version adds a nice, bright twist on the dish.
The recipe is elevated with the addition of arugula, red pepper flakes, garlic, and a lot of lemon juice. We have a feeling this would be a perfect 10/10 if it weren’t for the lemon juice “splitting” the emulsion of the cheese, which makes it a bit stringy instead of creamy and incorporated. Nicole also topped the pasta with lemon zest, which could be an alternative to all the juice.
“Delicious,” said Nicole. “That lemon is perfect for summer pasta when you don’t want that rich, hearty Sunday Gravy but still want pasta. The little bites of pancetta give you saltiness. There’s tang from the lemon. It’s not a perfect 10—the lemon juice doesn’t let the cheese fully mix in with the sauce—but this feels like a full meal.”
2nd Place: Stanley Tucci’s Spaghetti Alla Nerano
Rating: 9.8/10
We’re no stranger to a good Stanley Tucci recipe. The beloved actor is a true foodie, and often uses cooking to connect to his Italian roots. From his Sausage and Shells to his Pasta Fagioli, we’ll happily make a Tucci recipe any day of the week. His Spaghetti Alla Nerano is a great option for this time of year when zucchini is growing everywhere. (Use small to medium-sized zucchinis for the best end result.) And this was a near 10/10 for Nicole—with only a tiny deduction for the preparation method.
“Look how creamy. And that zucchini is just peppered in throughout,” said Nicole. “Definitely want to do two zucchini per person. It cooks down to nothing. This is like ‘summer!’ It’s just perfect. There’s nothing wrong with this recipe; I can’t give it a deduction because I don’t know what to deduct. The only downside is cooking that zucchini in batches. Probably a good idea to cook it and refrigerate it overnight. 100 percent will make it again.”
1st Place: Gigi Hadid’s Vodka Pasta
Rating: 10/10
You may remember this dish from when it went viral a few years ago on TikTok and Instagram. Vodka sauce is not something new, but Gigi Hadid’s version brought the classic dish back into the fold, and introduced a whole new generation to the creamy, rich sauce. While making this sauce, Nicole said that Gigi “knows how to cook” and “knows what she’s doing in the kitchen.” So, if you haven’t tried this one, now’s the time.
“It’s pretty close to perfect,” said Nicole. “I get generous with my scoring, but there’s nothing wrong with this recipe. Could it be a 10/10? I’m sorry, but it is. There’s nothing wrong with it. It may not be the best traditional vodka sauce, but I’m not going to count off for that. 10/10. I could eat the whole thing. I also need a glass of wine with that.”
Our test kitchen had a great time trying these fun celebrity pasta dishes—and we now know which ones we’ll return to (Sorry, Robert Pattinson.). And if you want more superstar dishes that seriously impressed us, check out our extensive list of celebrity recipes we love.
Dining and Cooking