One of the most remarkable things about Italian cooking is how little it changes. The ingredients, the recipes—even the techniques—have been passed down and largely untouched for generations. So, when you pick up a trick from an Italian kitchen, you can almost always trust it right away.
Yes, even the more unexpected ones. Tossing Parmigiano Reggiano rinds into a simmering soup for extra flavor? Absolutely. Saving starchy pasta water to thicken sauces? Works every time. Cooking raw meatballs straight in the red sauce? Try it once, and you’ll never go back.
And now, Giada De Laurentiis is letting us in on another old-school Italian secret—one you might not believe if it wasn’t coming straight from Giada herself.
Giada’s Butternut Squash Lasagna With Amaretti Cookies
Giada has a clever trick for making her butternut squash lasagna extra fluffy and flavorful: She adds cookies right into the filling.
Yes, cookies.
We know this might sound off-putting at first, but hear her out. These aren’t chocolate chip cookies or snickerdoodles we’re talking about—they’re amaretti cookies. And when crumbled into a creamy squash filling, they bring just the right touch of nuttiness and sweetness.
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When we spoke to Giada through her partnership with Loacker, Giada explained the inspiration behind her Northern Italian-style recipe.
“I use amaretti cookies because there’s that pairing of sweet, crunchy, and creamy that works with the butternut squash,” she said. “In the North, they use a lot of butternut squash, and a lot of times pair it with amaretti cookies because amaretti cookies are made in the North of Italy, where they have a lot of almonds.”
If you’re not familiar, amaretti are one of the most famous Italian cookies—light, crisp, and delicately bitter from the almonds (or ground apricot pits) they’re made with. The name even comes from amaro, which means “bitter.” That subtle flavor happens to complement winter squash beautifully.
“Butternut squash really lends itself to something sweet,” Giada added. “The amaretti cookies have this sugary crust on the outside, and they’re super light. So it creates almost like this light fluffiness within the lasagna.”
The pairing actually dates back to a time when sugar was a luxury in northern Italy, but amaretti cookies were easy to find. Home cooks started using the cookies as a thrifty flavor booster in earthy-sweet dishes, such as tortelli di zucca, pumpkin risotto, and, of course, butternut squash lasagna.
In Giada’s recipe, three cookies are crumbled into the cooked squash filling and then puréed until smooth. Instead of adding crunch, they help absorb moisture and bind the mixture, giving the lasagna its signature creamy lightness.
Giada added that this dish often shows up on her Thanksgiving table—not just for its comforting flavors, but because it’s become a family favorite. “My mom really loves it at Thanksgiving,” she shared.
So, if Italian cooks are tossing cookies into lasagna, we’re following their lead. They’ve been perfecting comfort food for centuries, and if this is one of their secrets, we’ll gladly steal it.
Dining and Cooking