15 Best Breads for Pasta Night
Looking for the best breads for pasta night? These easy homemade favorites are perfect for soaking up pasta sauce and serving alongside your favorite pasta casseroles.
If you're making pasta for dinner, you'll definitely want to add just the right bread to the table, too. From crusty loaves that soak up all that yummy sauce to soft rolls spread with butter to pair with a creamy casserole, warm bread turns pasta night into something special.
As the author of The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook, I've baked more loaves than you can imagine. Over the years I've learned that matching just the right bread with just the right pasta makes all the difference.
Whether you're twirling spaghetti or forking up a tortellini, adding a simple garden salad and fresh bread makes it a full blown family meal.
Classic Italian Loaves for Saucy Pastas
When the pasta sauce is the star, you need a bread that can keep up.
These classic loaves of bread are perfect for dipping, wiping, and enjoying every last drop of your favorite tomato sauce or a creamy Alfredo.
Slice these thick, toast them lightly, and let the bread do the heavy lifting.
Garlic Bread
My top pick for pasta night is always going to be a homemade garlic bread. There's a reason you'll find some variation of this on almost every Italian restaurant menu.
That crispy, buttery crunch just cannot be beat when you're making my sausage lasagna, a pasta rosa with sausage, or a classic beef bolognese sauce. You see it featured at the top of this post alongside my baked cheese tortellini skillet, too.
Perfect For:
Any red-sauced pasta or baked pasta dish where you want a classic Italian restaurant experience.
Bread Machine Italian Bread
Soft on the inside but with a light golden crust, my bread machine Italian bread is totally versatile. It is mild enough to complement a delicate pasta like my lemon butter pasta with chives or fresh tomato pasta, but it can hold its own against a creamy Olive Garden crockpot chicken with penne, too.
Perfect For:
Lighter pasta dishes, oil- or butter-based sauces, or a classic weeknight spaghetti dinner.
Bread Machine French Bread
If you need a dairy-free bread for pasta night, my bread machine French bread is made with just water, no milk. It's a great option for tearing, dipping, and serving family-style with my slow cooker Tuscan chicken pasta or my easy no-boil baked spaghetti.
Perfect For:
Creamy or tomato-based sauces that need a good bread for dunking.
Easy Ciabatta
Chewy, rustic, and full of stunning air pockets, my easy ciabatta starts in the bread machine and is baked in the oven.
This hearty bread is perfect when sliced, brushed with olive oil, and toasted lightly for serving alongside a hearty one-pot meal like my beef rigatoni, my easy baked Boursin and tomato pasta, or a creamy casserole like my pesto chicken casserole.
Perfect For:
Baked pastas, hearty casseroles, or any dish with a clingy sauce.
Focaccia Favorites
Soft, golden, and brushed with olive oil, focaccia feels fancy but it truly couldn't be easier to make. I always tell beginner bread bakers that this should be their first dough recipe when using a bread machine for the first time be cause there's no shaping of rolls required.
Serving up a bread basket filled with squares of warm focaccia gives a restaurant-style touch to your pasta dinner.
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Bread Machine Focaccia
This bread machine focaccia is my favorite beginner baker recipe. Mix up the dough in a bread machine and learn how to bake it off in your oven. The texture is simply perfect: fluffy, crispy, and utterly delicious paired with my creamy tomato pastina soup or my mom's Italian sausage pasta casserole.
Perfect For:
Pasta nights that need a heartier bread for a more delicate pasta or any time you want the herby seasoning to add a boost of flavor to the menu.
Sourdough Focaccia
Using sourdough starter to give that signature tang to my sourdough focaccia brings a fun twist to pasta night. The airy texture and crispy oiled crust makes it perfect for soaking up creamy sauces like my homemade alfredo sauce over farfalle or my creamy orzo with chicken and asparagus.
Perfect For:
Serving with a richer pasta where you want a bread that is just as bold and flavorful as the main course.
Cheesy Breads for Comfort Food Pastas
Some nights call for something a little more decadent. Add a bread filled with melty cheese to match the cozy vibe of a baked casserole or a tomato-based pasta.
Homemade Pokey Sticks
Inspired by late night pizza orders while my husband and I were in college, these homemade pokey sticks are really just the most amazing cheese stick to serve with pasta. I like to pair them with my sausage and peppers pasta or this creamy farfalle primavera loaded with fresh veggies.
Perfect For:
Adding a boost of richness to a pasta dinner that is heavy on the veggies and lighter on the sauce.
Swiss Cheese Bread
Don't feel like baking from scratch? Use a store bought loaf of bread and turn it into this amazing melty Swiss cheese bread that is a perfect partner to a pasta casserole like my chicken tetrazzini but would add a fun new flair to these Italian meatballs in tomato sauce served over your favorite pasta shape.
Perfect For:
Pasta sauces with a more neutral flavor where the Swiss cheese can bring the big punch.
Garlic Parmesan Sourdough
With a hint of sourdough tang and a warm garlic aroma, this garlic parmesan sourdough is a gorgeous loaf that slices so perfectly. Pair it with a spicy pasta like my Crockpot Cajun chicken pasta or this creamy gnocchi with sausage.
Perfect For:
Bold pasta sauces that need a bold bread that can tamp down the heat while still packing the flavor.
Breadsticks and Rolls for Easy Serving
For busy nights or big family dinners when you're feeding a crowd, you can't beat a basket of individual rolls or breadsticks that are easy to grab from a buffet table.
The best part is many of these recipes are freezer-friendly so you can prep them in advance of your big feast.
Whole Wheat Breadsticks
Hearty and wholesome, you can bake a whole wheat version of Olive Garden's classic breadstick with my whole wheat breadsticks recipe. I love that chewy texture and slightly nutty flavor when it is dusted with a bit of parmesan cheese on top.
Pair these with a chilled veggie-forward pasta salad like my zesty Italian pasta salad or my chicken pasta salad with grapes to add just a little more heft to your meal.
Perfect For:
Lighter dinners or rich and bold tomato-based sauces.
Herb Butter Biscuits
When you don't want to bake from scratch, you can turn store bought tubes of biscuit dough into my herb butter biscuits served pull-apart style with your dinner. I would definitely pair these with a lighter pasta salad or a delicate pasta sauce like my chicken bolognese.
Perfect For:
Adding warmth to a cold pasta salad dinner or for dipping and dunking in a tomato-based sauce.
Easy Rosemary Pull Apart Rolls
I love pulling a pan of my easy rosemary pull apart rolls out of the oven, that roasted rosemary and buttery topping adds a lovely flavor accent to so many pasta recipes, especially those with a tomato-based sauce like my chicken bolognese or a lemony dish like my creamy lemon garlic pasta.
Perfect For:
Lighter, lemon-based pasta sauces or delicate tomato-based sauces that are not overly seasoned and can handle that delicious rosemary topping.
Brown and Serve Dinner Rolls
The award for my favorite all-purpose neutral dinner roll for pasta night absolutely goes to these buttery brown and serve dinner rolls. Their neutral flavor profile lets them bulk up your family dinner without distracting from the pasta dish itself. You could serve them with my mom's saucy pork and noodle bake or a classic chicken spaghetti casserole.
Perfect For:
Just about any pasta dish you can imagine! This is a perfect make-ahead dinner roll.
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