12 Pasta Dishes That Pair Well With Steak

One of the fun things about cooking (or frustrating, depending on your attitude) is figuring out which foods go well together. There are some well-established conventions you can draw on to tell you which sauces and side dishes go well with your entree, though you'll still need to decide whether those classic pairings work for you personally.

There's always room to play around and find your own combinations, too. In the case of steaks, the usual side is a potato of some description. But pasta makes an equally versatile option. Just as importantly, pasta (like potatoes) is inexpensive and can help balance out your grocery budget after you've splurged on the steaks.

I'm a trained chef and former restaurateur, so I have some professional insight into which things go together and why they work or don't work. But more importantly, I was a curious home cook before my career change, and because my family were pasta fans I played around with a lot of pairings (and made my own pasta sometimes, too). Here are a dozen of my favorite suggestions for you to try with steak.

There's a saying that "less is more," and this is one of those cases where it holds true. When you're putting a steak at the center of the meal, a really simple pasta preparation like this one helps keep the focus on the beef, where it belongs.

It's hard to imagine a dish simpler than plain noodles with butter, and in this context, it's just fine. That dab of butter, and the juices coming naturally from the steak, are all you really need. That doesn't mean you can't dress it up, because of course you can. Brown the butter first for a deeper flavor, for example, or top the noodles with finely grated Parmesan, or toss them with toasted breadcrumbs for a textural contrast. Better yet, use the juices in your skillet to make a pan sauce for your steak.

Plain noodles are a frugal option, as well, once you've bent your budget to allow for the steak. Heck, you can even make your own pasta with just eggs and flour, if you wish. It's easier than you think, and it upends the perception of a plain dish when you casually mention that the noodles are handmade.

Marinara sauce has been having a "moment" in recent years. It's the little black dress of tomato sauces, a simple classic that can work in almost any setting.

It's an especially great pairing with steak, because of the fresh tomato flavor of a good marinara (it's been called the "perfect tomato sauce"). The sauce's bright, fruity acidity makes it a perfect foil for the rich fattiness of a well-marbled steak, like a ribeye or striploin. Because of its simplicity, it'll also go well with most side dishes and whichever sauces or seasonings you choose to use on your steak.

A broad rule of thumb for pairing pasta and sauces is that the heavier your sauce, the sturdier the pasta should be. In this case marinara is a light and fairly thin sauce, so your best bet is thin pasta: Think in terms of spaghettini, vermicelli, or angel's hair (capelli di angeli).

Steak may be a bit of a splurge, especially at current pricing, but for a lot of people, it's also comfort food. If you're in that camp, you can't go wrong if you pair your steak with a good macaroni and cheese.

Let's face it, mac & cheese is popular for a reason. It's simple, it's comforting, and it goes with steaks just as well as it does with burgers. This is one time you'll want to keep your mac & cheese simple, though. You may have a no-holds-barred, shoot-out-the-lights version that's super-rich, but that plus a rich steak can be a bit much. You're better off with a relatively bare-bones macaroni and cheese in this context, whether it's baked or prepared on the stovetop.

Apply the same rule to whichever vegetable side dishes you choose. Keep things light and simple. A salad would work well, for example.

Pasta dishes by and large are not the most visual of foods. Mostly they're just a big ol' heap of noodles and sauce, sprawling across a plate or bowl in an amorphous blob.

Stuffed pasta shells are a notable exception to that rule, at least when you use the big ones. Two or three of those clustered together on a plate make a visually appealing side dish that can hold its own against a well-seared steak's charismatic presence. The stuffing can be whatever you like, usually ricotta, though (again) you should think in terms of a tomato sauce rather than something creamy to avoid making the meal too intensely rich.

Despite their showy appearance stuffed shells are easy to make, and they also lend themselves to prepping ahead of time. You can just keep them in the fridge until mealtime approaches, then pop them into the oven while you turn your attention to grilling or pan-searing your steaks.

It's hard to remember that this classic pasta dish was almost unknown in North America a decade or two ago. It quickly became a darling of the foodie set (and food-centric television), and now it's firmly entrenched as something that anyone who loves pasta needs to know about.

There are plenty of good reasons for that. Cacio e pepe is understated, it's elegant, it's simple, and because it's a dish that comes together quickly in its pan you can knock out a batch in the few minutes your steaks will need to rest after they're cooked. If you have guests for dinner, that kind of time coordination makes you look organized and on top of things, even if you're faking it.

The dish itself is surprisingly straightforward to make. You'll just need a healthy handful of fresh-ground black pepper, some butter, and good-quality Parmesan and Romano cheese. Bucatini (a fat spaghetti-like noodle) is the pasta of choice in this dish, and it's relatively heavy, so don't overdo the portion sizes.

Salads are a common accompaniment to steaks because their lightness and the acidity of the dressing complement the steak's richness. If you're looking to pair pasta with a steak, then, there's always a case to be made for a pasta salad.

Tiny rice-like orzo pasta (the name actually likens it to barley) probably isn't the first shape to spring to your mind when you think of a pasta salad, but they're the perfect base for a refined version that won't take up a lot of space on your plate. Put down the jar of mayonnaise, too. A heavy dressing isn't ideal when you're serving it alongside a rich steak, so something with a vinaigrette-style dressing is a better option.

Ideally, your pasta salad should lean into bright, bold, fresh flavors, so something like this Mediterranean orzo salad would fit the bill beautifully. If you aren't a fan of kale you can use spinach instead, or swap the sundried tomatoes for chopped ripe tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes.

There are certain things you can expect to find alongside your steak in traditional steakhouses. The potato is an obvious example, whether it's baked or in the form of oversized fries. Creamed spinach is another highly traditional side dish, and you can think of this pasta option as a riff on the theme.

Bite-sized tortellini or ravioli with spinach and ricotta filling are easy to find at any good supermarket, usually fresh but occasionally fresh-frozen. Pairing those with a creamy sauce would tick that traditional spinach-and-cream box but in a non-traditional way. Add a grating of good fresh Parmesan on top, and maybe a sprinkling of chopped parsley for the color, and you have a side dish that's company-worthy (and adds a healthy vegetable into the bargain).

Speaking of the sauce, here's an old-school chef's tip for you. Whenever you're making a creamy sauce, add just a tiny pinch of nutmeg to it. You shouldn't be able to consciously identify it as nutmeg (I do mean a pinch), but it somehow makes the flavor of the sauce bigger, rounder, and creamier.

After stressing so often throughout this list that you should keep the pasta component relatively light if you're serving it with a steak, this option may feel like a bit of a reversal. You're right, it is. But it's a pairing that somehow just works, despite the rich-on-rich aspect.

Like jumbo shells, cannelloni have a strong enough identity on your plate that they'll be a worthy partner (visually and culinarily) for the steak. Prepare them however you ordinarily would, because there are a lot of traditional options (each Italian region does cannelloni differently). You can opt for red sauce or a creamy sauce, as the inspiration takes you.

Tomato sauce may be a better complement to the beef, but if you really love your cannelloni in a creamy sauce (as my girlfriend does) then by all means use that. You can even combine them: If you use a creamy sauce on the cannelloni, then spoon marinara over the white sauce — it makes for a nice presentation.

Steaks require a lot of eyes-on attention as mealtime approaches. Unless you and your family (or guests) are good with random degrees of doneness, you'll want to be hands-on until they're done the way you like.

That means you won't want to fuss with side dishes at the same time. So why mess with two side dishes, when one can give you both a starch and your vegetables? Especially when it's perfect for making ahead? A good vegetable lasagna ticks all of those boxes, whether you make it the traditional way or throw one together in your slow cooker. Either way, it's a near-ideal accompaniment to a steak.

For conventional lasagna, it's best to make it a day ahead and then reheat the portions you serve with the steak. That's how you get those nice, neat, clean-cut pieces of lasagna you see in food magazines, and it helps them stand up visually to the steak in the same way stuffed shells do.

Let's circle back now to pasta salads again, because they're a nice alternative to rich, hot pasta dishes. If you really love the traditional kind with macaroni and a mayonnaise dressing, by all means, go with what you like. But if you want something a little more sophisticated, and better suited to pairing with a steak, think about going green.

No, not green as in lettuce. Green as in pesto. Classic, traditional pesto has a bright, summery flavor that's the antidote to "mayonnaise fatigue" (you can even use it to perk up store-bought pasta salad). Start by picking a shape that will hold the pesto well, like fusilli or gemelli, and then load up the salad with crisp, juicy fresh vegetables. It's a combination that will nicely complement the steak's richness.

The pesto alone is rather intense for a salad, so your best bet is to thin out store-bought pesto with olive oil, and then add enough acidity to make a nice vinaigrette. Lemon juice works fine — or white wine vinegar — and I often use mild cider vinegar (it's not especially Italian, but it's good in this kind of salad).

Here's another pro tip: When fresh tomatoes are out of season in the supermarket, it's time to downsize. Smaller "cocktail" tomatoes, and grape or cherry tomatoes, are relatively sturdy compared to full-sized tomatoes. That means they can be bred with less attention to handling and more to flavor, and they'll typically taste better than regular-sized midwinter tomatoes.

So to go with your steak, think in terms of a salad built around halved cherry (or grape) tomatoes, pasta, and fresh herbs. It's the kind of thing that pairs beautifully with steaks from the grill during barbecue season or helps you forget about the snow during the cold months. With tomatoes and other juicy vegetables, it can be a little taste of summer sunshine just when you most need it.

Your best bet is Mediterranean flavors and textures, with things like cucumbers, red onion, and maybe feta cheese or olives in there for a pungent tang. Match those flavors and juicy textures with a light and tangy vinaigrette, and the salad will make a refreshing palate cleanser between bites of steak.

For most of this list, I have leaned into restraint, because the steak should usually be the center of attention on your plate. But you know, there's a time for "less is more" and there's a time for "let's go all in." This is your all-in option.

Yeah, we're talking umami by the bucketload with this one. Puttanesca pulls out all the stops with its bold flavors, so it can go toe to toe with your steak, but still won't overpower it entirely. And when I say bold flavors, I'm not kidding: Classic puttanesca harnesses the oomph of garlic, hot peppers, olives, and anchovies to put your taste buds in high-performance mode.

It may sound like an odd pairing for steak, but it actually works surprisingly well as the steak's juices and the spaghetti sauce mingle. Puttanesca is an umami bomb, and it brings out all that the beef has to offer. If the very idea of anchovies puts you off, remember that Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies (fermented anchovies, yet!) and people put that on their steaks all the time.