By Kira Ivarsdottir, University of Maryland | ISI Florence Spring 2026

While going out to eat is a staple in Italian culture, dining out can get expensive fast. One way I have found to save money is to buy groceries on the weekend and cook most of my weekday meals at home. So if you’re an ISI Florence student looking for cooking ideas that may not be the healthiest, but will undoubtedly taste delicious, this read is for you. Coming from a girl who is partially (highly) afraid of the stove, I cannot emphasize enough that these recipes are beginner-friendly.

And a fair warning, olive oil and parmesan will become your best friends.

Pastina (the Italian penicillin)

One of the most common reasons to cook at home, aside from saving money, is feeling too sick to go out to eat. During my first week at ISI, I found myself with a mild cold that left me congested and tired for a couple of days, which allowed me to stumble upon the idea of soup for dinner, and what better than a classic Italian soup dish that definitely aided my recovery. I used this recipe as inspiration and went to the store (my local Conad) to buy the following ingredients:

Some recipe notes:

• You can buy all the vegetables to add to the soup individually, or you can buy Conad’s pre-chopped frozen vegetables in the frozen section, which I have purchased many times to cut down on the time spent peeling and chopping everything. Though fresh is usually better, this method has definitely saved me a lot of time and energy on days when I want a quick, easy meal that calls for chopped onions, garlic, and other veggies.

• Though this recipe calls for blending the vegetables after chopping, I do not have a blender, nor did I have the energy to search for one when I made this soup; therefore, I left the veggies as they were, and it still tasted great.

• I had trouble originally finding the Pastina (star-shaped pasta) because it is a little hidden, so make sure to look at the bottom of the pasta shelves where I found mine if you are shopping at Conad.

• If you opt to buy individual carrots and celery at Conad, make sure to weigh the vegetables first at the little kiosk next to the produce, where you will generate a little sticker that you put on your produce at checkout. If you forget to do this, the staff are usually very nice, but remembering this step will help you avoid standing at the checkout counter as your face turns red while one of the shopkeepers performs parkour around the store to do it for you at the last minute.

• Be generous with the olive oil and garlic, as they are key to reducing congestion and enhancing overall flavor.

Pasta with “Vodka” Sauce

Craving my mom’s vodka pasta from home, I tried to take a stab at the famous pasta recipe, and though I had low hopes of recreating the nostalgic flavor, I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I used this recipe as an inspiration and substituted the vodka for equal parts chicken broth, and I thought it tasted good, if not better, with this substitution. I also decided to add some protein to the meal with chopped, breaded chicken, which I thought was a flavorful addition. Here’s a quick shopping list with everything I bought to make this recipe:

Some recipe notes:

• Similar to pastina, most vodka sauce recipes call for blending the onion and tomato mixture before serving it over the pasta, but unfortunately, the hunt for a cheap blender for the semester has not been successful. Therefore, I simply kept the garlic and onions in the sauce mixture, and I thought it tasted great.

• Though it is encouraged to make the chicken from scratch for ultimate freshness, I opted for a pre-breaded version that I could just cook in the oven before serving. And it is totally not because getting salmonella in Italy from not knowing how to cook raw chicken was a fear of mine.

• While substituting vodka for chicken broth seems unusual due to the fact that the name of the dish is, in fact, “vodka sauce”, students at ISI are prohibited from having hard liquor in their apartments. Therefore, to avoid getting in trouble and simply save money, I opted for the chicken broth, and I can assure you the taste is only improved with this substitution.

Peanut Sauce Ramen

While the name may seem a bit daunting because ramen and peanut sauce don’t often appear together, I encourage you to give this recipe a try if you are craving something a little more elevated than a cup of noodles. This dish will have you and your roommate thinking you are crazy until the very end, and I am not kidding when I say that I am definitely planning to make this when I go back to my home university because it is just that good. I used this recipe as inspiration and went to Conad to purchase the following goods:

Some recipe notes:

• Cheap peanut butter is better. While you may assume that peanut butter with a fancy label that costs only a few euros more will be better for this savory dish, I can assure you that the cheap one is better for overall taste and financial reasons.

• I decided to add an egg on top for added flavor and protein, but since the noodles are already flavorful with the sauce, the egg is not necessary.

• Soy sauce is one of those things that are kind of hard to find in Italian grocery stores, so if you’re like me and you’re afraid to ask for help in public, try looking next to the ramen noodle section and the premade sauce section.

One-pan Risoni (orzo pasta)

If I could recommend one dish from all the recipes I have here, I would recommend this one. This one-pan risoni is so easy to make that I started overthinking it unnecessarily. This dish is packed with protein, vegetables, and flavor so good that my own mom asked me for the recipe. There are many ways to make this, and because of its simplicity, you can change it however you like. I used this recipe as a guideline, and I decided to purchase these ingredients at the store:

Some recipe notes:

• Don’t overthink it. Personally, I was daunted by the simplicity of this recipe and therefore started adding random things such as extra garlic because I genuinely didn’t believe this risotto would come together on its own, but it does!

• Though this recipe calls for Trader Joe’s artichoke dip, sadly, you will not find a Trader Joe’s in Florence. Fear not, because many stores (including my beloved Conad) carry a variety of cheese sauces. They are found either right next to the pre-made pasta or the dairy section, and they are shaped like yogurt cups. Personally, I used the four-cheese blend, and I thought it worked well.

• Make sure the broth completely covers the risoni at the bottom so it cooks evenly and isn’t too chewy.

Creamy Tomato Risoni

This recipe is very similar to the taste of vodka pasta, but instead of boiling the pasta and adding it at the end, you add the risoni to the pot of tomatoes and chicken broth while it cooks, so the risoni soak up all the flavor. This recipe has been a staple in my apartment because it’s easy and delicious, and with a little pesto, olive oil, and parmesan at the end, it’s no short of an easy recipe triumph. Here is the recipe I used, and here is a grocery list for this dish:

Some recipe notes:

• If you are not a regular cook, you may not know what tomato paste looks like, so allow me to describe it so you don’t make the same mistake of getting three packs of tomato puree. The paste is always found in a long squeeze tube with a red cap on the bottom that is usually found at the bottom of the tomato section–yes, there is a whole tomato section in Italian grocery stores.

• Heavy cream can go bad really quickly because, as with everything in Italy, most food items are fresh. Therefore, I encourage you to buy only the small jug of heavy cream, and only when you need it.

Protein Bowl (w/ Avocado, sweet potato, cottage cheese, and protein)

Though pasta dishes are great, when you have the option to buy pre-made pasta, you should absolutely take it. You may want something a little more nutritious and high in protein. This bowl is so self-explanatory that you don’t even really need a recipe. The only instructions I would suggest are to season and cut the sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil, then cook in the oven at 170°C for about 8 minutes. The choice of protein is completely up to you, but a popular option is ground beef. Personally, I used breaded chicken and added scrambled eggs, but this bowl is completely customizable. This is the recipe I used, and here are some things I got at the store for this protein bowl:

Some recipe tips:

• While you don’t need to add a sauce on top, I was feeling adventurous and decided to add salad dressing on top with a little lemon juice, and I thought this little touch added a lot to the dish.

• I got double of everything in my grocery list because I knew I would make this more than once, which is why it’s a little on the pricier side.

Cookies!!

If you have a baking itch that can only be cured by making homemade cookies, I have a great, tried-and-true recipe here that I have used at least three times this semester. This recipe includes chocolate chips, but I have added Oreo cookies, pretzels, and Lindt chocolate for some extra flavor. Here are the ingredients you need from the store:

Some recipe tips:

• At the Italian grocery stores I have visited, there are multiple options for baking flour. These different types include 0, 00, and 000. For baked goods, I have used 00 flour, and that has worked really well.

• Ask a storekeeper what they sell as baking soda for baking, specifically, because it is not usually sold in the baking section.

Though there are many restaurants that will no doubt beat these recipes out of the water, cooking at home can be a fun (when you don’t set the stove too high and the oil and onions start audibly hissing at you) outlet for a long day of traveling or studying. And with an open mind and heaps and heaps of olive oil and freshly-grated parmesan, you can make all of these things yourself!