Just 21 Very Good Recipes That All Start With Parmesan Cheese

I know: There's no such thing as "leftover cheese." But hear me out on these!

We've all been there: You make your best guess on a wedge or container of Parmesan at the store, and you end up with way too much. 🧀

And while I could devour buttered noodles with an unholy amount of Parmesan for three meals a day until my supply is all used up, these recipes are a much better (and more flavorful!) way to deal with the excess.

1. Creamy Tuscan Chicken

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This recipe pairs crispy chicken thighs (the best piece of the chicken, IMHO) with a creamy sauce made of Parmesan, tomatoes, and spinach. Try serving it over pasta or on its own with a green salad or roasted veggies on the side. Whichever way you choose, this is basically guaranteed to make it into your weeknight rotation.

Recipe: Creamy Tuscan Chicken | Shop This Recipe

2. One-Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

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You only need 30 minutes and one pot to make this ~sophisticated~ pasta. It's a total trifecta: easy and impressive, with barely any dishes to do after dinner. That's a win-win-win!

Recipe: One-Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta | Shop This Recipe

3. 3 Cheese Garlic Bread

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Any way you make it, garlic bread is going to be incredible. But the addition of Parmesan, cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses really amps up the flavor on this one to 11.

Recipe: 3 Cheese Garlic Bread | Shop This Recipe

4. Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta

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I can't think of a more perfect weeknight pasta: chicken, bacon, spinach, Parmesan, and a creamy sauce. If you boil the pasta and crisp the bacon simultaneously, it's done in 20 minutes, which makes it a perfect choice for those nights when you're just done but still have to cook.

Recipe: Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta | Shop This Recipe

5. 90-Second Keto Bread

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All you need are a few ingredients and a microwave to make this surprisingly fluffy bread. You can use it for sandwiches, as a base for any number of delicious toasts, or even just on its own with butter. Honestly, you might not even miss the old bread, now that you have Bread 2.0.

Recipe: 90-Second Keto Bread | Shop This Recipe

6. Classic Lasagna

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Lasagna is traditionally a labor of love, and while this one still requires some effort, it streamlines a number of steps so that even beginner cooks can knock it out of the park. Plus, if you have a lot of Parmesan to work through, this is the recipe for you — it calls for two whole cups of that salty, cheesy goodness.

Recipe: Classic Lasagna | Shop This Recipe

7. Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders

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Imagine if chicken tenders and chicken Parmesan had a baby, and you basically have these tenders. They're juicy, crispy, and flavorful, and they come together way easier than you'd think. And if you have an Air Fryer, use it here. The crunch! Simply unparalleled.

Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders | Shop This Recipe

8. Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

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I'm on the record as saying that there's no better weekday lunch than a traditional chicken Caesar salad, but this pasta salad version may have to make me eat my words. It's got all the same flavors from the salad, but the added pasta means you won't get hangry by dinner.

Recipe: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad | Shop This Recipe

9. Cajun Chicken Alfredo

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Creamy, cheesy, a lil' spicy, and super easy: what could be better? This recipe is super adaptable — while it calls for sausage and chicken, you could easily use one or the other, or even swap in shrimp or steak. Even a veggie version with mushrooms would be delicious.

Recipe: Cajun Chicken Alfredo | Shop This Recipe

10. Garlic Parmesan-Stuffed Artichokes

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Artichokes can seem intimidating, but with this recipe they come together in a snap. A beautiful, garlicky, Parmesan-y snap. Also, if you have an Instant Pot, commenters recommend using it for the simmer step — you'll get extra tenderness in half the time.

Recipe: Garlic Parmesan-Stuffed Artichokes | Shop This Recipe

11. Salmon Wellington

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This recipe is absolutely perfect for date night. It's impressive, delicious, way less finicky than a traditional Beef Wellington, and the spinach and salmon instead of beef and mushrooms make it so much less likely that you'll need to take a nap directly after dinner.

Recipe: Salmon Wellington | Shop This Recipe

12. Creamy Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

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If you want to take home an empty plate from a potluck or a dinner party, I highly recommend these. They're super easy to make, and people go absolutely wild over them — once someone's had one, they're going to want at least three more.

Recipe: Creamy Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms | Shop This Recipe

13. Cheesy Broccoli Gnocchi

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What did we even do to deserve gnocchi? These perfect potato pillows are complemented perfectly by the broccoli and Parmesan, and bronzed to perfection in the oven.

Recipe: Cheesy Broccoli Gnocchi | Shop This Recipe

14. Pepperoni Pizza Dip with Garlic Knots

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You should be able to tell just from the recipe name that this is going to be delicious. I mean, pizza as a dip? I am so glad to live in a time when I can make and eat pizza dip. It truly is a blessing.

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Dip with Garlic Knots | Shop This Recipe

15. Avocado Carbonara

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You have to promise not to tell my partner's very Italian family that I recommended this, but oh my goodness this recipe slaps. It's creamy, rich, decadent, and, in my opinion, a total upgrade of the original.

Recipe: Avocado Carbonara | Shop This Recipe

16. Pesto Parmesan Chips

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This genius method uses a mini muffin tin so that each of the chips is evenly sized. You can eat the chips on their own or crumble them up in a salad. I even think they'd be a great topper on a sandwich. Like, a Caprese-style sandwich with a couple of these on it? Put that in my mouth immediately.

Recipe: Pesto Parmesan Chips | Shop This Recipe

17. Pesto & Parmesan Avocado Toast

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A twist on the classic avocado toast, this will totally amp up the creaminess of the avocado, while letting that Parmesan and pesto really shine.

Recipe: Pesto & Parmesan Avocado Toast | Shop This Recipe

18. Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

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If you're cooking for a picky eater, get ready to blow their mind with this recipe. Even the most devoted broccoli haters will be won over by this garlicky, toasty, nutty method of cooking.

Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli | Shop This Recipe

19. Cacio e Pepe

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Yes, before you yell at me, if you're making this recipe very traditionally, you should use Pecorino Romano cheese. But it works just as deliciously with Parmesan — if you already have a lot of Parmesan on hand, you should definitely just use it for this easy pantry pasta.

Recipe: Cacio e Pepe | Shop This Recipe

20. One Pot Swedish Meatball Pasta

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If you, like me, occasionally desperately crave Swedish meatballs enough to consider an Ikea trip, this is the recipe for you. It keeps all the same delicious flavors but converts them to pasta form, and with only one pot, you'll barely have any cleaning to do later.

Recipe: One-Pot Swedish Meatball Pasta | Shop This Recipe

21. Scalloped Potatoes

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Pretty much any way to cook potatoes is tied at number one in my book, but scalloped potatoes might have a slight edge over all the other recipes. They're creamy, the perfect amount of crispy, and just incredibly flavorful. If you make this recipe in a bigger dish, keep in mind that commenters recommend making extra sauce — otherwise, the potatoes might get a tiny bit dry.

Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes | Shop This Recipe

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