14 Trader Joe's Pasta Night Finds You Need To Grab On Your Next Shopping Trip

Imagine corks popping, ice clinking, garlic sizzling, crostini crunching, and noodles slurping. That — along with plenty of laughter and lively conversation — is the sound of a perfect pasta night. Don't get too bogged down in the hard work of hosting, though. Just head on over to Trader Joe's to get yourself all stocked up for the Italian-themed dinner of your dreams.

Some of these items will help you throw together an exciting meal that actually tastes like it was made from scratch. Others will allow you to finish off your homemade masterpiece with the perfect cherry on top — or metaphorical sprig of basil, drizzle of olive oil, or shower of parmesan, as it were. There are also condiments and ready-made sauces that work just as well in pasta dishes as they do in an appetizer. And don't forget that you'll need something to wash it all down — so we've included a couple of beverages (both with and without alcohol) that pair beautifully with a big bowl of pasta.

Even if you're using a jarred pasta sauce, look beyond that basic package of spaghetti and grab a more unique variety of shelf-stable pasta. Not only is the fun, twisty shape and short length of TJ's Organic Lemon Torchietti Pasta perfect for catching plenty of sauce, but it also has a light, bright citrus flavor that comes from real lemon oil. It's bronze-cut, which is one of the key things to look for when buying store-bought pasta — this type of extrusion gives each noodle a rougher exterior that really helps the sauce cling to it.

Double down on the citrus flavors with TJ's Lemon Pesto Sauce, or opt for a simple fresh garlic and olive oil number so the torchietti's pretty yellow color (which comes from turmeric) shows through. Herby pesto, a light cream sauce, or a simple cherry tomato number all also work well here.

Purchase Organic Lemon Torchietti Pasta from Trader Joe's for $2.99.

Add easy luxury to buttered noodles by kicking one of the two main ingredients up a notch. Trader Joe's sells a 4-ounce log of salted butter that is flavored with garlic, black pepper, shallots, lemon, parsley, and lots and lots of parmesan cheese. In fact, there's so much umami-packed parm that it makes up 25% of the weight. For this classic comfort meal, go for a more delicate pasta shape, such as orzo or capellini, both of which are stocked at TJ's.

Pasta night, of course, can also include other yummy dishes. Spread this flavorful butter on warm bread, or melt it over roasted vegetables. No matter how you use it, be sure to finish off the plate with even more parmesan cheese.

Buy TJ's Butter with Parmesan, Garlic & Herb for $2.99.

Olives are good, but grilled olives are better — they turn an already satisfying ingredient into a meaty, smoky flavor bomb. These large Greek Chalkidiki green olives are scored with lovely grill marks, making them as pretty to look at as they are tasty to eat. They add a briny bite that pairs well in pastas with rich ingredients such as salami, prosciutto, and pork sausage, as well as tuna preserved in olive oil or tinned anchovies.

Because these olives are so hearty and savory, they're also an ideal ingredient for making sure a vegetarian pasta dish can hold its own. Keep it simple with an oil-based sauce including shallots, garlic, fresh parsley, and plenty of chopped olives, or keep them whole and toss them with cooked penne or rigatoni, a medley of roasted vegetables, and chunks of salty feta. They're also a welcome addition to antipasto plates, charcuterie boards, and pre-dinner snacks.

A jar of Grilled Pitted Green Olives from Trader Joe's costs $3.99.

What's a pasta night without garlic bread? The combination of garlicky carbs with garlicky carbs is, frankly, unmatched. It's an especially crucial accompaniment for saucy Bolognese, cottage cheese Alfredo sauce, and other pasta dishes that leave behind a plate that's begging to be swiped clean with a hunk of bread.

The loaf of bread is split lengthwise and slathered in a spread made with butter, garlic, oregano, and parmesan cheese. The package is vacuumed sealed and can be found on the shelf with other fresh bakery items. It's ready to be baked until hot, crisp, and chewy — all it requires is 15 minutes in an oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Purchase TJ's Organic Garlic Bread for $3.99.

Nothing says aperitivo hour quite like an Aperol spritz. But when you're hosting a pasta supper for a group, you want to spend your time chatting and eating, not mixing up cocktail after cocktail. That's why keeping your fridge stocked with plenty of bottles of Trader Joe's Aperito Spritz is definitely the move. They're bubbly, fruity, and refreshingly bitter, and these wine-based cocktails are ready to drink straight from the pretty glass bottle.

For a fun upgrade, set up a DIY spritz bar at your pasta night, including large, stemmed wine glasses, a bucket of ice with a scoop, and an assortment of garnishes such as sliced oranges, lemon wheels, rounds of lime, skewered green olives, and sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary.

Buy a pack of three 200-milliliter bottles of Aperito Spritz for $6.99.

There's something lovely about a cooking project: perfectly thin sheets of yolk-yellow pasta, a slow-simmered sauce, and a fancy homemade dessert. There's also something great about skipping all the hard work and getting straight to the good part. That's where the Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes & Onions.

Technically, these are canned vegetables, but it's like the difference between a bottom-of-the-barrel brand of chunk light tuna and the best types of canned seafood that are well worth a splurge. The vegetables in the mix are velvety but also retain their individual textures, despite being preserved. They're seasoned with a dynamic blend of garlic, black pepper, red pepper, and curry powder and have an umami-packed sweet and savory flavor.

Cook off your favorite fresh or dried pasta and simply toss it with a big splash of pasta water and the contents of a couple of cans of this vegan gem — it's ready to eat right from the tin. You can also dress up the eggplant, tomatoes, and onions with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of fresh parsley to make an easy dip for toasted bread.

A 9.9-ounce can of Trader Joe's Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes & Onions costs $3.49.

A crunchy topping transforms a basic bowl of pasta into something much more exciting. This upgrade is as easy as grabbing a bag of Fried Shallots right off the shelf. They're vegan, since the ingredients include nothing more than shallots and oil. This also means that they have a deep, caramelized, allium-forward flavor, free of distracting breading and unnecessary seasonings.

These fried shallots are wildly versatile, pairing well with everything from a simple tomato sauce with fresh basil to chicken Alfredo. They also happen to make an excellent topping for mixed green salads and popular Trader Joe's dips.

Purchase TJ's Fried Shallots for $2.49.

The Parmesan Tapenade is another one of those Trader Joe's finds that can step into several different roles. It's a combination of shredded parmesan, Manzanilla olives, garlic, jalapeños, and herbs — including oregano, thyme, and cilantro — in a mixture of olive oil, sunflower oil, and red wine vinegar.

Toss the tapenade, which is basically a ready-to-go sauce, with cooked pasta and call it a day, or upgrade it with a big handful of fresh herbs. For a heartier dish, its profile pairs especially well with grilled chicken, seared shrimp, or roasted salmon. Parmesan Tapenade is also ideal for dipping bread or topping crispy roasted potatoes.

Buy Parmesan Tapenade from Trader Joe's for $4.99.

Between all the chit-chatting, pasta slurping, and spritz sipping, you can't forget to hydrate during pasta night. Rather than buying any old bubbly water, it's best to stay on theme and grab a couple of bottles of Italian Sparkling Mineral Water from Trader Joe's. It's literally from a spring in Italy called Val di Meti, located right between the Marche and Umbria regions. The water comes in an elegant green bottle, so it looks nice enough to keep in an ice bucket right on the dinner table for the whole night.

Each 25.4-ounce bottle of TJ's Italian Sparkling Mineral Water costs $1.99.

Even professional chefs use canned tomatoes — the preservation process captures in-season flavor, meaning you can make a flavorful sauce when the fresh tomatoes in the produce section are subpar and bland. The Slow Roasted Tomatoes from Trader Joe's take the flavor a few steps further. These Turkish-grown tomatoes are roasted for eight hours before being jarred in a combination of sunflower oil, olive oil, salt, garlic, and oregano. The cooking process removes some of the moisture, intensifying the sweet, earthy tastes and lending the tomatoes a pleasantly toothsome texture. Canning them in oil keeps them tender and adds loads of deep flavor.

Reach for this product when you're looking for a semi-homemade shortcut that packs a punch. Simply cut them to a size that suits the pasta shape you choose, toss them (and some of the oil) with the cooked noodles, and finish off the bowl with torn basil leaves and plenty of cheese. Go creamy with a big dollop of whipped ricotta or punchy with a pile of grated TJ's Toscano Crunch Chili Onion Cheese.

Purchase a jar of Slow Roasted Tomatoes from Trader Joe's for $3.99.

Make your favorite brand of pasta sauce even better by choosing a fun pasta shape. Trader Joe's Organic Radiatore Pasta isn't always on shelves at America's top grocery store chain, but when it is, you should definitely stock up your pantry. The noodle is short, rectangular, and ridged, and it gets its name because each one looks like a tiny radiator.

Radiatore is versatile, pairing well with everything from a mushroom cream sauce to a tomato-based ragu. For a pasta night during hot weather, reach for this product when you want to make a chilled pasta salad with ingredients such as halved cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and pesto.

Buy a 1-pound bag of Organic Radiatore Pasta for $1.99.

You know when you cut into a gorgeous globe of burrata and a mix of rich cream and strands of fresh mozzarella oozes out? That dreamy center is called stracciatella, and Trader Joe's sells containers of it so you can easily finish off a wide variety of pasta dishes. This simple creamy topping instantly elevates spaghetti in tomato sauce, fusilli with broccoli pesto, or penne in meat sauce.

You can also use TJ's Burrata Filling as the base for a delicious dip. Just top it off with one of the best sauces to buy at Trader Joe's, such as chimichurri or Crunchy Chili Onion. The Green Olive Flats — Trader Joe's version of Italian lingue crackers — are perfect for dipping.

Each 8-ounce tub of Burrata Filling costs $4.49 at Trader Joe's.

Another condiment that happens to be delicious when paired with Burrata Filling is the Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce. Made with Calabrian chile peppers, this sauce has a fruity, medium-level heat, a pleasant hit of tanginess, and a touch of fermented depth. It doesn't contain much more than peppers, oil, salt, and dried basil, so it's the perfect way to bring a punch of heat to a wide variety of pasta dishes.

Try it in shrimp scampi, rigatoni alla vodka, or Bolognese, or spoon it right over a bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine steak) or pollo al mattone (Italian-style chicken roasted under a brick). No matter what you make, put a jar out on the table so your dinner guests can easily add more to their liking.

Purchase Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce for $3.79.

You didn't think we made a whole list about the perfect products from Trader Joe's for a pasta night without including some vino, did you? Fans of the store know there are many great wines at Trader Joe's for under $20, including these two bottles from Tuscany.

The Casone Toscana Governo All'uso Toscano is made with a blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, and ciliegiolo grapes. Though it's a medium-bodied wine, it still has deep, concentrated red fruit flavors. With smooth tannins, you don't need an extra-marbled ribeye for balance (though it would still be excellent with meat dishes like a short rib ragu or classic spaghetti and meatballs). If you're more of a white wine drinker, the Toscano Vermentino from the same producer is a great choice. It's light and crisp with more mineral and floral notes than juicy fruit, making it an ideal pairing for pasta dishes with lots of fresh herbs, tangy cheese, or briny capers.

At Trader Joe's a bottle of Casone Toscana Governo All'uso Toscano will cost you $8.99, and the Casone Toscana Vermentino comes in at $7.99.