15 Recreational Italian Cooking Classes in NYC

If you want to enjoy the taste of Italian cuisine in your home, you are in the right place because we created a list of 15 recreational Italian cooking classes in NYC to help you learn something entirely new.

The reasons and the benefits that result from learning how to cook are endless. First of all, what every young person wants to show is independence, and learning how to cook will demonstrate your independence in the best way. If you learn how to cook, you will succeed in showing everybody that you are an independent person who’s tackling this whole “adulting” thing. Despite that, it will have a positive impact on your health as you will start eating home cooked meals, which typically means you will start caring more about the things you eat. Also, you can surprise your friends and family with a delicious specialty and you can impress them with your cooking skills. On top of everything else, there’s my personal favorite benefit, that you can start saving money because learning how to cook will be less harsh on your wallet.

Every country is different and unique when it comes to cuisine, and one of the most popular and delicious cuisines around the world is Italian. Italians can be proud of their delicious pasta that many of us love. They have many delicious specialties and recipes when it comes to cooking pasta, pizza or lasagna. If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta in Italian way, you can check our list of 10 best pasta making classes in NYC as well.

It doesn’t matter if you are a professional chef or if you don’t even know how to use a knife yet, on our list, you can find classes for those with little to no experience at all. With these classes, you will learn all kinds of different new techniques and how to cook some of the most delicious Italian recipes. They’ll give you step-by-step instructions provided by a professional in an educational and fun environment. 

While we were creating our list, we used Class Curious’ database as our source to find information on the recreational Italian cooking classes in and around New York City. We included classes for adults as well as those young chefs who are below 18. The classes in this list are ranked in no particular order. Keep in mind that some of them have some requirements in order to attend.

Now enough of the intro, let’s jump on our list of 15 Recreational Italian Cooking Classes in NYC.

15. Homemade Pasta (Adult/BYOB)

Level: All Levels

This Italian cooking class is calling every pasta lover to sign up and learn how to make their favorite recipes at home. The average class size here is 10 students and those who have little to no experience at all are welcome to join the team to learn how to make fresh pasta. After this class, you will know how to knead, roll and cut pasta in order to fill delicious butternut squash ravioli and spinach ricotta. As a bonus, they will share their secret recipes with you, and you can surprise your friends and family with your cooking skills.

14. A Taste of Italy (Adult/BYOB)

Level: All Levels

For those who miss the delicious taste of Italian cuisine and would like to take a bite of their tasty meals in New York City, they can join this class and learn how to make their specialties at home. Here, you will learn how to make eggplant parmesan with wild mushroom & truffle oil risotto which will leave your guests wanting more. Since this is a class dedicated to adults, you can grab a bottle of your favorite wine and you can learn how to cook Italian food in no time. If you want to make the class even more interesting, bring a friend and let the fun begin.

13. A Taste of Italy: Chicken Parmesan

Level: All Levels

The average class size in A Taste of Italy: Chicken Parmesan consists of 10 people. People with and without experience are welcome to join this class and learn how to make a mouth-watering chicken parmesan with wild mushroom & truffle oil risotto. If you are over 21, you can bring a bottle of your favorite wine to make the cooking class even more enjoyable and you can also bring a friend. This way not only you, but you and your friend will enjoy an interesting experience together that you will remember for a long time. After this, you can organize a dinner for all of your friends or family and show them what you learned in this class.

12. Gnocchi and Risotto Workshop

Level: All Levels

This class will mainly help you focus on your knife skills. You will be working in a group 10 people along with a with a professional chef who will teach you everything you need to know during the class. You will get the chance to listen, learn and try all kinds of different techniques that will help you for every meal you prepare in the kitchen. You will learn how to make different specialties like fresh ricotta gnocchi with sage browned butter, classic potato gnocchi with marinara and classic risotto parmigiano with butternut squash and pancetta.

11. Southern Italian: Sicily, Calabria, and Campania

Level: All Levels

Learn how to cook delicious Italian meals with Allison Fasano in an intimate class setting. This class is not only for those who have experience with cooking, but also for those with little to no experience at all as well. In this class, you will learn how to make, carnavale fritti (Donuts), swordfish siciliana, pizza con gamberi (Shrimp Pizza) and a number of  other delicious dishes. If you want to refresh your cooking skills or learn something entirely new, we recommend you to sign up for this class.

10. Essentials of Tuscan Cooking

Level: All Levels

If you remember the time you were in Florence and enjoyed every meal you had during your stay, you definitely need to take this class. Here, you will learn how to prepare many recipes from Italian cuisine so you can enjoy eating them at your convenience. From almond biscotti and porterhouse steak to Tuscan chicken, you will learn all sorts of Italian dishes. You will also be served wine to make this cooking experience even more interesting, but it is against their policy to bring your own alcoholic beverage. Also, remember to take your ID with you because without it, you cannot access the building.

9. At Home Italian Cooking

Level: All Levels

If you are younger than 18 years old but you still want to learn how to make Italian dishes, you can attend this class along with your parent or a guardian. If all of those names of Italian dishes scare you, this class will show you how simple and yet delicious they can be. This is only one of the reasons why this class is one of the best recreational Italian cooking classes in NYC. Among other things, you will learn how to make stuffed chicken breasts with mushroom sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. 

8. Classic Italian Fish Dishes

Level: All Levels

Together with Chef Ivan Beacco, you will get the chance to learn how to cook delicious recipes from Italian cuisine. This is a hands-on class where you will learn to make many dishes like classic Italian risotto with scampi and melon, or a fragrant Roman fish stew along with a homemade fruit sorbet. If you want to participate in this class but you are under 18, you need to be accompanied by one of your parents or guardians.  If you think you weren’t born to be a great chef, this class will show you how wrong you were. It is open for people of all experience levels.

7. Modern Italian Cuisine

Level: Intermediate

In order to attend this class, you will need some previous experience with cooking Italian meals. This class is great for people who want to refresh their cooking skills or learn something new to make at home. The average class size in Modern Italian Cuisine class consists of 24 people. If you decide to sign up for this class, you should know that among other recipes, you will learn how to make tiramisu’,  fried gnocchi with arugula and almonds pesto, and even charred octopus, so you can see why some experience is required. 

6. A Tour of Classic Italian Dishes

Level: Intermediate

Just like in the previously listed class, for A Tour of Classic Italian Dishes, you will need previous experience in order to get the most from this class. Here, you can have a great cooking experience along with 24 other students while drinking a glass of wine. There is also a sit-down dinner and everything is included in the price. You’ll have the chance to try your hand at a wide range of Italian dishes from salads to pesto pasta.

5. Classic Modern Italian

Level: All Levels

With a help from Chef Ivan Beacco, you will learn how to prepare all kinds of different, “modern” Italian dishes. If you love the taste of every Italian dish, you should definitely sign up for this class because you will get the chance to learn how to prepare many Italian specialties at home. You will learn how to make Tiramisu, saltimbocca alla romana, tagliatelle pasta and many other dishes. Those who are younger than 18 years old can participate in this class but only with a parent or a guardian present.

4. Truffle Focaccia and Pizza Making

Level: All Levels

Regardless of your cooking skills and experience, you can sign up for this unique class because it is open for all levels. Along with Chef Stephanie, you will learn how to make the most delicious Italian pizza, truffle and focaccia from scratch. Along with the tasty pizza, you will get to drink Italian wine to make your experience perfect. Also, since you cannot remember everything, you will get recipes for home so you can gather around your friends and give them a taste of Italian cuisine in the middle of New York City.

3. Italian on Mulberry Street

Level: All Levels

If you want to break the ordinary circle of boring dishes in your kitchen by making something more delicious and special, you should definitely sign up for the Italian on Mulberry Street class. Here, you will learn how to make desserts like Tiramisu’, or entrees like lamb stew, potato gnocchi, avocado soup and a number of other exotic dishes where you’ll taste the Italian cuisine with every bite. 

2. Italian Pasta Making

Level: All Levels

You can’t learn to master Italian cuisine if you don’t learn how to make homemade pasta from scratch. This class is dedicated to teaching the skill to couples, so you have to purchase two spots. You and your significant other will get the chance to travel to Italy with every bite and learn how to bring this feeling to your home through recipes. To make this experience even more interesting, you will be served a good wine.

1. Couples Cooking Insatiable Italian

Level: All Levels

Since this is a class for couples, you need to purchase at least two seats. In this class, you and your partner will share a work station and you need to be the best team in order to create a delicious meal. What better way to bond with your significant other than during a class and learning to prepare a delicious meal? After the class, you can continue your team cooking in your own kitchen.

This was our list of 15 recreational Italian cooking classes in NYC. We hope we managed to show you what are the best classes and maybe help you decide which one to join.