We just wrapped up our Barilla Pasta is Your Blank Canvas Contest! The 50 finalists we picked from all those who registered really showed the versatility and range of pasta in all its forms. With our latest innovations Barilla Frozen, Lasagne Chef, and Legume pastas as the canvas, the judges faced some tough choices to choose the winners, who took home some serious cash prizes!

WINNER #1 
Short Rib Lasagne with Diaspora Inspired Sauce by Chef Veronica Stamps Hendrix, Bromont Avenue Foods. Who doesn’t love food with a story? Not only did this look great on the plate, but the use of West African, Caribbean and American South ingredients in the inventive sweet potato sauce and mustard greens tell an inspired flavor tale. And let’s be honest, this Los Angeles-based chef had us at short ribs.  

WINNER #2 
Barilla Chickpea Rotini with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Shrimp and Chorizo by Chef Blair Bleacher, AB Tech Community College. There’s something about the combination of spicy sausages like chorizo or n’duja with seafood that’s irresistible. The judges certainly thought so, and loved this entry from a North Carolina-based Culinary Instructor. Pairing the chickpea pasta with the spicy sauce and sweet shrimp was a great idea.    

WINNER #3 
Plant Based Chorizo and Roasted Corn Pasta by Chef Dennis Doherty, Sundara Inn & Spa. This dish from a Chef from a resort & spa in the Wisconsin Dells leaned all the way into plant-based, using a Barilla chickpea rotini in a completely vegan and gluten-free item. But certainly not flavor-free! There’s lots of eye appeal from the cilantro-lime cashew cream, textures from corn-poblano fricassee, and a little heat from a chipotle tomato sauce and the plant-based chorizo.

These recipes and so many more are on our website – always a spot for pasta inspiration! Congrats to all the finalists and runners-up; we may be featuring more of them here soon…