The Giada De Laurentiis Comfort Food That Fans Say Is ‘Unhinged in the Best Way.’

Giada De Laurentiis is known for her approachable Italian recipes, but she debuted a new one in late fall that sparked a major debate: chocolate pasta. While fans collectively freaked when De Laurentiis first rolled it out, she just doubled down on the recipe—and people are flipping out all over again.

De Laurentiis brought her controversial pasta on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon while promoting her newest cookbook, Super-Italian, and asked for “honest” feedback from Fallon. During the appearance, the 54-year-old poured chocolate sauce over a bowl of noodles, and then mixed everything together with her hands because there was no utensil to be found. She finished the dish off with some shaved chocolate.

Fallon was clearly nervous about trying it, saying, “I don’t know if this is going to be good, Giada, I’ve got to be honest.” But, after trying a bite, Fallon said that the dish is “actually delicious. I love it, it’s fantastic.”

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What is the Giada De Laurentiis Chocolate Pasta?

De Laurentiis originally unleashed chocolate pasta on the world in a November TikTok, where she explained that the recipe is a “comfort food” for her. In the video, DeLaurentiis can be seen holding a bowl of gnochetti napoletani pasta coated in some kind of chocolate sauce. As she explained, chocolate pasta is “a childhood favorite of mine,” adding that she turned to it as a kid “when I was having a bad day.”

But the 54-year-old didn’t just talk up the pasta: She invited people from her “team” to taste it. Even De Laurentiis’ team was hesitant, with one warning, “I don’t know how I’m gonna feel about this.” After several people tried it, they gave their feedback, and it was largely positive. Comments included, “It tastes like Nutella toast,” “or almost like a Nutella crepe,” and the simple, “Yum. That’s great!”

And when you think about it, we love chocolate with other grain-based foods—toast, cookies, cakes. Just because pasta is most commonly served in a savory way doesn't mean we can't mix things up.

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What People Are Saying About Giada's Chocolate Pasta

But people then—and now—still aren’t convinced this is a great idea. “This is, like, from Elf,” one person wrote in the comments. “Double deep noooo,” another said.

Still, others seem to be coming around to the idea. “So unhinged in the best, most delicious way 😂😍 chocolate goes good on anything!” a fan wrote in the comments of a post on De Laurentiis’ Fallon appearance, while another said this was “iconic behavior.”

Chocolate pasta admittedly isn’t for everyone, but De Laurentiis has shared the recipe on TikTok, just in case you feel like branching out. “Bowl of pasta, topped with a little chocolate. Honestly, nothing is more comforting and more of a hug,” she said. (For your choice of chocolate, you can use something like Nutella or Pariani Chocolate Hazelnut Spread—De Laurentiis’ choice.)

By the way, De Laurentiis is aware that this isn’t for everyone. “Listen, it’s not the sexiest of dishes, but it’s dang good,” she said.

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