31 calamari recipes worthy of your time

Treated right, the cephalopod produces beautifully tender results.

Lau's Family Kitchen's calamari with shrimp sauce
Don't be perturbed by cooking calamari or squid dishes as we have ample recipes that walk you through how to cook calamari so it's tender (and not chewy!). For best results, source the freshest calamari you can. The cephalopod cooks quite easily and quickly, and, provided you've brought top-shelf produce, should give up tender, yielding flesh.
From a simple fried calamari recipe to calamari rings made with a light flour mixture to ensure a perfect golden brown coating, these calamari squid recipes have you covered. We also have calamari salads, a paella recipe, squid spaghetti and a few Asian-style squid recipes. Of course, we also have classic salt-and-pepper squid you know and love (with plenty of black pepper for punch) that's ready in less than 30 minutes - just don't be shy about squeezing lemon juice upon serving.
Here are our best calamari recipes.