Milano-Cortina's Limited Olympic Ring Pasta Served to Athletes, Recipe Published

A limited‑edition pasta shaped as five perfectly connected rings is feeding athletes inside the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Olympic Villages while the International Olympic Committee keeps the noodle itself out of shops. The IOC commissioned the ring‑shaped pasta, it was produced in Italy, and the Games’ official website has published Michelin‑starred chef Carlo Cracco’s sauce recipe for anyone who wants to recreate the dish at home.

Cracco refined the ingredients and cooked the pasta for CNN’s Antonia Mortensen at his Milan restaurant in a behind‑the‑scenes segment posted Feb. 20, 2026. CNN’s Facebook caption for the clip read, “Michelin‑starred chef Carlo Cracco explains why this year's Olympic ring‑shaped pasta is so unique. CNN's Antonia Mortensen goes behind the scenes to try it.” WTAE also reported Cracco “helped refine the ingredients” and prepared the dish for CNN in Milan.

NBCWashington and other outlets say the sauce is as talked about as the shape. NBCWashington describes the topping as “featuring oregano, basil, olives and capers layered with anchovy sauce, yes, tiny fish juice included, and finished with a pop of fresh lemon zest. It’s salty, bright and unapologetically Italian.” MyModernMet noted the Olympics enlisted Cracco to develop that special sauce and reminded readers the sauce can be made with any pasta if you don’t have the ring mold.

Organizers first revealed the novelty pasta in October 2025 as part of a 100‑day countdown, and MyModernMet reports it was served to athletes for the first time on Wednesday, February 11. WTAE states the ring pasta is “only available in the Olympic Villages and not sold anywhere else,” while NBCWashington adds the nuance that the dish is “primarily available only to Olympians inside the Village, though a small number of boxes are reportedly being given away locally.”

The dietary scale behind the stunt is practical: NBCWashington cites The New York Times reporting that about 1,300 pounds of pasta are served daily at the Milan Olympic Village, and NBC adds organizers prepare roughly 4,500 meals per day. MyModernMet puts the figure as “more than half a ton of pasta each day,” a number consistent with the 1,300‑pound estimate.

Athletes have helped send the dish viral. NBCWashington lists American figure skaters Max Naumov, Madison Chock and Evan Bates among those praising it, and social posts from the Olympics and Milano Cortina 2026 accounts were widely shared. CNN’s Facebook reel of Cracco’s demo showed strong engagement in the excerpted metrics: 99K views, 333 reactions and 25 comments.

If you want the exact recipe, the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Games website hosts Cracco’s published sauce instructions and ingredient list; the ring shape itself remains the Games’ limited souvenir for on‑site athletes, coaches and officials.