linux4me2

This widget allows you to insert arbitrary Text and/or HTML code (optional) to precede a list of recent posts by category. It makes it easy to add introductory comments and to achieve interesting effects like wrapping your posts list around an image. It’s designed to be lightweight and easy on resources.
<blockquote>
Note: Widget Blocks, added in WordPress 5.8, make this plugin no longer necessary. The same results can be obtained by using a Widget Group, Heading Block, Custom HTML Block, and the Latest Posts Block. The latter also allows the use of multiple categories, which is not available with this plugin. Unless something major happens to change things, I won’t be developing the plugin beyond the current version (2.0.0).
</blockquote>

HTML Plus Recent Posts by Category Widget

Like the Legacy Recent Posts widget, but adds the ability to select the category and add text or HTML before the list of posts.

UPTIXA

Display recent posts from any category with thumbnail or without as a modern, stylish widget on post pages, category pages, custom pages, Elementor Builder, Oxygen, WPBakery Builder, and the default WordPress Gutenberg editor.
This plugin allows you to easily display recent posts by selecting a category from the plugin settings page and generating a new shortcode. Simply copy and paste the generated shortcode where you want to show the recent posts.
<h3>About the Author & License</h3>
This plugin is developed and provided free of charge by <a href="https://uptixa.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">UPTIXA</a>, and is distributed under the GPLv2 license.
We are committed to maintaining this plugin as a 100% free tool for the WordPress community. You are welcome to use it in your own projects, for client work, or for any other purpose without restrictions.
We will continue to offer this plugin for free in the future, and we encourage you to share it with others who might find it useful.
<h4>RCP Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Display Recent Posts: Show recent posts from any category as a modern-designed widget.</li>
<li>Supports Multiple Page Builders: Works seamlessly with Elementor Builder, WPBakery Page Builder, and the default WordPress Gutenberg editor.</li>
<li>Customizable Shortcodes: Easily generate a new shortcode after selecting a category from the plugin settings page.</li>
<li>Responsive Design: The widget is fully responsive, ensuring it looks great on all devices.</li>
<li>Customizable Layouts: Choose from various layout options to match your website’s design.</li>
<li>Category-Specific Display: Filter and show recent posts from specific categories, ensuring you display only relevant content.</li>
<li>Recent Posts Widget: Display recent posts in your sidebar or any widget area using the built-in widget.</li>
<li>Simple Setup: Quick and easy installation, no coding required.</li>
<li>Easy Integration: Paste the generated shortcode on post pages, category pages, or custom pages.</li>
<li>Lightweight & Fast: Optimized to provide fast loading times and improve your site’s performance.</li>
<li>Multilingual Support: Compatible with multilingual WordPress sites (depends on theme and translation plugins).</li>
<li>Regular Updates: Stay up-to-date with new features and improvements.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Options:</h3>
<ol>
<li>Categroy Selection</li>
<li>Enable or Disable post thumbnail</li>
<li>Number of posts to show</li>
<li>Layout selection: grid, list and masonry</li>
<li>Sort by post date</li>
<li>Sort by post title</li>
<li>Sort by comment count</li>
<li>RTL Support</li>
</ol>
<h3>SEO-Friendly Features:</h3>
<ul>
<li>SEO-Optimized Display: Improve your site’s SEO by showing fresh, relevant content in the form of recent posts.</li>
<li>Recent Posts with Thumbnails: Show featured images alongside post titles to make the posts more engaging and improve click-through rates.</li>
<li>Internal Links: Add internal links to other relevant articles within your recent posts section to help users discover more content on your site and reduce bounce rates.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Where to add RCP shortcode:</h3>
<ol>
<li>Post page: add recent posts by category anywhere in your post page.</li>
<li>Elementor pages: place shortcode of the plugin using elemntor shorcode</li>
<li>WPBakery pages: use shortcde in frontend builder</li>
<li>Breakdance: add shortcde in breakdance builder</li>
<li>Sidebar: add shortcode in sidebar widgets</li>
</ol>

HTML Plus Recent Posts by Category Widget vs Recent Posts by Category (RCP)