Popular types of pasta: Why their shape matters (2024)

FAQs

Why does the shape of pasta matter? ›

It's not the cut or shape of the pasta that makes the dish taste different, but rather the ingredients you are pairing with it. As a general rule, you want to choose a pasta shape that allows every bite to include plenty of sauce. The shape and texture of pasta hold ingredients and sauces differently.

The most popular pasta shapes worldwide

It's no great surprise that spaghetti tops the list of favourite pasta shapes.

Spaghetti and linguine are the most popular types of pasta, and they pair well with light, oil-based sauces. Penne, rigatoni, and fusilli are also popular and go well with chunkier sauces. Lasagna, fettuccine, and ravioli are other popular pasta shapes that pair well with specific sauces.

No matter the shape or size, it's no secret that all kinds of pasta taste delicious. However, there are a few tricks to make your dishes pop with texture and taste. Pairing the right sauce with the right pasta shape can heighten the flavor and deliciousness of both the pasta AND the sauce!

Penne translates to the word “pen”, and gets its name from its shape – a short cylinder-shaped pasta that has angled edges. The shape was inspired by a quill. Penne's large diameter and ridges make it ideal for retaining sauces on its entire surface.

Su filindeu is made by pulling and folding semolina dough into 256 perfectly even strands with the tips of your fingers, and then stretching the needle-thin wires diagonally across a circular frame in an intricate three-layer pattern.

According to a survey conducted in September 2023, 19 percent of Italian respondents reported Barilla as they favorite brand of pasta. Rummo followed, chosen by 18 percent of respondents, while De Cecco had a following of 12 percent of Italians.

As a general rule, pair the heartier sauces with the wider noodles: Wide ribbons like pappardelle pair well with rich, meaty sauces while the thinner flat noodles, like fettuccine or linguine, are best paired with simple cream sauces like Alfredo or delicate proteins like seafood.

There are four classic Roman pasta dishes: carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and alla Gricia. Each uses slightly different techniques and ingredients and has its own place in the canon of Italian food. Here is a brief breakdown of these iconic Italian pasta dishes. 1.

1. Spaghetti. Perhaps one of the most popular pasta types in the world, spaghetti consists of long, thin noodles which can be paired with a wide variety of sauces. Possibly the most well known dish is Spaghetti Bolognese, where pasta is paired with meat in a marinara sauce.

What is the thinnest pasta? ›

Capellini (also called "angel hair") is commonly cited as the world's thinnest pasta shape, but the accolade goes to su filindeu, an unfathomably thin type of pasta that also happens to be the rarest and most expensive pasta shape on earth.

Really, all of these pasta shapes exist because they elevate individual sauces and dishes with their unique textures. In Italian cooking, the way a pasta holds the sauce is critical. A thick, flavorful sauce needs a pasta that's just as robust, with deep grooves for holding the sauce.

Gnocchi. Gnocchi is the most pillow-like of all the pillowy pastas. The soft and tender dumpling is made from boiled potato and flour, making it filling but so delicious. It can be used in soups, like this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, in cream sauces, like this cacio e pepe, or in any tomato or butter sauces.

If your vegetable sauce is oil-based with smaller ingredients or in a thicker creamy sauce, stick to pasta that will best capture those chunkier sauces—scoop-shaped pasta and hollow tubes like Orecchiette, Shells, Rigatoni, Penne, etc.

Thinner, smoother pasta cuts will also taste different because their size features a lighter, less intense starchy flavor. Essentially, for every sauce, there's a flavorful match for each pasta shape. Much like for every Belgian beer, there is a corresponding glass.

The Italian rule – which pasta shapes go with which sauces

A general guide is that lighter, more delicate sauces of thinner, more liquid consistency are best suited to thinner pasta shapes or filled pasta, stuffed with gently-flavoured ingredients.

Their thickness is the main reason. Thicker shapes simply take longer to cook than do thinner shapes as more water must be absorbed. The age of the pasta can affect cooking times, too. Dried pasta must first absorb water before it starts to cook.

As the pasta cooks, the starches gradually absorb more and more water, becoming softer and more edible, while the proteins begin to denature (protein unfolds because of the cooking process), adding structure to the noodle (something that is much more obvious when cooking soft fresh egg-based pastas).