Pasta is one of the most popular types of food in the world. Short, long, stuffed, stretched, and more, there are hundreds of types of pasta. With so many choices, someone can make a new pasta dish each day. Here are some popular varieties of pasta and ways you can use them. This list of popular varieties of pasta is sure to keep new and exciting pasta meals on your dinner table.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti is a medium to long cylindrical-shaped pasta that is a classic in Italian cuisine. It has a hearty texture and goes great with most sauces. It is often preferred with heavier sauces particularly of the meaty marinara variety. You can’t prepare spaghetti and meatballs without it.
Angel Hair or Capellini
Angel hair or capellini is an extra thin medium to long cylindrical pasta. It comes from the name Capelli D’Angelo and is referred to as angel hair because of its fine width and texture. It’s a tender, almost fragile pasta, that’s most popular tossed with a light sauce and served as a bed under heavier ingredients.
Vermicelli
Vermicelli is a medium to long cylindrical-shaped pasta that is thinner than spaghetti, but thicker than angel hair. If you’re not interested in the hearty texture of spaghetti, but need a noodle that can hold up in a thicker sauce, vermicelli is perfect. Vermicelli is very versatile and can be used with most thick or thin sauces depending on preference.
Fettuccini
Fettucine is a long, wide, flat ribbon-like pasta. It’s popularly served with cream sauces but will hold up to any heavy meat dish or heavy sauce. It’s best known for fettuccini Alfredo.
Linguini
Linguine is a long, medium-wide, flat pasta. It’s popular with light sauces like cream, olive oil, or broths tossed with meat or vegetables. A traditional linguini dish is linguini with clam sauce.
Elbow Macaroni
Elbow macaroni is short-cut pasta that is curved in an elbow shape. It can be tossed or baked with sauces, pasta salad, and soups. It’s a traditional pasta used to prepare macaroni and cheese.
Penne or Penne Rigate
Penne or penne rigate is medium-wide tube pasta that’s cut diagonally to a medium length. Regular penne is smooth and penne rigate is textured with ridges. It has a nice bite and works well tossed in sauces, baked in casseroles, used in pasta salads, and added to soup.
Farfalle or Bow-Tie Pasta
Farfalle (aka bow-tie pasta) is small flat square pasta with jagged edges that are pinched in the middle in a bow-tie shape. They almost look like a butterfly. Use farfalle when making pasta salads and soups or a dish with a light sauce and toppings.
Ziti
Ziti is medium wide tube pasta that’s sold cut to a medium to long length with a smooth exterior. When it’s cut to a long length, it’s broken into smaller pieces. Occasionally ziti is served with light sauces, but it’s most popular prepared in casseroles particularly as a baked ziti.
Manicotti
Manicotti is a large, wide tube pasta cut diagonally at a long length. It’s usually stuffed with meat or ricotta cheese mixture and baked with marinara and cheese.
Rigatoni
Rigatoni is medium wide tube pasta that is wider than ziti, but thinner than manicotti, and cut to a short length. It’s known for its outside ridges and a slight curve that allows the sauce to stick to the outside and inside of the pasta. It can be prepared in casseroles, with light sauces, and is very popular with a hearty meat sauce.
Fusilli
Fusilli is a short-cut, tightly-twisted pasta, famous for its “silly” name. It has a hearty texture that allows it to hold up on its own, so heavy meat sauces aren’t necessary. A favorite served with light toppings along with gravy, cream sauces, and pasta salads for how it traps sauces, herbs, and seasonings in its little twist.
Orzo
Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta that when cooked looks like big grains of rice. Orzo is also called Risoni meaning big rice. It’s easy to prepare and soaks up the flavor of whatever sauce it’s prepared with. It’s often used in soups, pasta salads, or prepared as a pilaf and served on the side.
Couscous
Couscous is tiny pasta about the size of quinoa. A favorite in soups, it can also be tossed with vegetables and light vinaigrette to create a light pasta salad. It’s most popular served as a side like rice.
Conchiglie or Small Shells
Conchiglie is a small shell-shaped pasta that is great at collecting sauces. It is often used in pasta salad, soup, and is a substitute for elbow macaroni in macaroni and cheese.
Conchiglioni or Large Shells
Large shells are popular for how easy they are to stuff. They can be served as an appetizer with a pre-cooked filling and drizzled with a sauce. It can also be prepared with a meat mixture and cooked as a casserole, but it’s most popular stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture, drizzled with marinara, and baked.
Orecchiette
Orecchiette is small ear-shaped pasta. The dough is rolled, cut, and then pulled into little ear shapes. This pasta is about the same size as small shell pasta, but they are a little thicker and more tender. They soak up flavor and hold sauce like little bowls. This is one of the more popular pulled or stretched types of pasta. Orecchiette is often prepared with light ingredients and a light sauce.
Gnocchi
Gnocchi is a pasta dumpling made from potatoes. They are hearty little dumplings that hold their own. For that reason, they are frequently prepared without meat. You’ll find gnocchi served with light ingredients and sauce.
Ravioli
Ravioli is a square-shaped pasta stuffed with a cheese or meat mixture. They’re a meal all their own. Their pillowy texture and versatile nature make them very popular. Served in soups, fried for appetizers, drizzled with a light sauce, sprinkled with cheese, prepared with cream sauces, or tossed with a simple marinara.
Tortellini
Tortellini is stuffed with meat or cheese, folded, and twisted in a circular shape. It’s nice served with a light sauce or with a simple drizzling of olive oil and herbs. Very popular prepared in soups.
Lasagna Noodles
Lasagna noodles are long or medium-length flat pasta often with ruffled edges. It can be used in many creative ways including rolled with a meat, veggie, or ricotta cheese mixture and baked like manicotti. It is most famous for its use in a traditional lasagna dish between layers of meat or veggies with sauce and cheese.
