{"id":89612,"date":"2026-04-01T15:21:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T21:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=89612"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T21:21:22","slug":"pasta-shapes-and-best-suited-sauces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/pasta-shapes-and-best-suited-sauces\/","title":{"rendered":"Pasta shapes and their best-suited sauces"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left to right: a thick fettuccine with a meat rag\u00f9; a twisted pasta shape called vesuviotti (\u201clittle Vesuvios\u201d); and linguine done up as cacio e pepe, each sauce paired with its best-suited pasta. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We may eat pasta shapes such as fusilli (the one that looks like a corkscrew) or farfalle (the one that resembles a bowtie or butterfly) for their novelty. Or dive into a plate of spaghetti or linguine because they are nostalgic \u2014 looking at you, Lady and the Tramp. <\/em>And, usually, we eat them with whatever saucing or in whatever preparation we dang well decide on.<\/p>\n

But there is real rhyme and reason for pairing certain pasta shapes with certain sauces. And the Italians, as usual and of course, show the way.<\/p>\n

Matching pasta function with its sauce<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In Italy, pasta, both fresh and dried, comes in many dozens of shapes, sizes and configurations. Estimates suggest that Italy makes more than 350 pasta shapes. You\u2019re excused for imagining that there is no way that each shape has its particular sauce.<\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s more that the general shape of a pasta pairs with a certain sort of sauce or preparation. This is due mainly to the function of the pasta, what the pasta does with its sauce. Or, looked at another way, what a sauce does with its pasta.<\/p>\n

Long, thin pastas<\/strong> such as spaghetti, linguine, and bucatini are designed to pull any sauce up along their length<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As the pasta is wound on a fork at the edge of the plate, and then brought to the mouth, such pasta shapes easily marry with their sauce (if the sauce is well-chosen) along their significant length.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why well-made pastas of this sort actually have rough-ish sides, made so by the sometimes ancient bronze dies through which they are extruded. The rough sides help grab at or \u201cpull\u201d the sauce along.<\/p>\n

Sauces for long thin pastas include cream- or oil-based sauces such as aglio e olio, or sauces that use a good splash of the pasta cooking water in the finishing, such as \u201ccacio e pepe.\u201d (You\u2019ll find these two recipes below.)<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also designed for the archetypical, tomato-based \u201cmarinara\u201d sauce, if it is not too chunky.<\/p>\n

Additional examples of such pastas, in addition to spaghetti, linguine and bucatini, are tonnarelli and spaghetti chitarra.<\/p>\n

Ribbon-like pastas<\/strong> such as pappardelle or tagliatelle similarly carry sauces along their length, but do even more<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Because of their wide flat surfaces, these pasta shapes carry up the bits and pieces of long-cooked meaty sauces such as the classic Bolognese or any such meat rag\u00f9.

More\u00a0great recipes and tips<\/a>\u00a0from Bill. St. John.<\/div>\n

Wider versions of fettucine do much the same, although they are particularly adept at carrying thick cream sauces such as the popular Alfredo.<\/p>\n

For two more examples of such pasta shapes: tagliatelle rigate and scialatielli, an irregular, ribbon-shaped pasta often served with a sauce studded with bits of seafood.<\/p>\n

Pasta shapes with lots of twists or turns ‘<\/strong>cup’ or trap the small bits of meat or vegetables in the sauces meant for them<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Examples of such pastas are named fusilli (\u201ccorkscrew\u201d), gemelli (\u201cthe twins\u201d), farfalle (\u201cbutterfly\u201d), and orecchiette (\u201clittle ears\u201d). Because of both the nature of the sauce and the pasta here, bits and pieces in the dish, preparation, or sauce cling to and into each other felicitously.<\/p>\n

These pasta shapes are the most varied\u2014certainly the most creatively designed\u2014of pasta shapes from Italy. Some are shaped like old-fashioned home heating radiators (radiatori); others, as snails (lumache).<\/p>\n

Even more shapes: like little hats, or chef\u2019s caps or small baskets, or bell flowers, or lilies, or wagon wheels, or candy in its wrapper. Or, even, the esophagus of a chicken (garganelli). That\u2019s right. Cluck on that one.<\/p>\n

For additional examples of such \u201ctwisted\u201d pastas that I have found in specialty grocery stores in Colorado: vesuviotti (little \u201cvolcanoes\u201d) and sagne a pezzi (\u201cshort, twisted pieces of lasagna\u201d in the dialect of Abruzzo, Italy).<\/p>\n

Tubed pastas<\/strong> really shine in dishes where the sauce will find itself inside, as well as outside, the tube<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Examples of tubed pastas are penne or rigatoni, ziti and what we call \u201celbow macaroni,\u201d this latter the basis of everyday American mac \u2018n\u2019 cheese.<\/p>\n

Baked pasta dishes often use tubed pastas. Such are the Tuscan dish penne strascicate (penne \u201cdragged through\u201d meat sauce), or the familiar baked ziti. Tubed or hollow pastas also work well as the basis for pasta salads.<\/p>\n

These pasta shapes come in small, medium and large. Stuffing \u201cshells\u201d (conchiglie) is a popular pasta on the American East Coast.<\/p>\n

For more examples of such pastas: paccheri, pennette, maccheroni, and conchiglioni (really big shells).<\/p>\n

Two pasta shapes that are commonly misused or, more properly said, ‘mis-sauced’<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I refer to mini-pasta shapes<\/strong> (what the Italians call \u201cpastine\u201d) such as orzo, stelline (\u201clittle stars\u201d), or very small elbow macaroni, often used in pasta salad. In truth, they belong in wet\u2014very wet\u2014dishes such as soup.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also perfect for infants and children, because, like them, their mouths are small, too.<\/p>\n

When or if you try it, you\u2019ll find that orzo makes for gloppy pasta salad but a fine counterpoint to chicken broth.<\/p>\n

The other commonly misused pasta shapes are the filled pastas such as tortellini or ravioli. They are not substitutes for long thin or twisty-turn-y pastas, there for carrying sauces to the mouth. When treated as such, the cook makes a three-act play when a two-act will do and is better.<\/p>\n

Filled pastas<\/strong> are mini pillows of pleasure with most of their deliciousness all right there. A simple glistening of really top-notch olive oil, or unsalted brown butter with sage leaves, or merely some grated black pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano with a bit of pasta cooking water to whip it together into a sheen\u2014that\u2019s all they need for their minimal adornment.<\/p>\n

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A plate of aglio e olio using long-form pasta. Here, bucatini. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pasta aglio e olio recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The simplest, perhaps the most popular, pasta recipe of all time.<\/p>\n

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. In a skillet, over medium heat, pour in:<\/p>\n