There are so many types of pasta! Here’s a list of pasta shapes, from common to unique, and recipes for how to use each one of them.
Ahhh, pasta: arguably one of Italy’s best gifts to the world. Did you know there are about 350 types of pasta? These days more and more unique types of pasta are popping up at mainstream grocery stores. If you love to cook (like we do), you’ll want to experiment with all the noodles. But what are the right ways to prepare them? Which pastas work with chunky sauces, vs are thrown into soups or pasta salads?
Here are 18 of our favorite types of pasta, from everyday to unique. There’s the old favorites like spaghetti and lasagna, but lots of new ideas! There’s orecchiette, a tiny ear shaped pasta, or mafaldine, a long ribbon like pasta with curly edges. Here’s how to make each one of them into delicious recipes.
18 types of pasta, and how to use them!
Type of pasta: Spaghetti
What is it? Unarguably the most popular pasta noodle shape! These long strands of pasta are perfect with sauces like tomato and pesto, or even just cheese and pepper (cacio e pepe).
Spaghetti recipes
Homemade Pasta Marinara (pictured)
Mussels Marinara
Shrimp Marinara
Creamy Pasta Marinara (or Creamy Vegan Pasta Marinara)
Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes (or Vegan Pesto Pasta)
Cacio e Pepe
Type of pasta: Bucatini
What is it? A long strand pasta with a hole in the center: it's like a tubular form of spaghetti! The tube gives it a chewy texture, making it taste like an upscale version of spaghetti.
Bucatini recipes
Cacio e Pepe (pictured)
Pasta Puttanesca
Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes
Any of the spaghetti recipes above
Type of pasta: Penne
What is it? Short tubular pasta, cut at an angle. The ridges on the outside help the sauce to stick! Penne is highly versatile and works with just about anything: red sauce, pesto, cheese sauce, and even in pasta salads.
Penne recipes
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta (pictured)
Creamy Instant Pot Pasta
Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with Penne
Roasted Eggplant Pasta
Butternut Squash Pasta
Type of pasta: Cavatappi
What is it? Short corkscrew pasta. It works with thick creamy or meat sauces, and is great for baked pasta as well. Use it in place of macaroni in any mac and cheese recipe!
Cavatappi recipes
Creamy Cavatappi Pasta (pictured)
Butternut Squash Pasta
Pesto Mac and Cheese
Best Gouda Mac and Cheese
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Type of pasta: Lasagna
What is it? Pasta made of long thin sheets, used to layer that world-famous dish. You can buy them fresh, dry, or no-boil. No boil requires no cooking before baking. Creative uses: roll them up to make lasagna rolls, or make a free-form lasagna soup.
Lasagna recipes
Favorite Vegan Lasagna (pictured)
Spicy Kale Lasagna
Mexican Lasagna
Type of pasta: Conchiglie
What is it? Shell shaped pasta noodles. Shells are great with sauces that stick well, like cheese sauces or creamy tomato sauces like a vodka sauce.
Conchiglie recipes
Gouda Mac and Cheese (pictured)
Pesto Mac and Cheese
Greek Yogurt Mac and Cheese
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta
Best Vodka Sauce
Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Type of pasta: Orecchiette
What is it? A small cup-shaped pasta. In Italian, orecchiette means “small ears.” Orecchiette is great with chunky vegetables, and works as another stand-in in mac and cheese.
Orecchiette recipes
Orecchiette Pasta with Tomatoes
Orecchiette Pasta with Lemon Asparagus
Creamy Almond Milk Pasta with Herbs
Pesto Mac and Cheese
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Greek Yogurt Mac and Cheese
Type of pasta: Conchiglioni
What is it? Jumbo sized shells! These are fantastic stuffed with meat or vegetarian fillings.
Stuffed shells recipes
Pumpkin Stuffed Shells (pictured)
Skillet Stuffed Shells
Type of pasta: Rigatoni
What is it? A tube shaped pasta; cylinder shaped with a larger hole than penne. Works with tomato sauces and perfect for baked pasta. It isn't normally seen in salads or soups.
Rigatoni recipes
Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce (pictured)
Lemon Arugula Rigatoni
Butternut Squash Pasta
Roasted Eggplant Pasta
Type of pasta: Gemelli
What is it? A type of short cut pasta; the name comes from the Italian word for “twins”. While it looks like two twin pasta tubes, it's really an s-shaped strand twisted into a spiral. It works with any preparation that penne does: tomato sauces, mac and cheese, and pasta salad. Even works in soup!
Similar shapes: Cascarece, Strozzapreti
Gemelli recipes
Gemelli Pasta with Tomatoes (pictured)
Roasted Eggplant Pasta
Minestrone Soup
Best Vodka Sauce
Type of pasta: Tortellini
What is it? A filled ring-shaped pasta, with meat or vegetarian fillings. You can find tortellini fresh, frozen, or dried at your local grocery. Tortellini are lovely in a cream sauce, or floating in a tangy soup broth.
Tortellini recipes
Vegetarian Tortellini Soup (pictured)
Tortellini with Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Type of pasta: Fettuccine (often misspelled fettucini)
What is it? A long, flat pasta shape. This pasta works with the same preparations as spaghetti: creamy sauces (like the famous alfredo), tomato sauces, or with vegetables.
Fettuccine recipes
Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo (pictured)
Spinach Alfredo Pasta
Tomato Basil Pasta
Grilled Vegetable Pasta
Type of pasta: Linguine
What is it? A long pasta shape similar to fettuccine, but it's slightly thinner and elliptical shaped instead of flat. This pasta works well with vegetables and creamy sauces, just like fettuccine.
Tortellini recipes
Tomato Basil Pasta (pictured)
Vegetable Linguine with Tomatoes & Zucchini
Grilled Vegetable Pasta
Type of pasta: Fusilli
What is it? Fusilli is corkscrew shaped pasta. It's often confused with rotini, and can be used similarly. Fusilli looks like a small spring, and rotini looks like a twist. Fusilli works anywhere that penne would: with thick sauces, chunky veggies, or in soups or pasta salads.
Also known as: Spirali
Fusilli recipes
Minestrone Soup (or Instant Pot Minestrone)
Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce with Penne
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta
Butternut Squash Pasta
Type of pasta: Farfalle, aka bow tie pasta or butterfly pasta
What is it? A short pasta shape formed like a butterfly (farfalle is the Italian word for butterfly). Farfalle works in most places that penne would: with vegetables, in creamy or tomato sauces, pasta salads, or even in soups.
Farfalle recipes
Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese (pictured)
Farfalle Pasta with Peas, Feta and Dill
Italian Vegan Pasta Salad
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta
Farfalle Alfredo
Type of pasta: Gigli
What is it? Gigli is a short pasta shape with a fluted edge that is rolled into a cone shape or flower. Gigli is Italian for "lily". It's best when served with thick sauces.
Also known as: Campanelle
Gigli recipes
Pesto Mac and Cheese (pictured)
Greek Yogurt Mac and Cheese
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta
Type of pasta: Orzo
What is it? Orzo is a small pasta shaped like a grain of rice. It can be served as a side dish in the same way as rice, or used in pasta salads and in soups.
Orzo recipes
Greek Orzo Salad (pictured)
Spinach Parmesan Orzo
Type of pasta: Mafaldine
What is it? Mafaldine pasta is a ribbon-shaped pasta with wavy edges on both sides, almost like a long and thin lasagna noodle. It's thicker than most of the longer noodle shapes, and works best with chunky veggies or seafood.
Also known as: Reginette
Mafaldine recipes
Roasted Eggplant Pasta (pictured)
Shrimp Marinara
Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese
More Italian recipes
Into Italian food? Here are some of our other favorite recipes:
- Margherita Pizza The best margherita pizza recipe is based on our visits to Italy and years of research! It features tangy pizza sauce & a perfect chewy pizza crust.
- Best Calzone Recipe Features homemade pizza dough and a veggie and two-cheese filling. Dip it in zesty pizza sauce and prepare to be amazed.
- Easy Creamy Gnocchi Pecorino cheese, butter and pepper make the tastiest weeknight dinner: Italian comfort food at its finest.
- Parmesan Truffle Risotto A seemingly gourmet dish, this risotto is pretty simple to put together. The black truffle flavor sends it out of this world.
