Did you know that the type of noodle you choose is just as important as your choice of flavors? The type of sauce, loose! creamy! chunky!—is actually what should dictate the pasta choice.
To help you stock your pantry with all the essentials, we’ve come up with the 11 types of noodles you should always keep on hand to be ready for whatever delicious sauce life throws at you.
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Long, thin pasta begs for lighter cream or oil-based sauces, but classic tomato works too. You can’t go wrong with spaghetti & meatballs.
SPAGHETTI
1
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You’ll find cavatappi used most frequently in tomato-based pasta dishes. It’s a relatively new type of noodle, only dating back to the 1970s.
CAVATAPPI
2
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These flat ribbons are often cut by hand in their home region of Emilia-Romagna. Pair with any meat sauce as well as creamy and cheesy sauces.
TAGLIATELLE
3
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This tubular pasta is named after a pen or a quill and is ideal for loose, creamy sauces, recipes with finely diced ingredients and baked dishes.
PENNE
4
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The short tube-shaped maccheroni (which is the fancy Italian word for macaroni) is made for gooey, creamy and cheesy sauces.
MACCHERONI
5
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Farfalle is one of the oldest & most popular pasta shapes. It pairs well with anything that nestles itself in the nooks & crannies of the bowties.
FARFALLE
6
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Designed to pick up all sorts of sauces with both their hollow insides and ridged outsides. Conchiglie are best paired with thick, creamy sauces.
CONCHIGLIE
7
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The corkscrew-like pasta is ideal for picking up bits and pieces in chunkier sauces.
(AKA ROTINI)
FUSILLI
8
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Part of a group of tiny pasta shapes called pastine, aneli is often used in soups, salads and baked pasta dishes.
ANELLI
9
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Popular in Sicily and Central Italy, this pantry staple is versatile and pairs easily with kid-friendly meat sauces or in place of ziti.
RIGATONI
10
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Lasagna (plural lasagne) is thought to be one of the oldest types of pastas, dating back to the Middle Ages.