Guide to Matching Pasta with Sauce

Even though they’re all made with flour and water, not all pasta is created equal. Different types of pastas work better with different types of sauces or in different types of dishes, based on their shape and size. For example, tube-shaped pastas hold thinner sauces like basic tomato sauce, while flat pastas provide more surface area for a thick sauce to cling to, like Alfredo. Tiny pastas like pastina work best in soups, while shell-shaped pastas work best in casseroles.

Knowing which types of pastas are best for various sauces and dishes is important, because the size and shape of the pasta you use can affect a dish’s taste and presentation. Keep the following guide handy when you prepare your next pasta dish so you can be sure you use the right size and shape of pasta.

SHAPELONG AND SKINNY

• Spaghetti• Angel Hair• Vermicelli

• Fettuccine• Linguine • Pappardelle• Tagliatelle

Tomato

Tomato

Tomato

Tomato

Seafood

Seafood

Vegetable

Vegetable

Vegetable

Meat

Meat

Meat

Cream

Cream

Cream

Oil/Butter

Oil/Butter

• Lasagna• Sfoglia

• Bucatini• Perciatelli• Fusilli bucati

• Macaroni• Penne• Ziti• Rigatoni

• Rotini• Farfalle• Rotelle• Campanelle

• Orzo• Acini di pepe• Anelli• Pastina• Stelline• Tubettini

• Ravioli• Tortellini

• Cavatelli• Conchiglie• Jumbo shells• Lumaconi• Manicotti

SAUCES DISHES

LONG AND FL AT, RIBBONS

SHORT TUBES

FL AT AND WIDE

SMALL SHAPES

LONG TUBES

TINY SHAPES

FILLED PASTA

SHELLS

Tomato

Seafood

Cheese Basil

Meat

Cream

Seafood

Vegetable

Meat

Cream

Oil/Butter

Oil/Butter

Oil/Butter

Tomato

Tomato

Tomato

Seafood Vegetable

Meat

Baked, served with sauce

Baked, stuffed

Baked, salads, soups, served with sauce

Soups, salads, baked

Served with sauce

Served with sauce

Baked, served with sauce

Soups, salads, served with sauce

Baked, stuffed

Cream

FRESH OR DRIED?Fresh pasta is becoming a more common sight in the average grocery store’s refrigerated section or deli. Although the tendency is to assume that fresh pasta is always preferable to the dried kind that comes in a box, each type has its strengths and weaknesses.

Fresh pasta, for example, contains eggs and more water than dried pasta, which makes it a natural fit for cream-based sauces and lighter vegetable-based sauces. Stuffed pasta dishes also benefit from fresh pasta because of its greater elasticity. Dried pasta, on the other hand, has a firmer texture when cooked, which means it stands up better to heartier sauces like thick tomato and meat sauces.

Even though it’s all made with practically the same ingredients, pasta’s diverse shapes and sizes make it one of the most versatile staples in any diet. Knowing and understanding which type of pasta works best for the dish you want to make will go a long way toward making it a success.

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GNOCCHI

Tomato

Seafood

Vegetable

Meat

Cream

Oil/Butter

Served with sauce