List of pasta
There are many different varieties of pasta. They are usually sorted by size, being long, short, stuffed, cooked in broth, stretched or in dumpling-like form. Yet, due to the variety of shapes and regional variants, "one man's gnocchetto can be another's strascinato".
Some pasta varieties are uniquely regional and not widely known; many types have different names based on region or language. For example, the cut rotelle is also called ruote in Italy and 'wagon wheels' in the United States. Manufacturers and cooks often invent new shapes of pasta, or may rename pre-existing shapes for marketing reasons.
Italian pasta names often end with the masculine plural diminutive suffixes -ini, -elli, -illi, -etti or the feminine plurals -ine, -elle, etc., all conveying the sense of ; or with the augmentative suffixes -oni, -one, meaning. Other suffixes like -otti, and -acci, may also occur.
Long- and medium-length pasta
Long pasta may be made by extrusion or rolling and cutting.| Type | Image | Description | Translation | Synonyms | Origin or main area of consumption |
| Barbine | Thin strands, often coiled into nests | Little beards | Barbina | ||
| Bavette | Narrower version of tagliatelle | Bibs | Baverine, bavettine, lasagneddi | Liguria | |
| Bigoli | Thick, softer, spaghetti-like pasta. Made with whole wheat rather than durum. Sometimes made with duck egg. | From bigolaro, the pasta press used to make bigoli | Fusarioi | Veneto | |
| Bucatini | Thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center | Hollow straws. Translated from, meaning "hole", and, meaning "pierced". | Boccolotti, perciatellini, foratini, fidelini bucati, fide bucate, agoni bucati, spilloni bucati | Lazio | |
| Busiate | Type of long macaroni. Often coiled around a twig of local weed. | From busa, meaning "reed" | Subioti, fusarioi, maccheroni bobbesi, busa, ciuffolitti, gnocchi del ferro | Sicily Sardinia | |
| Capellini | Very thin spaghetti, often coiled into nests. Capelli d'angelo are slightly thinner. | Thin hair, little hair | Angel Hair, Capelli d'angelo, cabellos de angel, capelvenere, fidelini, fedelini, cappellini, sopracappellini, capellini fini, bassetti, tagliolini a nido, barbine a nido, ramicia, vrimiciddi | Liguria | |
| Fedelini | Very thin spaghetti | Little faithful ones | Naples, Genoa and Liguria | ||
| Ferrazzuoli | Similar to a twisted buccato with a cleft running on the side | Possibly from the thin iron square used to create the cleft | Cannucce | Calabria | |
| Fettuccine | Ribbon of pasta approximately 6.5 millimeters wide. Larger and thicker than tagliatelle. | Little ribbons: from affettare, "to slice". | Lasagnette, fettucce, ramicce, sagne | Rome | |
| Fileja | Elongated screw | Dialectal for yarn, filato | filleda, filateddhi, filatelli, fusilli avellinesi, maccaruni aru ferru, ricci di donna | Vibo Valentia, Avellino | |
| Lagane | Wide pasta | Lasagnoni, Bardele | |||
| Lasagne | Square or rectangle sheets of pasta that sometimes have fluted edges. The square of pasta is lasagna while the dish is lasagne. | Possibly from Latin lasanum or Greek lasonon, "Cooking pot", or the Greco-Roman laganum, a flat piece of bread | bardele, lasagnoni ; capellasci ; sagne ; lagana ; the fluted version can also be doppio festone, sciabo, sciablo | ||
| Lasagnette | Narrower version of lasagna | Little lasagne | |||
| Lasagnotte | Longer version of lasagnette | Bigger lasagna | |||
| Linguine | Flattened spaghetti | Little tongues | Bavettine, bavette fini, radichini, linguettine | ||
| Maccheroni alla molinara | Very thick, long, hand-pulled pasta | The miller’s wife’s pasta | Abruzzo | ||
| Maccheroncini di Campofilone | Thin strands of egg-based pasta. Similar to Capelli d'angelo. | Marche | |||
| Mafalde | Long rectangular ribbons with ruffled sides | Named in honor of Princess Mafalda of Savoy | Reginette, frese, tagliatelle nervate, signorine, trinette, ricciarelle, sfresatine, nastri, nastrini | Naples | |
| Matriciani | Similar to perciatelli, but folded over rather than hollowed out | ||||
| Pappardelle | Thick flat ribbons of egg-based dough | From Tuscan papparsi, "to pig out" | Papparelle, paparele ; paspardelle | Tuscany and northern Italy | |
| Perciatelli | "Virtually identical to bucatini" | From perciare, "to hollow" | Maccheroncelli, Maccheroncini, Mezzanelli, Long Macaroni | Campania | |
| Picagge | Flat strands about 1.5cm wide. Thinner sheet than lasagna. Can be white or green. | In Savonese dialect the name refers to the ribbons used as ornaments by dressmakers. In Genovese dialect however the word means napkin and refers to the size and shape of the pasta. | Picaje or piccagge | Liguria, in particular the province of Savona | |
| Pici | Very thick, irregular and long, hand-rolled pasta | From appiciare, "to stick" | Lunghetti ; pinci ; umbrici/ciriole | Tuscany | |
| Pillus | Very thin ribbons | Lisanzedas, a variation; large discs in lasagne-like layers | Sardinia | ||
| Rustiche | Serrated ribbons | Literally the feminine plural of rustico, meaning 'rustic' | Apulia | ||
| Sagne 'ncannulate | Long tube formed of twisted ribbon | Caned lasagne | |||
| Scialatelli or scialatielli | Short, flat ribbons | Sorrento | |||
| Spaghetti | A long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin, made of semolina or flour and water. Spaghettini and spaghettoni are slightly thinner or thicker, respectively. | "Little strings". Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which is a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine". | Fide/fidi, fidelini, ristoranti, vermicelloni, filatelli, vermicelloni giganti | Sicily | |
| Spaghetti alla chitarra | Square spaghetti, made of egg and flour | Named after the guitar-like device used to cut the pasta, which has a wooden frame strung with metal wires. Sheets of pasta are pressed down onto the device, and then the wires are "strummed" so the slivers of pasta fall through. | Tonnarelli, maccheroni alla chitarra | Abruzzo | |
| Spaghettini | A slightly thinner version of spaghetti | Thin spaghetti | Thin spaghetti | ||
| Spaghettoni | A slightly thicker version of spaghetti | Thick spaghetti | Spaghetti spessi | ||
| Stringozzi | Similar to shoelaces | Shoestring-like, shoelaces | - | ||
| Su Filindeu | Extremely rare pasta, made of thinly pulled and folded dough which is laid in the sun to dry | The threads of God | Sardinia | ||
| Tagliatelle | Ribbons of egg-based pasta. Generally narrower than fettuccine. | From the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut" | Tagliarelli, reginelle, fresine, nastri, fettuccelle, fettucce romane, fiadi, tagliolini; tagliatelle smalzade ; lesagnetes ; bardele ; fettuccine ; pincinelle ; tagghiarini ; taddarini | Emilia-Romagna | |
| Tagliolini | Thinner version of tagliatelle | From the Italian tagliare, meaning "to cut" | Tagliolini; tagliatini ; tajarin | Liguria, Piedmont | |
| Trenette | Thin ribbon ridged on one side. Slightly thicker than linguine. | ||||
| Tripoline | Thick ribbon ridged on one side | Signorine | |||
| Vermicelli | A traditional pasta round that is thinner than spaghetti | Little worms | Campania | ||
| Ziti | Long, narrow hose-like tubes larger than mezzani or bucatini that are traditionally broken before being put to cook. The addition of the word rigati denotes lines or ridges on the pasta's surface. Ziti candelati are longer, zitoni a bit larger. | Bride and bridegroom in Sicilian dialect | Boccolotti, zitoni, zituane, candele, ziti candelati | Sicily, Southern Italy |
Short-cut pasta
Short-cut pasta are mostly made by extrusion.| Type | Image | Description | Translation | Synonyms | Origin or main area of consumption |
| Anelli | Short tubular, or annular-shaped, pasta sometimes with ridges on the inside or outside | Small rings | Anelloni, anellini, anelletti, anelloni d'Africa | Sicily | |
| Boccoli | Short, thick twisted shape | Ringlets | Sardinia | ||
| Calamarata | Wide ring-shaped pasta | Squid-like | Calamari | Naples | |
| Campanelle or torchio | Flattened bell-shaped pasta with a frilly edge on one end. Torchio are identical but with a smooth edge. | Bellflower. Gigli are lilies, torchio is a press. | Gigli, cornetti, corni di bue | ||
| Cappelli da chef | Extruded pasta that looks like a chef's hat | Chef hats | Chef's hats | ||
| Casarecce | Short lengths extruded into a S shape | From casereccio, "homemade" | Casarecci, Cesariccia | Sicily, Campania | |
| Cascatelli | Designed by Dan Pashman in 2021 – thick, half-tubed pasta with ruffled sides | From cascatelle, "little waterfalls" | United States | ||
| Castellane | Shell pasta coiled into a conical shape | Translated as "castle dweller", for the shape of the pasta loosely resembles that of a long, flowing robe | |||
| Cavatappi | Corkscrew-shaped macaroni | Corkscrews | Cellentani, amori, spirali or fusilli rigati. | ||
| Cavatelli | Short, solid lengths. Exist in three sizes, usually measured in fingers. | From the verb cavare, "hollow" | Cortecce, gnocchetti, manatelli, orecchie di prete, strascinati, truoccoli; capunti, cingule, minuich, rascatelli, zinnezinne ; cantaroggini, cavatieddi, cecatelli/cicatelli, cecatidde, mignuicchi, strascenate, tagghjunghele ; pincinelle ; cavatielle, 'ncatenate, cazzarille, ciufele ; cavasuneddi, cavatuneddi, gnucchitti, gnocculi, pizzicarieddi. Pictured is dry capunti, a variety of cavatelli from Apulia. | Southern continental Italy and Sicily | |
| Chifferi | Short and wide macaroni. Can be smooth or furrowed. | From the Austrian cookies Kipferl | Gomiti | ||
| Cicioneddos | Hand-rolled, shell-shaped pasta that are smaller than malloreddus | Sardinia | |||
| Conchiglie | Seashell-shaped, usually furrowed | Shells | Arselle, abissini, coccioline, conchigliette, tofettine, cinesini, margaritine, cinesi rigati, mezzi cocci, margherite rigate, cappettine | ||
| Creste di gallo | Short, curved, and ruffled | Cock's comb | Grui | ||
| Fagioloni | Short narrow tube | Large beans | |||
| Farfalle | Bow tie- or butterfly-shaped | Butterflies | fiochetti, fiocconi, farfalloni, galla genovese, strichetti, nocchette | Northern Italy | |
| Fazzoletti | Thin rectangles or squares of pasta | Handkerchief | Fazzoletti di seta, mandilli di sea | Liguria | |
| Festoni | Thick ruffled helices | Festoon | |||
| Fiorentine | Grooved cut tubes | Florentine | |||
| Fiori | Shaped like a flower | Flowers | |||
| Fusilli | Long, thick, corkscrew-shaped pasta that may be solid or hollow | The word fusilli presumably comes from Italian: fuso, meaning "spindle". | Eliche, girandole, rotini | ||
| Fusilli bucati | A hollow version of fusilli. Note: different shapes can be attached to this name. Can be long, short or twined. | Holed spindles | Busiata, maccaruna di casa, pirciati, filati cu lu pirtuso, fusilli col buco. | Sicily | |
| Garganelli | Egg pasta in a square shape rolled into a tube | From garganel, "oesophagus" | Maccheroni al pettine, fischioni | Emilia-Romagna | |
| Gemelli | A single S-shaped strand of pasta twisted in a loose spiral | The name derives from the Italian for twins. | |||
| Gnocchi | Lobed shells. Not to be confused with gnocchi dumplings. | Possibly "knots" | |||
| Gomiti | Elbow maccheroni, furrowed | From gomito, "elbow" | Chifferi | ||
| Lanterne | Curved ridges | Lanterns | |||
| Lorighittas | Strands of pasta rolled twice around three fingers to form a ring, and then twisted to look like a rope | Small rings | Morgongiori, Sardinia | ||
| Macaroni | Tubes, either bent or straight | From Greek for food made from barley | Macaroni, maccheroncini | Naples | |
| Maccheroncelli | Hollow tube-shaped pasta that is slightly smaller than a pencil in thickness | Small maccheroni | |||
| Mafaldine | Short ribbons with ruffled sides | Little mafalde | Mafalda corta, Biricci | ||
| Maltagliati | Irregular shapes of flat pasta formed from scraps of pasta production | Badly cut | Strengozze, malmaritati, blecs; pizzocherini ; straciamus/spruzzamusi ; gasse, martaliai ; begnamusi/sguazzabarbuz ; strengozze ; sagne 'mpezze ; pizzelle ; foglie di salice | ||
| Malloreddus | Hand-rolled, shell-shaped pasta with saffron. A machine-extruded version also exists, which typically omits the use of saffron. | In Campidanese dialect, a malloreddu is a male cow . | Gnocchetti sardi, caidos, macarones cravaos, maccaronis de orgiu | Sardinia | |
| Mandala | Designed by Philippe Starck in 1987 for French pasta maker Panzani, intended to compensate for overcooking | A reference to mandalas | |||
| Marille | Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1983 – like a rolling ocean wave in cross-section with internal rugosities, but unsuccessful and no longer produced | From mare, "sea" | |||
| Mezzani | Short curved tube | Half-size ones | Perciatelloni, Mezze Zite, Regine, Scaloppi, Napoletani, Hoernli | ||
| Mezze maniche | About half the length of rigatoni | Half-sleeves | |||
| Mezze penne | Short version of penne | Half-pens | |||
| Mezzi bombardoni | Wide short tubes | Half-bombards | |||
| Nuvole | Short coiled pasta | Clouds | |||
| Paccheri | Large tube pasta often topped with sauce or stuffed with ingredients. May collapse under own weight when cooking. | from Napolitan paccharia, "Slaps" with a depreciative -ero to indicate something common. The name has been ascribed to a slapping sound they may make when eaten. | Maniche di frate, maniche rigate, rigatoni, rigatoncini, bombaroni, tufoli rigati. Moccolotti in Marche and Umbria. | Naples | |
| Passatelli | Made from bread crumbs, eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon, and nutmeg, and cooked in chicken broth | Pesaro e Urbino and other regions of northern Italy such as Emilia-Romagna | |||
| Pasta al ceppo | Sheet pasta that is similar in shape to a cinnamon stick | Log-type pasta | |||
| Penne | Medium length tubes with ridges, cut diagonally at both ends. They can be either lisce or rigate. Mostaccioli is also sometimes used for Barilla products, pennette have a shorter length and pennoni are wider and thicker. | Pens or feathers | Pennine, mezze pennette lisce, mezze penne, mezzani, pennettine, pennuzze, penne regina, mostaccioli, penne a candela, penne di natale/natalini, penne di ziti/zitoni. | Liguria | |
| Penne ricce | Curled penne variant, usually grooved | Curly penne | |||
| Picchiarelli | Slightly longer than cavatelli | Apulia | |||
| Pipe rigate | Very similar to Lumaconi but smaller has lines running the length of it | Grooved pipes | |||
| Pizzoccheri | A type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with buckwheat flour: the lack of gluten makes them hard to manipulate. | From pinzochero, "bigot" | Fugascion, pizzocher di Tei | Valtellina | |
| Quadrefiore | Square with rippled edges | From quadro, "square" and fiore, "flower" | |||
| Radiatori | Shaped like radiators, they were created between the First and Second World Wars. They are often used in similar dishes as rotelle or fusilli because their shape works well with thicker sauces. | Radiator | Marziani | ||
| Riccioli | Hollow cut with cylindrical ridges | Curls. | |||
| Ricciolini | Short wide pasta with a 90-degree twist | Little curls | |||
| Ricciutelle | Short spiralled pasta | Little curls | |||
| Rigatoncini | Smaller version of rigatoni | Small lined ones | |||
| Rigatoni | Medium-Large tube with square-cut ends, sometimes slightly curved. Always grooved, and straight or bent depending on extrusion method. | From rigare, "to line, furrow, groove" | Bombardoni, cannaroni rigati, cannerozzi rigati, rigatoni romani, trivelli, tuffolini rigati | Lazio | |
| Rombi | Rhombus-shaped ribbons | ||||
| Rotelle | Wagon wheel-shaped pasta | Little wheels | Biciclette, ruotine, ruote, rotelline, ruotelline, rotine, rotini | ||
| Sagnette | Short thick ribbons from Abruzzo and Molise. Also called sagne or tagliolini. | ||||
| Sagnarelli | Rectangular ribbons with fluted edges | ||||
| Sedani | Slightly larger than macaroni with a similar slight bend. Can be smooth or furrowed. | From sedano, "celery" | Sedanini, cornetti, diavoletti, diavolini, folletti; or zanne d'elefante if smooth. | Naples | |
| Spirali | Spiraled tubes, a common alternative name for cavatappi | Spirals | Cavatappi, cellentani, amori, fusilli rigati. | ||
| Spiralini | Tightly coiled spirali | Little spirals | |||
| Strapponi | Strips of pasta ripped from a sheet | From strappare, "to rip off" | Tuscany | ||
| Strozzapreti | Rolled across their width. Similar to Sicilian casarecce. | Priest-chokers or priest-stranglers | Strangolarpreti, gnocchi di prete ; frigulelli, piccicasanti, strozzafrati, cecamariti ; maccheroni alla molinara ; strangulaprievete ; strangulaprieviti ; affogaparini | Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna | |
| Testaroli | Tuscany | ||||
| Tortiglioni | Larger tubes than rigatoni. The grooves are also deeper and spiral around the pasta. | From Latin torquere, "to twist" | Elicoidali | Campania, Lazio | |
| Treccioni | Coiled pasta | From treccia, "braid" | |||
| Trenne | Penne shaped as a triangle | Triangoli, penne triangolo | |||
| Trofie | Thin twisted pasta made of durum wheat and water. Trofie bastarde are made with chestnut flour. | Possibly from Greek trophe, "food" or local Genovese dialect strofissià or strufuggiâ'', "to rub" | Rechelline, trofiette. | Liguria | |
| Trottole | Pasta in the shape of spinning tops | ||||
| Tuffoli | Ridged rigatoni | ||||
| Vesuvio | Corkscrew-shaped pasta | From Mount Vesuvius | Campania |