Inspiration
Long Pasta Shapes: A Twirlable Guide
A sea of pasta is spread before you at the grocery store. You’re in a thin pasta type of mood. But which one is right for your recipe? For preferred pairings, just match shape to sauce: thin shapes pair best with thin sauces. Wide shapes are an ideal match for thick sauces.
Darling Angel Hair
- Cook time: 3 minutes
- Sauce types: Broths or light, simple sauces with an oil, butter, pesto, or marinara base
Quick to cook, Angel Hair is ready to serve in just three minutes. This thin pasta type dazzles in lighter sauces and is thin enough for broths. It fits any season, as a light dish on warm days or in a steaming bowl of soup to keep warm during cold temps.
Soup Tip: Switch up your meals by swapping out your shapes! See the best pasta shapes for soup.
Dainty Vermicelli
- Cook time: 6 minutes
- Sauce types: Light, simple sauces with an oil, butter, pesto, or marinara base
Vermicelli is a bit thicker than Angel Hair and likewise provides a delicate bite. Keep the sauce on the light side and you’ll be twirling Vermicelli goodness in no time — six minutes, to be exact. You just need a few simple ingredients for an excellent Vermicelli dish — one being the pasta water itself!
Lovable Spaghetti
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Sauce types: Whatever strikes your fancy
Spaghetti is a friend to all. You might consider Spaghetti the fine line between light and chunky sauces. Spaghetti shines in both, be it an oil-based lemon garlic sauce or a hearty meat sauce. Spaghetti’s versatility is no secret: It’s so easy to use in a wide variety of recipes! You can pluck it from your pantry for a scrumptious meal, turning on-hand ingredients into a satisfying spread.
Beachy Linguine
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Sauce types: Light to medium sauces with an oil, butter, seafood, or tomato base
Linguine’s flatter, elliptical shape provides more surface area compared to Spaghetti. Both bring fork-twirling versatility to a variety of sauces. You’ll often see Linguine paired with the sea’s finest: white clam, shrimp, mussels, and squid. Dial up the coastal vibes with our Linguine Cioppino recipe.
Hearty Fettuccine
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Sauce types: Thick, hearty, chunky sauces
Fettuccine is our widest, flattest shape. When you think Fettuccine, think hearty. Creamy, rich Fettuccine Alfredo. Meaty, saucy ragu and Bolognese. They’re the recipes you make when life calls for a heaping bowl of pasta.
When shape-swapping, we suggest looking to each pasta’s next of kin. Vermicelli is a good swap for Angel Hair. Linguine can serve as a substitute for Fettuccine. While thin pastas pair best with thin sauces and thicker pastas with thicker sauces, we encourage you to make your pasta, your way. So go on — play! Try a new recipe with a long pasta shape and discover your favorites.
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