How to Pair Pasta with Sauce

From short and tubular to long and curvy, every pasta has a unique form. In Italy it is customary to follow regional pasta and sauce pairings. You can also marry each shape with the right sugo by following a few simple guidelines.

Tubular: tubes for chunky sauces

Hollow centers capture a variety of ingredients. Pair larger tubes with bigger, chunkier sauces and smaller tubes with finely diced items. Tubular pasta is also great for stuffing and baking.

Try: penne all'arrabbiata, paccheri con sugo di mare, paccheri al forno, ziti alla Norma.

Twisted: nooks for small bits

The tiny nooks and crannies of twisted shapes are ideal for sauces with small bits of finely chopped ingredients, such as pesto or crumbled sausage. Look at how narrow or wide the curves are and match the chunky bits of the sauce to them.

Try: fusilli con speck, vesuvio al ragù, caserecce al pesto Trapanese, trofie al pesto, filei con sugo 'nduja.

Long: the widest range of sauces

Long pasta has the most varied pairings, because the strands can be thin or thick.

• Thin, delicate strands like capellini (angel hair), spaghettini (thin spaghetti) and vermicelli call for light cream or oil-based sauces. Seafood works well here too.
• Thicker ribbons like tagliatelle, pappardelle and mafaldine stand up to more substantial sauces, such as ragù alla bolognese, porcini mushrooms or a chunky tomato sauce.

Try: spaghetti al pomodoro, spaghetti cacio e pepe, trenette al pesto, linguine alle vongole.

Stuffed: keep the sauce light

The filling already carries plenty of flavor, so stuffed fresh pasta is traditionally served with light butter- or oil-based sauces, such as brown butter and sage. In parts of Emilia-Romagna and northern Italy it goes into a hot broth, like the famous tortellini in brodo.

Try: agnolotti del plin, ravioli ai piselli, ravioli di zucca, tortellini in brodo.

Pastine: for soups and broths

Tiny shapes such as stelline, orzo and anellini are best in soups or broth, where a spoon picks them up easily. To turn a minestrone into a hearty, satiating meal, add pastine 5 to 7 minutes before serving. They puff up and soak up the broth, so the soup turns thicker and chunkier.

Pro tip: pastine can also work well in cold pasta salads in the summer.

Try: insalata di fregola, Genovese minestrone con brichetti.