The fact that there are so many pasta noodle types to choose from can be both good and bad. On the one hand, wow, look at all those choices! On the other hand, how the heck do you choose one?
Well did you know that there are actual principles about which type of pasta goes best with which type of sauce? Let this mini-guide help you figure out which pasta noodle to get next time you’re at the grocery store.
For Buttery or Oily Sauces
Since an oil or butter-based sauce is usually on the lighter and simpler side, it goes best with thin and long pasta shapes like spaghetti and capellini. But these types of sauces can also go well with more fun shapes farfalle and bucatini, too.
For Meat Sauces
Hearty, full of flavor, and capable of filling you up, slow-simmered meat sauces go best with tube-shaped pasta or scoopable shapes, the better to pick up heavy sauce with, my dear. We recommend rigatoni, tortiglioni, shells, and orecchiette.
For Cream or Cheese Sauces
What about pasta sauces with a base of cream or cheese, like alfredo? These decadent, rich sauces work best with curvy, hollow, and scoopable pasta noodles that will hug your sauce. Great options include elbows, penne, radiatorre, and shells.
