Quick Tips

Matching Pastas and Sauces

When matching pastas to sauces, the following guidelines may be helpful:

• Long and thin pasta, such as angel hair, thin spaghetti, vermicelli and capellini, pair well with oil-based sauces and light, thin broth and tomato sauces. Long and wide pasta, including fettuccine, spaghetti and linguine, work well with light cream sauces, Alfredo sauce and light tomato sauces.
• Short and chunky pasta like rigatoni, manicotti, ziti, penne and farfalle are excellent in casseroles or salads or paired with chunky sauces, meat sauces or primaveras. Tiny pasta, such as orzo and small shells, are perfect in soups, stews and salads.

See also: Pasta Power