super serious pasta ranking
credentials:
- italian last name
- from new jersey
- 10% italian according to 23&me
- can kinda speak italian (once had a 500+ day duolingo streak)
- ate a LOT of buttered noodles as a kid (and also now)
*p.s. i purposefully am not including stuffed pastas / gnocchi
because that’s a whole other thing. Hope you understand.
2. Farfalle / Bow Ties - These are a classic. Versatile. Most likely will always have some in my cabinet.
3. Rigatoni - When I’m eating pasta with sauce I’m likely using rigatoni. Who decided that penne was the noodle to go with vodka sauce because rigatoni is so much better.
4. Fusili Col Buco / Fusili Lunghi - I bought these on a high school field trip to Little Italy, and they are so awesome and fun. I don’t know when the last time I had these was because, again, the selections in Virginia are very different from NJ, but these are so good and just make me smile.
5. Capellini / Angel Hair - I know this is a controversial opinion, but I prefer angel hair to spaghetti. I don’t really know why, but I do and that’s my truth.
6. Penne - A classic. I used to be obsessed with them and will go through phases where I just crave them.
7. Orzo - I feel like it barely counts as pasta, because it’s almost rice, but I do love an orzo salad. Meal prepped orzo salads kept me alive last summer when I was working full time retail at the beach
8. Pastina - I love these little guys. They remind me of home which makes sense because I’ve discovered that they can really be hard to find out of NY/NJ.
9. Spaghetti - A solid staple. No complaints.
10. Linguini - Sometimes I can really be in the mood for linguini out of nowhere, but usually not a top choice.
11. Cavatappi - I used to love them, but I kinda see them as Gemelli’s less cool cousin. If Gemelli isn’t around, they’ll do, but it just won’t be as enjoyable.
12. Rotini - I went through a big phase with these my freshman year of college, where I would eat rotini with trader joes mushroom seasoning on it. A weird time. They’re still fine every now and then but not my top choice.
13. Shells - When I say shells im talking about small shells, not stuffed shells*. I don’t have these often but these are another one where I’ll just crave them every now and then out of nowhere.
14. Wheels/Rotelle - I feel like I only had these as a kid but they’re cute and I would be happy to eat them if the opportunity arose.
15. Alphabet Noodles - I barely eat these because im not 5 anymore but they’re fun
16. Bucatini - My dad loves these and while I like the concept of them, they’re just too thick for me. Sorry dad.
17. Ditalini - I can’t recall the last time I ever had these tbh. I do keep seeing them in recipes online though, so maybe I’ll have them again sometime soon. I think these are the most elbow-like pasta that I could tolerate.
18. Cavatelli - My parents would make/still make “broccoli & cavatelli” all the time but I was actually lied to and it was really just cavatappi most of the time (see above). I feel like when I have actually had these it’s been mostly at a restaurant and they’ve been underwhelming.
19. Orecchiette - These remind me of the breadcrumb and ham meal my dad would always make when I was a kid that was made specifically with this pasta shape and it would always ruin my night when I found out we were having it. Not the pasta shape’s fault, but guilty by association.
20. Elbows - One thing about me is that even though I love pasta, I don’t like Mac and Cheese. I’m sorry! Sue me! I don’t know what it is about it, but I also hate elbows. Smooth pasta is not for me.
21. Ziti - I am the number one ziti hater ever. Everyone loves ziti, but I hate it. Smooth pasta is my number one enemy. The lack of texture on these makes me uncomfortable. Give me a ziti rigate and I’ll take it. But at that point, it’s pretty much just rigatoni.