Do you want to be acquainted with the different types of pasta? Go through this article and get list of Italian pasta types.

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Types Of Pasta

Pasta is the term used to describe Italian variants of noodles, made from dough of flour and water, with or without eggs. It is boiled before consumption and is usually prepared with various sauces. Pasta is basically available in two basic styles i.e. dried and fresh. Within these two styles, there are many types of the Italian food. One of the most popular Italian dishes, consumed throughout the world, pasta can be divided into different types, on the basis of its shape. In fact, it is believed that there are as many as 350 different shapes, and thus types, of pasta. In the following lines, we have mentioned the basic categories of pasta and also provided a list of the most famous Italian pasta types.

Basic Categories Of Pasta

Long Form Pasta (Strand Pasta)

The long form pasta is thin, long and cylindrical in shape, something that you can twist around your fork. Available in variety of widths, right from the thinnest angel hair to the plumpest bucatin, it can be round or flat, solid or hollow. Ribbon pasta, a sub-category of long form pasta, can be distinguished by flat cuts

Short Form Pasta

As opposed to strand pasta, short form pasta is small in size. It can be sub-categorized into tubular pasta, shaped pasta and stuffed pasta. Tubular pasta can be of any size, being or ridged, straight-cut or diagonally cut. The twisted or curled varieties of pasta are included in shaped pasta. Stuffed pasta, as the name suggests, is hollow and has stuffing inside.

Different Types of Pasta

Acomo Pepe (tiny, bead-shaped pasta)
Bucatini (thick, hollow straws of pasta)
Bumbola (bee-shaped pasta)
Cannelloni (meat-filled tubes of pasta)
Capelli d'angelo (Angel Hair pasta - thinnest long shape pasta)
Capellini (very thin, round pasta strands)
Conchiglie (seashell-shaped pasta)
Cavatappi (tubular, corkscrew or spiral shaped pasta)
Cresti di gallo (curved-shape pasta, brown in color)
Ditali/ditalini (Short pasta tubes, similar to macaroni)
Farfalle (medium-size pasta, with crimped center & pinked edges; bow tie shape)
Fettucine (flat, wide pasta strands)
Fusilli (hollow, corkscrew or spiral shaped pasta)
Gemelli (medium-sized pasta, like two short pieces of tubular spaghetti twisted together)
Gnocchi (small dumplings, made from potato, flour or semolina)
I gomiti (short and curved, tubular pasta with semi-circle shape)
Lasagne (ripple-edged strips, about 2-1/4-inches wide and 10-inches long)
Linguine (narrow, flat pasta)
Lumache (snail-shaped pasta shells)
Lumaconi (big pasta shells, often used for fillings)
Mostaccioli (diagonally cut, tubular-shaped pasta)
Macaroni (long or short cut, pasta tubes)
Orecchiette (small, ear-shaped pasta)
Orzo (pasta usually used in soups)
Penne rigate (diagonally cut, tubular-shaped pasta with ridged surface)
P (fat hollow strands)
Perciatelli (fat, hollow pasta strands)
Radiatore (short, chunky, ruffled-shaped pasta)
Ricciolini (two-inch pasta strips, twisted gently)
Rotelle (corkscrew or spiral shaped pasta)
Rravioli (pasta cushions, filled with meat or spinach)
Rigatoni (large, ribbed tubes)
Rotini (corkscrew or spiral shaped pasta, about 1-1/2-inches long)
Spaghetti (round, thin pasta strands)
Tagliatelle (thin strips of ribbon pasta)
Tortellini (little pasta 'hats' with meat filling)
Trenette (long, narrow strips of pasta)
Vermicelli (round, thin pasta strands - thinner than spaghetti)
Ziti riigati (medium-sized tubular pasta, slightly curved)