Pasta Tubes Category

Pasta Tubes

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With their thick walls, tubular pasta like penne and macaroni are ideal for pasta salads, thick sauces, and casseroles. Long tubes like perciatelli are often served with sauces, or they're broken up and used in soups. Large, wide tubes like cannelloni and manicotti are stuffed and baked.


Tubes with grooves on the exterior, denoted by the Italian adjective "rigati" or "rigate" after the pasta's name, do a better job of holding sauces. Smooth-walled pasta is called "lisci" or "lisce."

calamaretti
calamaretti
These look like rings of squid ("calamari" in Italian). They're great with sauces.
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cannelloni
cannelloni
Cannelloni ("big reeds" in Italian) are large pasta tubes that are usually stuffed with a meat or cheese filling, covered in sauce, and baked. The name is also used for the finished casserole.
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canneroni
canneroni
Canneroni ("big reeds" in Italian) are small, short tubes of pasta.
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cannolicchi
cannolicchi
These are short, grooved tubes of pasta.
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cavatappi
cavatappi
This is a type of Italian pasta shaped like a short, slender corkscrew.
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elicoidali
elicoidali
This Italian pasta consists of medium-sized, flat-cut tubes with spiraling ridges on the outside (elicoidali is Italian for "helix").
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garganelli
garganelli
With its quill shapes, this type of Italian egg pasta resembles penne. It's often served with a simple meat sauce.
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macaroni, maccheroni
macaroni
This tubular Italian pasta used to be made by wrapping pasta dough around knitting needles. The term now refers to any small tubular pasta, all of which go well with chunky sauces or in pasta salads. Elbow macaroni is curved, and is traditionally used to make macaroni and cheese.
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maccheroncelli
maccheroncelli
This is a long, tubular pasta. It's good with heavy sauces or in casseroles.
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magliette
magliette
This is a short, tubular variety of pasta.
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manicotti
manicotti
Manicotti means "little sleeves" in Italian. These large, ridged tubes of Italian pasta are usually stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach and then baked.
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mezzani
mezzani
This is a type of tubular Italian pasta that's short and curved.
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mostaccioli
mostaccioli
These "little mustaches" are tubes of Italian pasta cut on the diagonal.
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paccheri
paccheri
These large pasta tubes are about an inch in diameter. They collapse after they're cooked, trapping sauces within.
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pasta al ceppo
pasta al ceppo
This means "pasta on a stick" in Italian, and this tubular pasta was originally made by wrapping dough around knitting needles.
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Pasta Tubes, tube-shaped pasta, tubular-shaped pasta
Pasta Tubes
With their thick walls, tubular pasta like penne and macaroni are ideal for pasta salads, thick sauces, and casseroles. Long tubes like perciatelli are often served with sauces, or they're broken up and used in soups. Large, wide tubes like cannelloni and manicotti are stuffed and baked. Tubes with grooves on the exterior, denoted by the Italian adjective "rigati" or "rigate" after the pasta's name, do a better job of holding sauces. Smooth-walled pasta is called "lisci" or "lisce."
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penne, Penne lisce, Penne rigate
penne
This Italian pasta consists of short tubes cut on the diagonal, the better to scoop sauces inside. It's very versatile, and works well mixed with a sauce, or in a casserole, soup, or pasta salad. Penne rigate has ridges, the better to hold sauces. Penne lisce has smooth walls.
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pennette
pennette
This is a smaller version of penne, a popular Italian pasta shape.
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perciatelli
perciatelli
These are hollow pasta rods that are thicker than spaghetti. They're usually served in casseroles or with hearty meat sauces, or they're broken up and served in minestrone soup.
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reginelle
reginelle
These pasta tubes are similar to penne, though a bit longer and thinner. The name reginelle is also sometimes used for reginette pasta, which are wide ribbons with ruffled edges.
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rigatoni
rigatoni
These are big pasta tubes with ridges. They're normally served with chunky sauces or baked in casseroles.
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tortiglioni
tortiglioni
This is a tubular Italian pasta that's often served with chunky sauces or in casseroles.
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tufoli
This large, tubular pasta is often stuffed and baked. It also goes well with hearty sauces.
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ziti, cut ziti, zitti
ziti
These come either as long, hollow rods or as short tubes, called cut ziti. They're often baked in casseroles.
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