There’s a good chance you have a package of dried spaghetti in your pantry right now, which wouldn’t be surprising given its popularity.
What if you want to mix it up a bit and try some other pastas that are similar to spaghetti, though? We’re glad you asked!
Some pastas that are similar to spaghetti include angel hair pasta, bigoli, and fettuccine – to just name a few!
Read on for the full detailed list of pastas that are similar to spaghetti!
What is spaghetti?
Spaghetti is one of the most popular pasta shapes of all time. You probably think of spaghetti bolognese when you think of spaghetti, which is a dish that has spaghetti and a sauce made of tomatoes, ground meat, and garlic, among a few other ingredients.
Spaghetti is a long type of pasta and is versatile, pairing well with other sauces and ingredients besides those in spaghetti bolognese. You can even bake spaghetti in the oven as a type of casserole dish!
“Regular” spaghetti is made from non-whole-wheat durum wheat semolina, but whole-wheat versions exist as well.
17 pastas like spaghetti
If you want something a bit different than regular spaghetti, we’ve rounded up 17 types of pasta that are similar to spaghetti in some ways.
- Angel hair pasta (Capelli d’Angelo)
Angel hair pasta is much more delicate than spaghetti because of its thin diameter. Instead of meat sauce, angel hair pasta pairs better with lighter, oil-based sauces and vegetables instead of chunky meat.
- Barbina
This pasta is similar to angel hair pasta, but it’s sold in a coiled nest-like structure. Barbina translates to “little beards” in Italian!
- Bavette
Bavette are thin, flat strands of pasta that cave slightly inwards in the cross-section but are long like spaghetti.
- Bigoli
What’s the difference between spaghetti and bigoli? Bigoli typically includes ingredients like duck eggs, butter, and milk, whereas regular spaghetti is made with flour and water.
Another way you can tell the difference is that bigoli is thicker than spaghetti (and sometimes longer).
- Bucatini
This one is fun – bucatini looks like spaghetti but it has a hole running through the center! This pasta is the primary ingredient in Bucatini all’Amatriciana, a dish that pairs bucatini with cured pork, pepper, and tomatoes.
- Canule
Canule is long like spaghetti but instead of having a smooth, rounded texture, the noodles have a twisted corkscrew shape!
- Capellini
This pasta is similar to angel hair pasta, but it’s a bit thicker in diameter. Like angel hair pasta, capellini pairs well with lighter oil-based sauces vs. ragus (meat sauces).
- Fettuccine
Famous for fettuccine alfredo, this long-stranded pasta is flat and around six millimeters in diameter.
- Filini
Italian for “little threads”, this pasta is very fine and is typically added to soups, but can be used like most types of pasta in a variety of dishes.
- Linguine
Linguine is flat, not round – but the length is similar to spaghetti. It’s narrower than fettuccine and pairs well with pesto and other oil-based sauces.
- Pici
Pici is a thick, hand-rolled pasta that is long like spaghetti but softer in texture. It’s usually dressed with oil, garlic, and breadcrumbs!
- Spaghetti alla Chitarra (Tonnarelli)
These long noodles are square-shaped instead of round. How does it get its name, though? It’s named for the tool that is used to make this pasta – a chitarra – which means ‘guitar’ (it resembles one)!
- Spaghettini
Spaghettini is like spaghetti but is thinner in diameter, so it has a shorter cooking time.
- Tagliatelle
If you want pasta that is long like spaghetti but has eggs in it (like egg noodles), then tagliatelle is perfect! (The noodles are flat and wide like linguine, not round like spaghetti.)
- Tagliolini
Taglioni is thicker in width than spaghetti but otherwise is very similar.
- Troccoli
This pasta is like spaghetti but has a square cross-section, not round.
- Vermicelli
Considered thin spaghetti in the United States, vermicelli is thin in diameter and sometimes called “rice noodles” even though they don’t contain rice! However, in Italy, vermicelli refers to noodles that are slightly thicker than spaghetti – confusing, right?!
FAQs:
In the United States vermicelli is very similar to spaghetti, just thinner in diameter. In Italy, vermicelli refers to thicker pasta strands than spaghetti – so it can get confusing!
Spaghettini and Tagliolini are pasta shapes that are also similar to spaghetti.
Some low-carb pasta alternatives include spiralized vegetables (zucchini is the most popular), shirataki noodles, and hearts of Palm pasta.
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