Best pasta for pasta salad

Rotelle

Short shapes · All of Italy

The spokes catch small pieces and a light sauce.

Rotini

Short shapes · United States

As fusilli: sauces and dressings with pieces that catch in the twist.

Cavatappi

Tubes · All of Italy

Three ways to hold sauce at once, so it takes cheese sauces, cream, pesto, dressings, and a light ragu.

Chifferi

Tubes · All of Italy

Curved and ridged, it holds a cheese sauce or a dressing in the bend and on the grooves.

Fusilli

Short shapes · Campania

The spiral grooves trap sauce along their whole length, so fusilli takes chunky and creamy sauces that a smooth shape sheds: pesto, a vegetable ragu, tomato with ricotta, a cold dressing.

Gemelli

Short shapes · All of Italy

The twist holds a light sauce in its groove without the deep pockets of fusilli, so it suits smoother dressings: pesto, oil and vegetables, a light tomato, a thin cream.

Macaroni

Tubes · Campania

A small smooth tube with a curve, so it holds a cheese sauce inside and a dressing in the bend.

Farfalle

Short shapes · Lombardy

The wings are flat and the pinch is dense, so farfalle does best with sauces that coat rather than fill: cream with peas and salmon, a light tomato, pesto, a cold dressing.

Orzo

Pastina · All of Italy

Small grains cook in broth or absorb a light dressing.

Fregola

Pastina · Sardinia

Toasted pearls absorb liquid and stay firm, so they suit brothy dishes: clams and saffron, a seafood stew, a vegetable soup, or a cold salad with tomato and herbs.

Pennette

Tubes · All of Italy

Small tubes take smooth and light sauces: tomato, a simple cream, pesto, an oil dressing for a cold salad.

Campanelle

Short shapes · All of Italy

A hollow cone with a frilled edge, so it carries thick creamy and chunky sauces: cheese sauce, sausage and cream, a vegetable ragu, a thick tomato.

Ditali

Tubes · Campania

Short and open at both ends, so they fill with soup and hold beans and vegetables.

Gnocchetti sardi

Short shapes · Sardinia

Ridged shells hold sausage, tomato, pesto, and cheese.

Radiatori

Short shapes · All of Italy

Deep fins trap everything.

Trottole

Short shapes · All of Italy

A coiled ribbon takes cream and chunky sauces: sausage, mushrooms, a thick tomato, a vegetable ragu.

Conchiglie

Short shapes · All of Italy

A cup fills with whatever is in the pan: cheese sauce, cream with peas, a sausage crumble, a chunky tomato.

Penne

Tubes · Liguria

The bore carries sauce inside and the ridges hold it outside, so penne takes any sauce with body: arrabbiata, vodka sauce, a vegetable ragu, cream with peas and ham, and the oven.