Pasta shapes for babies and toddlers
A baby needs a shape that is small enough to swallow safely and soft enough to mash with the gums. Pastina and stelline cook to a porridge in broth or milk. Ditalini and orzo hold a spoon. A toddler who picks food up wants a shape with a handle: a small tube, a bow, or a shell.
Cook every shape past al dente for a child under two. The times on each page are for adults. Add two or three minutes. Ask a paediatrician about first foods and about allergens such as egg dough.
19 shapes, A to Z.
Acini di pepe
Pastina · All of Italy
tiny beads the size of peppercorns. cooks in 6 to 9 min
Alphabet pasta
Pastina · All of Italy
tiny letters of the alphabet. cooks in 6 to 8 min
Cavatappi
Tubes · All of Italy
hollow ridged tube wound into a corkscrew. cooks in 8 to 10 min
Conchiglie
Short shapes · All of Italy
cupped shell with ridges on the outside. cooks in 10 to 13 min
Ditali
Tubes · Campania
short straight tube, as long as it is wide. cooks in 8 to 11 min
Ditalini
Pastina · Campania
tiny straight tube, the soup ditali. cooks in 7 to 10 min
Farfalle
Short shapes · Lombardy
rectangle of pasta pinched in the middle into a bow, with crimped edges. cooks in 10 to 12 min
Farfalline
Pastina · All of Italy
tiny bow ties for soup. cooks in 6 to 9 min
Fusilli
Short shapes · Campania
short solid spiral, three blades twisted around a core. cooks in 9 to 12 min
Gnocchi
Hand-formed · All of Italy
small soft dumpling of potato and flour, often ridged on a fork. cooks in 2 to 3 min
Macaroni
Tubes · Campania
short narrow smooth tube, straight or curved into an elbow. cooks in 7 to 10 min
Orzo
Pastina · All of Italy
grain-shaped pasta the size of a large rice grain. cooks in 7 to 10 min
Pastina
Pastina · All of Italy
any tiny pasta for broth; the smallest grade of all. cooks in 4 to 7 min
Pennette
Tubes · All of Italy
small penne, ridged, about 3.5 cm. cooks in 8 to 11 min
Rotelle
Short shapes · All of Italy
wagon wheel with spokes. cooks in 9 to 11 min
Rotini
Short shapes · United States
tight short spiral, the American fusilli. cooks in 8 to 10 min
Semi di melone
Pastina · All of Italy
flat oval seeds, like a melon seed. cooks in 6 to 8 min
Stelline
Pastina · All of Italy
tiny five- or six-pointed stars with a hole in the centre. cooks in 5 to 7 min
Tubetti
Tubes · Campania
small straight tube, the soup tube of Naples. cooks in 8 to 10 min