What to use instead of cappelletti
In broth, like tortellini. The Romagna cheese filling also takes a ragu or cream when served dry.
The closest swap: tortellini
The Bologna parcel.
Cappelletti is stuffed, 25 to 35 mm long, 3 to 5 minutes in the pot. Tortellini sits in the stuffed family and cooks in 2 to 4 minutes. Match the cook time first. A swap that is right in shape and wrong in time still ends up wrong on the plate.
Every swap for cappelletti, ranked
A substitute must behave the same way with the sauce you are making. The ones marked as chosen are hand-picked. The rest score on family, cavity, surface, size, and shared sauces.
- 1
Tortellini
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
The Bologna parcel (chosen)
- 2
Anolini
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
The Parma parcel (chosen)
- 3
Tortelloni
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
A larger ricotta parcel (chosen)
- 4
Agnolotti
Stuffed · Piedmont
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces, close in size
- 5
Ravioli
Stuffed · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 3 sauces
- 6
Cappellacci
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 7
Caramelle
Stuffed · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Mezzelune
Stuffed · Trentino-Alto Adige
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
Match the sauce, not the look
Cappelletti is listed against 4 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for in brodo: A clear meat or chicken broth. Pastina or filled pasta, cooked and served in the liquid.
- Best pasta for meat ragu: Any slow meat sauce with solids in it. It wants a shape with a cavity: a wide tube, a cup, or a broad ribbon.
- Best pasta for cream sauce: Panna with cheese, mushrooms, ham, or peas. Heavy and clinging. Ridges and cups keep it on the pasta.
- Best pasta for butter and sage: Brown butter with crisped sage leaves. The filled-pasta sauce. It stays out of the way of the filling.
Side by side
The measured difference between cappelletti and each swap.