What to use instead of capunti

The closest swap: cavatelli

Every swap for capunti, 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. 1
   

   Cavatelli

   Hand-formed · Puglia

   The shorter version (chosen)

2. 2
   

   Orecchiette

   Hand-formed · Puglia

   The Puglian cup (chosen)

3. 3
   

   Pizzarelle

   Hand-formed · Lazio

   Same family, also solid, also rough, shares 3 sauces, close in size

4. 4
   

   Sagne 'ncannulate

   Hand-formed · Puglia

   Same family, also solid, also rough, shares 1 sauce, close in size

5. 5
   

   Lorighittas

   Hand-formed · Sardinia

   Same family, also solid, also rough, shares 2 sauces

6. 6
   

   Malloreddus

   Hand-formed · Sardinia

   Same family, also solid, shares 2 sauces, close in size

7. 7
   

   Strascinati

   Hand-formed · Basilicata

   Same family, also solid, also rough, shares 2 sauces

8. 8
   

   Trofie

   Hand-formed · Liguria

   Same family, also solid, also rough, shares 1 sauce

Match the sauce, not the look

Capunti is listed against 4 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.

• Best pasta for cime di rapa: Turnip greens with garlic, anchovy, and chili. The Puglian classic. Orecchiette, whose cups hold the greens.
• Best pasta for sausage ragu: Crumbled sausage, often with fennel, cooked in tomato or white wine. Orecchiette in Puglia, rigatoni everywhere else.
• Best pasta for pasta e fagioli: Beans, soffritto, a little tomato, and small pasta cooked in the soup. Ditalini, tubetti, or broken spaghetti.
• Best pasta for pomodoro: Tomato, olive oil, garlic or onion, basil. Smooth and light. Almost any shape works; the classic is spaghetti or penne.

Side by side

The measured difference between capunti and each swap.