What to use instead of fettuccine
A ribbon has a broad flat face, so butter, cream, and cheese emulsions coat it evenly and a ragu rides on top. Egg dough makes it porous enough to absorb. It is too soft for a sharp oil sauce, and too wide for broth.
The closest swap: tagliatelle
The same ribbon a millimetre wider.
Fettuccine is ribbons, 250 to 260 mm long, 3 to 12 minutes in the pot. Tagliatelle sits in the ribbons family and cooks in 2 to 8 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 fettuccine, 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
Tagliatelle
Ribbons · Emilia-Romagna
The same ribbon a millimetre wider (chosen)
- 2
Pappardelle
Ribbons · Tuscany
Much wider, for a heavier ragu (chosen)
- 3
Linguine
Long strands · Liguria
A dried flat strand for lighter sauces (chosen)
- 4
Lasagnette
Ribbons · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 5
Maccheroncini di Campofilone
Ribbons · Marche
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 6
Tagliolini
Ribbons · Piedmont
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 7
Tajarin
Ribbons · Piedmont
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Mafaldine
Ribbons · Campania
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
Match the sauce, not the look
Fettuccine is listed against 5 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for alfredo: Butter and parmesan emulsified with pasta water. Fettuccine is the only pairing in Rome. The American version adds cream.
- 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 porcini: Fresh or dried porcini with butter, garlic, parsley, sometimes cream. Egg ribbons, tajarin, pappardelle.
- 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 fettuccine and each swap.