What to use instead of pastina
Broth, butter, and parmesan. Or an egg beaten in at the end. It is comfort, not a sauce vehicle.
The closest swap: stelline
Stars.
Pastina is pastina, 1 to 3 mm long, 4 to 7 minutes in the pot. Stelline sits in the pastina family and cooks in 5 to 7 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 pastina, 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
Stelline
Pastina · All of Italy
Stars (chosen)
- 2
Acini di pepe
Pastina · All of Italy
Beads (chosen)
- 3
Orzo
Pastina · All of Italy
Grains (chosen)
- 4
Semi di melone
Pastina · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces, close in size
- 5
Alphabet pasta
Pastina · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 6
Anelli
Pastina · Sicily
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 7
Farfalline
Pastina · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Quadrucci
Pastina · Lazio
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
Match the sauce, not the look
Pastina is listed against 2 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 minestrone: A thick vegetable soup with beans and a small pasta added at the end. Ditalini, conchigliette, or anellini.
Side by side
The measured difference between pastina and each swap.