What to use instead of penne
The bore carries sauce inside and the ridges hold it outside, so penne takes any sauce with body: arrabbiata, vodka sauce, a vegetable ragu, cream with peas and ham, and the oven. The pointed ends spear rather than scoop, so very chunky sauces sit better in rigatoni.
The closest swap: ziti
A smooth tube of the same width, cut straight.
Penne is tubes, 45 to 55 mm long, 10 to 12 minutes in the pot. Ziti sits in the tubes family and cooks in 11 to 14 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 penne, 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
Ziti
Tubes · Campania
A smooth tube of the same width, cut straight (chosen)
- 2
Rigatoni
Tubes · Lazio
Wider and shorter, for a chunkier sauce (chosen)
- 3
Mostaccioli
Tubes · United States
The American name for smooth penne (chosen)
- 4
Cavatappi
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 5
Sedani
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 6
Chifferi
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 2 sauces, close in size
- 7
Penne lisce
Tubes · Liguria
Same family, also hollow, shares 4 sauces, close in size
- 8
Pennette
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 4 sauces
Match the sauce, not the look
Penne is listed against 8 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for arrabbiata: Tomato, garlic, dried chili. Hot and quick. Penne is the canonical match; the bore carries the heat.
- Best pasta for vodka sauce: Tomato, cream, a splash of vodka, parmesan. Pink and smooth. Penne and rigatoni; the cream needs ridges to hold.
- Best pasta for pomodoro: Tomato, olive oil, garlic or onion, basil. Smooth and light. Almost any shape works; the classic is spaghetti or penne.
- 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 norma: Fried eggplant, tomato, ricotta salata, basil. Sicilian. It needs a wide tube or a short shape to carry the eggplant.
- Best pasta for tuna and tomato: Canned tuna, tomato, garlic, capers. A pantry sauce. Short shapes and small tubes.
- Best pasta for baked (al forno): Pasta finished in the oven with sauce and cheese, or stuffed and baked. It needs a sturdy shape that survives twice cooking.
- Best pasta for pasta salad: Cooked, cooled pasta dressed with oil or mayonnaise and mixed with vegetables. Short shapes with folds that hold dressing.
Side by side
The measured difference between penne and each swap.