What to use instead of penne lisce
Without ridges, sauce clings less to the outside, so penne lisce suits smooth sauces that fill the bore: tomato, a light cream, the Sicilian Norma, or a baked dish where the cheese does the holding.
The closest swap: penne
The ridged version, more grip.
Penne lisce is tubes, 45 to 55 mm long, 10 to 12 minutes in the pot. Penne sits in the tubes family and cooks in 10 to 12 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 lisce, 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
Penne
Tubes · Liguria
The ridged version, more grip (chosen)
- 2
Ziti
Tubes · Campania
A smooth tube cut straight (chosen)
- 3
Mostaccioli
Tubes · United States
The same shape in American naming (chosen)
- 4
Cannelloni
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also smooth, shares 3 sauces
- 5
Sedani
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 6
Candele
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 7
Paccheri
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 8
Tortiglioni
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, shares 2 sauces, close in size
Match the sauce, not the look
Penne lisce is listed against 5 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- 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 marinara: A quick tomato sauce with garlic and oregano. Thinner than a ragu, faster than a pomodoro. Strands and small tubes.
- 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 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 cream sauce: Panna with cheese, mushrooms, ham, or peas. Heavy and clinging. Ridges and cups keep it on the pasta.
Side by side
The measured difference between penne lisce and each swap.