What to use instead of pennoni
A wide bore and long ridges, so it takes ragu, sausage, cream with mushrooms, and the oven. Thin sauces drain out of it.
The closest swap: rigatoni
The same width, straight cut.
Pennoni is tubes, 55 to 65 mm long, 12 to 14 minutes in the pot. Rigatoni sits in the tubes family and cooks in 12 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 pennoni, 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
Rigatoni
Tubes · Lazio
The same width, straight cut (chosen)
- 2
Penne
Tubes · Liguria
The standard size (chosen)
- 3
Paccheri
Tubes · Campania
Wider still, smooth (chosen)
- 4
Lumache
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 5
Mezzi rigatoni
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 6
Occhi di lupo
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 7
Tortiglioni
Tubes · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 8
Mezze maniche
Tubes · All of Italy
Same family, also hollow, also ridged, shares 2 sauces, close in size
Match the sauce, not the look
Pennoni is listed against 4 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- 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 sausage ragu: Crumbled sausage, often with fennel, cooked in tomato or white wine. Orecchiette in Puglia, rigatoni everywhere else.
- 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 pennoni and each swap.