What to use instead of perciatelli
As bucatini: a sauce with body that can fill the bore. Ragu napoletano, tomato with guanciale, sardines and fennel.
The closest swap: bucatini
The same shape under its Roman name.
Perciatelli is long strands, 250 to 260 mm long, 10 to 13 minutes in the pot. Bucatini sits in the long strands family and cooks in 9 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 perciatelli, 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
Bucatini
Long strands · Lazio
The same shape under its Roman name (chosen)
- 2
Spaghettoni
Long strands · Campania
The same weight without the bore (chosen)
- 3
Fusilli lunghi
Long strands · Campania
Same family, also hollow, also smooth, shares 3 sauces, close in size
- 4
Capellini
Long strands · Campania
Same family, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 5
Fedelini
Long strands · Liguria
Same family, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 6
Spaghetti
Long strands · Campania
Same family, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 7
Spaghettini
Long strands · Campania
Same family, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
- 8
Vermicelli
Long strands · Campania
Same family, also smooth, shares 1 sauce, close in size
Match the sauce, not the look
Perciatelli is listed against 3 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for ragu napoletano: Whole cuts of meat braised for hours in tomato. The sauce dresses the pasta; the meat is the second course. Ziti and paccheri.
- Best pasta for amatriciana: Guanciale, tomato, pecorino, chili. A short cooked sauce with pieces in it. Bucatini in Rome, spaghetti in Amatrice.
- Best pasta for pomodoro: Tomato, olive oil, garlic or onion, basil. Smooth and light. Almost any shape works; the classic is spaghetti or penne.
Side by side
The measured difference between perciatelli and each swap.