What to use instead of tagliatelle
A wide porous egg ribbon holds a meat ragu on its surface and absorbs the fat, which is why Bologna refuses spaghetti for the same sauce. Butter, cream, mushrooms, and truffle behave the same way. Oil and seafood sauces are the wrong weight.
The closest swap: fettuccine
The Roman ribbon, a millimetre narrower.
Tagliatelle is ribbons, 250 to 300 mm long, 2 to 8 minutes in the pot. Fettuccine sits in the ribbons family and cooks in 3 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 tagliatelle, 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
Fettuccine
Ribbons · Lazio
The Roman ribbon, a millimetre narrower (chosen)
- 2
Pappardelle
Ribbons · Tuscany
Wider, for a heavier game ragu (chosen)
- 3
Tagliolini
Ribbons · Piedmont
Narrower, for lighter butter sauces (chosen)
- 4
Tajarin
Ribbons · Piedmont
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 2 sauces
- 5
Lasagnette
Ribbons · All of Italy
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
- 6
Maccheroncini di Campofilone
Ribbons · Marche
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
- 7
Mafaldine
Ribbons · Campania
Same family, also solid, also smooth, shares 1 sauce
- 8
Maltagliati
Ribbons · Emilia-Romagna
Same family, also solid, also smooth
Match the sauce, not the look
Tagliatelle is listed against 5 sauces. Pick the swap that holds the one you are cooking.
- Best pasta for ragu alla bolognese: A slow-cooked minced beef and pork sauce with soffritto, wine, milk, and a little tomato. Tagliatelle, never spaghetti, in Bologna.
- Best pasta for porcini: Fresh or dried porcini with butter, garlic, parsley, sometimes cream. Egg ribbons, tajarin, pappardelle.
- Best pasta for butter and sage: Brown butter with crisped sage leaves. The filled-pasta sauce. It stays out of the way of the filling.
- 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 alfredo: Butter and parmesan emulsified with pasta water. Fettuccine is the only pairing in Rome. The American version adds cream.
Side by side
The measured difference between tagliatelle and each swap.