Spaghetti
Perhaps one of the most popular pasta types in the
world, spaghetti consists of long, thin noodles which
can be paired with a wide variety of sauces. Possibly
the most well known dish is Spaghetti Bolognese,
where pasta is paired with meat in a marinara sauce.
This type of pasta suits meat and vegetable dishes of
any sort, or even just garlic and olive oil.
Lasagne
Contrary to popular belief, lasagne is the name of the thin
sheets of pasta that make up a dish, rather than the dish
itself. Lasagne is used in oven-baked dishes with the most
well known dish being lasagne al forno, which likely
comprises of a beef or pork ragu, layered between layers of
lasagne and béchamel sauce, topped with cheese. This dish
can be adapted to contain any type of filling you like, such
as mushrooms instead of meat. 
Penne
Another popular shape, penne has a round, tube like
structure, with diagonal cuts at either end. That’s why
it’s best served in dishes that have a relatively thick,
creamy sauce as it penetrates the tube and holds the
sauce well, such as Penne Arrabbiata. This is also the
best type of pasta to use in pasta bake dishes.
Ravioli
Ravioli are pillow shaped squares of dough that can
pretty much do anything. They can be filled with
cheese, seafood, meat or veggies and topped with
sauce, served in soups or simply be drizzled with olive
oil.
 Linguine Rigatoni 
Very similar to the likes of spaghetti, linguine is a Much like penne, rigatoni are tubes with small ridges
little flatter and is considered to be more luxurious. on the outside, but they are slightly wider and cut
The extra surface area means that it is perfect for into a square rather than diagonally. As they’re a
pairing with lighter textures, like cream based sauces rather large shape, they’re best paired with chunky
or seafood.  sauces full of vegetables or baked into a gratin.

Farfalle  Fusilli 
Known as ‘bow-tie’ pasta and translating to ‘butterfly’ This pasta has a spiralled, corkscrew like shape that
from Italian, this pasta is shaped like exactly that. It’s a pair perfectly with rich meat sauces or chunky
relatively small pasta, with a large surface area which is vegetables as the chunks get caught in the crevices
why it best pairs with a cheese, or rich tomato sauce as of the twirls giving the dish a lovely texture. They can
the ‘wings’ hold the sauce perfectly. It also compliments also be baked into casseroles or pasta bakes for the
a cold pasta salad, and is sometimes served with grilled same reason.
chicken. 
 10 DIFFERENT
PASTA SHAPES
Macaroni
A simple shape, macaroni are small tubes of pasta
that are cut into short lengths and often curved.
Often they’re found floating in a minestrone or cheese
sauce, ready to be thrown into the oven for a good
old Mac ‘n Cheese so they don’t really need to hold
sauces. 
Cannelloni
This type of pasta can either come flat or pre-rolled
into large tubes, which are then stuffed with various
fillings, such as spinach and ricotta cheese. This large
pasta also pairs well with a simple, light sauce like
tomato.