Know Your Pasta + What Sauces You Can Pair Them With

Make the perfect match when it comes to pasta sauces and noodles! There are so many different kinds to choose from. Remember that thicker, wider, and heavier pastas are best paired with heavy sauces, while thinner and smoother noodles are best matched with lighter sauces. Check out our guide below!

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IMAGE Patrick Martires

Marinara Sauce

Tangy, fresh, light marinara sauce can be tossed with light pasta noodles like angel hair, linguine, shell-shaped conchiglie, bow-tie shaped farfalle, and hollow-in-the-middle bucatini. Rigatoni, which is a large hollow pasta, soaks up the sauce well, too. If you're a fan of filled pastas, pair marinara with ring-shaped tortellini.

Basil Pesto

This herby and garlicky sauce is best paired with pastas you can pick up with your fork: conchiglie, farfalle, fusilli, and orecchiette. You can also pair them with smooth, light noodles.

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Cream Sauce

This hefty pasta sauce is a good match for equally heavy pasta noodles: penne, pappardelle, lasagna, rigatoni, and ravioli. Bigger noodles and thicker pastas will help soak up all of that delicious, rich, and indulgent cream sauce!

Roasted Garlic Oil

Keep this dish as light as possible with easy-to-eat noodles: angel hair, fettuccine, and linguine. You can also pair them with filled pastas to let the pasta filling flavor come through effortlessly: ravioli and tortellini are perfect!

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Tips were orginally published in the June 2014 issue of Yummy magazine. Minor edits have been made by Yummy.ph editors.