What Is Fettuccine and How Can I Use It?

Fettuccine is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 166 recipes to get you started.

Key Points

Fettuccine is a flat quarter-inch pasta ribbon; the broad surface gives clingy sauces more to grab.
It is built for cream, butter, and cheese sauces like Alfredo and carbonara, not thin marinara.
Dried cooks in 10 to 12 minutes, fresh in 2 to 3; reserve pasta water for the sauce.
Do not rinse it; the surface starch is what lets a cream sauce hold on.
Tagliatelle is the closest swap, then linguine; pappardelle suits heartier, meatier sauces.

What is fettuccine?

Fettuccine is a long, flat ribbon of pasta, roughly a quarter inch wide. The name means "little ribbons" in Italian.

That broad, flat surface is the difference from a round strand like spaghetti: it gives a sauce far more pasta to cling to.

That extra surface is exactly why fettuccine is the classic partner for rich, clingy sauces rather than thin tomato ones. It is the pasta of fettuccine Alfredo, and it carries cream, butter, and cheese better than almost any other shape.

Best Sauces for the Ribbon

A flat noodle wants a sauce that coats. Cream and butter sauces are the natural fit, which is why the most loved fettuccine dishes on Recipeland are Alfredos, from a quick 15-minute creamy version to a top-rated Amazing Fettuccine Alfredo.

It is just as good with anything emulsified and glossy. A fettuccine carbonara coats each ribbon in egg and cheese, and the wide strand holds a chunky vegetable primavera without losing the sauce between bites.

Where fettuccine struggles is with thin, watery sauces. A light marinara slides right off the flat surface and pools at the bottom of the bowl.

Save the ribbon for something with body.

Cooking It Right

Dried fettuccine cooks in about 10 to 12 minutes, a little longer than spaghetti because the ribbon is thicker. Fresh fettuccine cooks in 2 to 3 minutes.

The classic mistake is draining it bone dry. A cream sauce tightens fast, so reserve a cup of starchy pasta water before draining and add a splash to loosen the sauce and help it cling.

Finish the pasta in the pan with the sauce for the last minute rather than piling sauce on top.

Do not rinse fettuccine. The surface starch is what lets an Alfredo or carbonara grab on; rinse it away and the sauce slides off.

Substitutes

The closest swap is tagliatelle, which is nearly the same ribbon and trades in freely, as in this tagliatelle with prosciutto. Linguine is the next best, a touch narrower and not quite as flat, but it handles cream sauces well.

Pappardelle is a much wider ribbon, good for heartier, meatier sauces. Spaghetti will work in a pinch, though a round strand carries less of a thick sauce, so the dish ends up lighter on coating.

Buying and Storing

Dried fettuccine, sold in long straight strands or coiled nests, keeps for a year or two in a sealed container in a cool, dry cupboard. Bronze-die pasta has a rougher, paler surface that grips cream sauces noticeably better.

Fresh fettuccine is sold refrigerated and lasts only a few days; freeze it if you will not use it soon, and cook it straight from frozen.

Cooked fettuccine keeps three or four days in the fridge but clumps as it cools, so reheat it gently with a splash of milk or cream rather than plain water to bring a cream sauce back.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 2 oz (57g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 211Calories from Fat 7

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 0.9g 1%

Saturated Fat 0.2g 1%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 3mg 0%

Total Carbohydrate 42.6g 14%

Dietary Fiber 2g 7%

Sugars 1.5

Protein 7.4g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 1% • Iron 10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find fettuccine: Fettuccine is usually found in the pasta section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Pasta, fettuccine is a member of the Cereal Grains and Pasta US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 面食，意大利细面条
British (UK) term: Pasta, fettuccine
en français: pâtes fettucine
en español: la pasta fettuccine

How much does fettuccine weigh?

Amount	Weight
2 ounce	57 grams

Cereal Grains and Pasta

Amaranth flour 28 Arrowroot flour 91 Pearl barley 219 Buckwheat flour 37 Cracked wheat (bulgur) 179 Cornmeal 811 Cornstarch 2554 Couscous 155 Millet 62 Quinoa 111

Recipes using fettuccine

There are 166 recipes that contain this ingredient.

More fettuccine recipes

List of all ingredients

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