Here's everything worth knowing about orecchlette pasta and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 4 recipes to cook tonight.

What is orecchlette pasta?

Orecchiette are small, dome-shaped pasta discs, each one pressed thin in the middle with a thicker, slightly rougher rim. The name is Italian for "little ears," which is exactly what they look like.

They come from Puglia, the heel of southern Italy, where they are traditionally made by hand from just durum wheat and water (no egg). A cook drags a thumb or a knife across a bit of dough and flips it inside out, leaving a cupped center.

That cupped shape is the whole reason this pasta is so useful. The little bowl scoops up sauce and beans, and the rough surface holds onto everything else.

How to Use Orecchiette

Dried orecchiette cook in about 11 to 13 minutes, a little longer than most short pasta because of the thick rim; the center softens well before the edge, so taste the rim to judge doneness.

The classic pairing is orecchiette with broccoli rabe (cime di rapa), garlic, chili, and anchovy, where the little cups catch the chopped greens. The same logic makes it a natural for any chunky, brothy vegetable sauce, like Spring Green Pasta or the brothy Fava Beans, Shrimp & Savory with Orecchiette Pasta.

It also stands up to bolder sauces. A sausage ragu or a crumbled-meat sauce settles into the cups instead of sliding off, and a simple red-onion-and-olive-oil treatment like Orechiette Pasta with Red Onion lets the shape do the work.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Think chunky, not smooth. Orecchiette is built for sauces with texture: greens, beans, sausage, diced vegetables, ricotta. A thin, silky sauce like a plain marinara or a light oil dressing slides right off the smooth domes and pools at the bottom of the bowl.

The most common mistake is undercooking. People taste the soft center, decide it is done, and end up with a chalky, leathery rim. Cook until the thickest part of the rim is tender, then drain. It should be chewy, not crunchy.

The second is crowding the pot. The discs love to stick together and to the bottom, so use plenty of water and stir in the first minute or two after they go in.

What to Substitute

The closest swaps are other cup-shaped pastas that catch sauce: small shells (conchiglie) or cavatelli, which come from the same Puglian tradition. Both hold chunky sauce nearly as well.

Medium shells or farfalle (bow ties) work in a pinch and have folds that grab some sauce. Penne or rigatoni will carry a sausage ragu fine but lose the scooping trick that makes orecchiette special.

Avoid long pasta here. Spaghetti or linguine cannot hold the beans and greens that orecchiette dishes are built around.

Buying and Storage

Most stores carry dried orecchiette in the regular pasta aisle; imported Puglian brands and bronze-die boxes have a rougher surface that grips sauce better. Fresh and frozen handmade orecchiette show up at Italian markets and cook in just 3 to 5 minutes.

Dried orecchiette keeps about two years in a sealed container in a cool, dark cupboard. Move it from the box to a jar once opened so it stays dry and does not pick up cabinet odors, and toss it if you ever spot pantry-moth webbing.

Cooked orecchiette holds three to four days in the fridge. Reheat it with a splash of the sauce or a little pasta water, since the thick discs dry out and firm up as they sit.

For general boiling and salting basics, see the main pasta guide.

Quick facts

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

In Chinese

面食，orecchlette（耳形）

British (UK) term

Pasta, orecchlette (ear-shaped)

en français

pâtes, orecchlette (oreille-forme)

en español

pasta, orecchlette (en forma de oreja)

Recipes using orecchlette pasta

There are 4 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 4 orecchlette pasta recipes