What Is Pasta, capellini and How Can I Use It?
Pasta, capellini is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 10 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Capellini is a very thin round strand, essentially the same pasta as angel hair.
- True angel hair, capellini d'angelo, is the finest grade; plain capellini runs slightly thicker.
- Dried cooks in about 3 to 4 minutes; have the light sauce ready first.
- Keep sauces light, garlic oil or seafood; heavy ragu and cream mat the strands.
- Drain and toss immediately or the cooling strands fuse into a clump.
What is pasta, capellini?
Capellini is a very thin, round strand of pasta whose name means "little hairs" in Italian. For most cooks it is the same thing sold as angel hair, and the two trade in freely.
If there is any difference, it is grade. True angel hair is the very finest version, capellini d'angelo, while plain capellini can run a hair thicker. In a home kitchen the distinction rarely matters.
Treat them as one pasta.
Cooking and Sauces
Like all the finest strands, capellini cooks in a flash. Dried strands are ready in about 3 to 4 minutes, so the sauce has to be done and waiting before the pasta goes into the water.
Keep the sauce light. A thin strand cannot hold a heavy ragu or thick cream; it mats into a clump and the sauce pools at the bottom of the bowl. Garlic and oil, a light tomato, or seafood are the right partners.
It carries a delicate shrimp sauce well, as in capellini with shrimp and herb sauce, and takes a quick fresh-tomato treatment beautifully, like capellini with burst cherry tomato. It even handles a fast stir-fry, as in capelli d'angelo with Thai chicken.
Drain it the moment it turns tender and toss it with the sauce right away, or the strands fuse as they cool.
Substitutes
Angel hair is the obvious swap, since it is the same pasta. Vermicelli is a touch thicker but still fine and quick. Spaghettini gives you a bit more bite and forgives a heavier sauce.
Buying and Storing
Capellini is usually sold coiled into nests so the fragile threads do not snap in the box. It keeps a year or more sealed in a cool, dry cupboard.
Handle the nests gently. Broken bits cook faster than whole strands and leave you with uneven, partly mushy pasta.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 面食，卡佩利尼
- British (UK) term
- Pasta, capellini
- en français
- pâtes, capellini
- en español
- pasta, Capellini
Recipes using pasta, capellini
There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Capelli D'Angelo with Thai Chicken
Tender chicken breast with a honey-peanut ginger glaze, served with noodles. Clean and refreshing Thai-style flavor.
Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp
A simple and succulent pasta dish that is the perfect meal to enjoy while watching the evening news.
Crisp Pasta Pancake with Spicy Pepper Relish
Crispy baked capellini pancake topped with a sweet-spicy serrano and bell pepper relish. Vegetarian side dish with crunchy golden edges and a kick of heat.
Roasted Garlic with Cumin-Eggplant & Capellini
Roasted garlic and cumin-spiced broiled eggplant tossed with capellini, lemon juice, and cilantro. A vegan room-temperature pasta with bold, smoky Mediterranean flavor.
Pasta with Alfredo-Peso Sauce
Pasta with Alfredo-pesto sauce combines homemade basil pesto with hot cream and Parmesan for a rich, herby green cream sauce tossed with capellini or spaghetti.
Bacon& Egg Carbonara
Bacon and egg carbonara with raw egg yolk stirred into hot pasta at the table, sour cream warmed in the bowl, crispy bacon, chives, and Parmesan. A rich, interactive dinner.
Capellini with Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce
Capellini with burst cherry tomato sauce, garlic, olives, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan. A quick Italian pasta dinner with a fresh, jammy sauce in under 40 minutes.
Baked Squid with Garlic-Anchovy Pasta
Baked squid with garlic-anchovy capellini, the Italian-American Feast of Seven Fishes star reimagined for the home oven. Crispy crumb-coated calamari over silky anchovy-garlic pasta, all in 30 minutes.
Capellini with Shrimp & Herb Sauce
Capellini with garlic shrimp in a buttery herb sauce of basil, dill, oregano, and lemon. An elegant yet easy pasta dinner that comes together in under an hour.
Lemon-Pepper Chicken Stir-Fry
Lemon-pepper chicken stir-fry with bell peppers, onions, and capers in a bright lemon-pan sauce. Served over angel-hair pasta for a 40-minute weeknight main.
