What Is Spaghettini and How Can I Use It?
If spaghettini has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 14 recipes to try it in.
Key Points
- Spaghettini is thin spaghetti, sitting between regular spaghetti and finer angel hair.
- Built for light olive-oil sauces like aglio e olio and for seafood, not heavy ragu.
- Dried cooks in about 6 to 8 minutes; pull it at al dente before it turns mushy.
- Regular spaghetti is the easiest swap; vermicelli or angel hair go finer and faster.
- Choose bronze-die strands with a rough surface; they grip oil sauces far better.
What is spaghettini?
Spaghettini is thin spaghetti, the name being the diminutive of spaghetti. The round strand sits right between regular spaghetti and the much finer angel hair, and cooks a touch quicker than the standard noodle.
That middle ground is its strength. It has more delicacy than spaghetti but more backbone than angel hair, so it handles a brighter, lighter sauce without going limp.
How to Use It
Spaghettini was made for quick, light sauces built on olive oil. The classic is aglio e olio, just garlic, oil, and chili, where the thin strand soaks up the seasoned oil. Recipeland's spaghettini aglio-oglio is exactly that dish.
Seafood is the other natural fit. A scallop and pine nut sauce with spaghettini lets the strand carry the sweetness without burying it, and a light tomato treatment like spaghettini Portofino clings nicely.
Keep the heavy meat sauces off it. The thinner strand cannot hold a chunky ragu the way regular spaghetti can, and the sauce slides to the bottom of the bowl.
Cooking and Substitutes
Because it is thinner, spaghettini cooks faster than spaghetti, usually 6 to 8 minutes for dried strands. Check it a couple of minutes before the box time and pull it at al dente, since a thin strand tips into mushy quickly.
Regular spaghetti is the easiest swap, cooked a minute or two longer.
Vermicelli or angel hair go the other way, finer and faster, when you want an even more delicate strand. Linguine works too if you do not mind a flat noodle.
Buying and Storing
Dried spaghettini is sold in long straight strands like spaghetti and keeps a year or two sealed in a cool, dry cupboard.
Look for bronze-die strands with a rough, matte surface; they grip an oil sauce far better than slick supermarket pasta. For salting and timing basics, see the pasta guide.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- spaghettini
- British (UK) term
- Spaghettini
- en français
- spaghettini
- en español
- spaghettini
Recipes using spaghettini
There are 14 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Chinese Noodle Stir-Fry
Quick, easy, tasty and healthy. This Chinese noodle stir-fry well satisfies your palate and provides enough nutrients to your body.
Spaghettini Aglio-Oglio
Five ingredients, thirty minutes, and pure Italian simplicity. Garlic warmed to pale gold in olive oil, then chicken broth reduced until glossy and drizzled over spaghettini with fresh parsley.
Spaghettini with Spinich & Red Clam Sauce
Spaghettini with red clam sauce tosses thin pasta in a garlicky tomato and clam-juice sauce, with fresh spinach wilted in and a shower of parmesan. A quick, brothy weeknight seafood pasta.
Leek Arugula & Clam Sauce Over Spaghettini
Spaghettini tossed with sauteed leeks, garlic, white wine, and chopped clams, finished with peppery arugula wilted in at the last second. Italian seafood pasta dinner for two in 45 minutes.
Spaghettini with Fried Eggplant
Spaghettini topped with breaded and fried eggplant strips, tomato sauce, and grated Parmesan. A crispy Italian-style pasta dish with salt-pressed eggplant for zero bitterness.
Spaghettini with Dried Ttomatoes & Zucchini
Spaghettini tossed with oil-packed sundried tomatoes, golden-seared zucchini chunks, garlic-infused olive oil, and a lemon-zested vegetable broth. A vegetarian pasta with sunny Mediterranean flavor.
Pesto Spaghetti
Pesto spaghetti tossed with a fresh parsley and basil sauce, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and butter. A 30-minute pasta dinner with a no-cook pesto that freezes well.
Spaghettini Alla Carrettiera
Spaghettini alla carrettiera with a spicy tomato-vodka cream sauce made from fresh tomatoes, garlic, dried chili, and heavy cream. A fiery Italian pasta that's silky smooth.
Leek, Arugula & Clam Sauce Over Spaghettini
Spaghettini with clam sauce, sauteed leeks, white wine, and fresh arugula tossed in at the end for a peppery bite. A light, briny pasta dish in 25 minutes.
Spaghettini with Dried Tomatoes & Zucchini
Spaghettini with sundried tomatoes and zucchini, a weeknight Italian pasta built on garlic-infused olive oil, golden zucchini chunks, and a bright lemon-vegetable broth. Vegan-friendly.
Spaghetti Al Tonno
Quick Italian tuna spaghetti in a savory tomato sauce with green peppers, onions, and oregano. A pantry-friendly pasta dinner on the table in just 25 minutes.
Scallop & Pine Nut Sauce with Spaghettini & Basil
A succulent dish made with bay scallops, pine nuts and fresh basil that's perfect for a dinner with friends.
Spaghettini Portofino
Seared shrimp and bay scallops deglazed with white wine, simmered with fresh tomatoes and garlic, then tossed with spaghettini and garnished with basil. Italian Riviera flavors in 40 minutes.
