10 of the best pasta and sauce pairings

This twisted pasta has lots of intertwining layers that are perfect at catching sauce, particularly smoother ones that will happily cling to each piece. Pesto and arrabbiata go particularly well, while the chewy, robust texture of fusilli means it’s also a good addition to salads.

These pasta sheets have one obvious use as the filling layers in a lasagne, but the sauce used doesn’t have to be ragù-based. Vegetable sauces work just as well provided they contain enough liquid to soften the sheets, and some Italian regions (such as Veneto) are home to sweet festive dishes made using lasagne sheets, apples, raisins, butter and sugar. Some sheets need pre-boiling for use, but others such as Barilla's are ready to layer and place straight in the oven.

Similar to spaghetti but with a slightly flattened elliptical shape, linguine can catch a little more sauce and folds in a similar way to tagliatelle. Best with smooth and light seafood- and tomato-based sauces, it’s important the sauce is loose enough to help lubricate each strand and prevent them sticking together. The classic linguine alla vongole is the perfect example of this, with nothing more than white wine and olive to help create the sauce for the clams.

Rigate refers to the ridges found on the exterior of this tubular pasta, which help sauce cling to each piece. The angled ends also help suck sauce up into the centre, making penne perfect with almost every type of sauce, particularly heavy or chunky ones that contain lots of ingredients. Because they can also be baked in sauce, penne is arguably the most versatile pasta shape out there.

The most famous pasta shape in the world is also one of the most versatile. As long as there’s enough oil in the sauce to keep each strand slippery and separate, spaghetti will pair with lots of different sauces, although it is best suited to smoother, lighter ones such as pesto or a simple tomato and basil sauce.

These long wide ribbons can stand up to incredibly rich, heavy and robust sauces thanks to their larger surface area. As the original pasta shape used for Bolognese sauce, tagliatelle also works very well with thicker, creamier sauces, as it’s particularly adept at absorbing and picking them up.

Deep grooves and wide hollow centres mean very chunky sauces work best with this pasta. Sausage, lentils and other hearty ingredients can be served with tortiglioni, as can whole olives or particularly thick ragùs.