Cavatelli substitute

Best substitute

Orecchiette

Use the same amount as the cavatelli you are replacing

Best for broccoli rabe and sausage

Close match

Orecchiette is the substitute, 1:1, and it is the one a southern Italian cook would use without thinking: same dough, same region, same cupped shape that traps chunky sauce. Gnocchetti sardi and malloreddus are equally good. If the supermarket has neither, small or medium shells (conchiglie) are the best mainstream option at 1:1. What cavatelli contribute is not flavour but shape and bite: the hollow catches oily, chunky and brothy sauces like broccoli rabe with sausage or beans, and the dense semolina chew is what makes the dish feel substantial.

Other cavatelli substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Gnocchetti sardi or malloreddus
Close match
Use the same amount
Essentially the same family of pasta from Sardinia, ridged on the outside and hollow inside.
What changes
The ridges actually grip sauce even better, and the bite is a shade firmer and chewier than cavatelli, so a hearty sausage sauce clings beautifully. Occasionally flavoured with saffron, which will tint the dish yellow.
Best for
sausage and tomato sauces, ragu, baked pasta, broccoli rabe
Check whether the packet is the saffron version, which is common in Sardinian brands, and avoid it if the sauce is delicate. Cooking time is usually similar to cavatelli, around 12 minutes.
3Small or medium pasta shells (conchiglie)
Different texture
Use the same amount
The best option in an ordinary supermarket.
What changes
The hollow shape scoops sauce the same way, so the eating experience is close. Shells are usually made from a finer dough and are thinner-walled, so they are smoother and softer and the dish comes out lighter and less rustic; you lose the dense chew that is a large part of cavatelli's appeal.
Best for
broccoli rabe and sausage, chunky vegetable sauces, baked pasta, pasta with beans
Choose the smaller shells rather than the big stuffing shells. Cook them a minute under the packet time so they stay firm, since they soften faster than semolina cavatelli.
4Cavatappi, fusilli or campanelle
Different texture
Use the same amount
Twists and ruffles trap oil and small pieces of sausage or greens well, so the sauce does not slide off.
What changes
The bite is springier and thinner-walled than cavatelli, which makes the dish feel lighter and less filling, and the shapes look modern rather than rustic. Perfectly good weeknight cooking.
Best for
sausage and greens, tomato sauces, pasta salads, baked pasta
Cavatappi holds up best of the three because it is thicker. Toss the finished pasta hard in the pan so the sauce works into the spirals.
5Potato gnocchi
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
A closer cousin than it looks, since cavatelli are sometimes called gnocchetti and are eaten in the same dishes.
What changes
Gnocchi are soft and pillowy rather than chewy, and they release starch into the sauce and thicken it, so a broccoli rabe and sausage dish becomes creamier and heavier. Genuinely good, just a different texture entirely.
Best for
sausage and broccoli rabe, brown butter and sage, tomato sauces, baked with cheese
Do not boil them for the pasta time. Drop them into boiling salted water and lift them out 30 to 60 seconds after they float, usually two to three minutes total.
6Ditalini or orzo
Different texture
Use the same amount
Only for brothy dishes and soups where the pasta is a small element floating in liquid, such as pasta e fagioli.
What changes
They have no cup to catch a chunky sauce, so a plate of sausage and greens ends up with the sauce at the bottom of the bowl and plain pasta on top. The dish becomes soupier and less of a mouthful.
Best for
pasta e fagioli and other soups, brothy greens dishes, soups with beans and greens
If you use these with a dry sauce, chop the sausage and greens much finer so everything is a similar size and clings together. Reserve extra pasta water to loosen the sauce.
7Homemade cavatelli
Close match
200 g semolina flour to 100 ml warm water makes roughly 2 servings
Very much worth doing, and no machine is needed.
What changes
Knead semolina flour and warm water for eight minutes into a firm dough, rest it 30 minutes, roll ropes the thickness of a finger, cut 1 cm pieces, and drag each one across a wooden board or a gnocchi paddle with your thumb to hollow it out. The result is chewier than dried supermarket cavatelli, and closer to what the dish is meant to be.
Best for
broccoli rabe and sausage, any traditional cavatelli dish, weekend cooking, cooking with children
Contains no egg, which is traditional. Allow 30 to 40 minutes of shaping for four people, and dust the finished pasta with semolina so the pieces do not stick together. They cook in three to five minutes.

What is Cavatelli?

Cavatelli is a small southern Italian semolina-and-water pasta, also spelled cavatelle or cavateddi and often sold as gnocchetti, shaped into hollowed shells by dragging pieces of dough across a board with the thumb, and that hollow is the whole point: it traps chunky, brothy sauce instead of letting it slide off.

Cooking tips

Dried cavatelli need the full 12 to 14 minutes, and sometimes more. They are much thicker than a standard dried pasta, and pulled early they taste raw and pasty in the centre; bite one rather than trusting the timer.
Salt the water hard. Semolina-and-water pasta has no egg and very little flavour of its own, so unsalted water gives you a bland dish no matter how good the sauce is.
Finish them in the pan. Drain a minute early, tip them into the sauce with a splash of the starchy pasta water, and toss over heat for a minute so the hollows fill up and the sauce clings. This is what separates a good plate of cavatelli from pasta with sauce sitting on top.
Match them to a sauce with substance. Cavatelli are heavy enough for sausage, ragu, beans and bitter greens, and a thin tomato sauce or a delicate seafood sauce is wasted on them because the pasta dominates.
Frozen cavatelli, which is how many Italian-American shops sell fresh ones, goes straight from the freezer into the boiling water. Thawing them first makes them stick together into a solid mass.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cavatelli and orecchiette?

They are made from the same semolina and water dough and shaped by hand in the same region, so they are close relatives. Cavatelli are small elongated shells, a bit like a tiny hollowed hot dog bun, made by dragging dough across a board. Orecchiette, little ears, are rounder and made by dragging and then inverting the piece over a thumb, which leaves a thinner dome with a thicker rim. They are interchangeable in any recipe.

Are cavatelli and gnocchi the same thing?

No, though the names overlap confusingly, since cavatelli are often sold as gnocchetti, meaning little gnocchi. Cavatelli are pasta made from semolina flour and water, with a firm chew. Potato gnocchi are dumplings made from cooked potato and flour, and they are soft and pillowy. Gnocchi will work in most cavatelli dishes but they cook in two to three minutes rather than twelve, and they thicken the sauce with released starch.

Can I use regular pasta instead of cavatelli?

Yes, but pick the shape carefully, because with cavatelli the shape is the entire function. Choose something hollow or cupped that catches chunky sauce: small shells, cavatappi, fusilli or campanelle all work at 1:1. Long pasta such as spaghetti is the worst choice for a sausage and broccoli rabe sauce, because the pieces slide off and collect at the bottom of the bowl.

Can I make cavatelli without a machine or special board?

Easily. Roll the dough into ropes, cut them into 1 cm pieces, and press and drag each piece towards you with your thumb or the back of a butter knife on any clean surface with a bit of grip, such as a wooden board. A ridged gnocchi paddle gives neat lines but changes nothing about how they cook. It is genuinely a 30-minute job for four people.

Do cavatelli contain egg?

Traditionally no. Southern Italian cavatelli are semolina flour and water only, which is why they have that firm chew and why they are naturally vegan. Some Italian-American fresh versions add ricotta or egg, which makes them softer and much quicker to cook, so check the packet if that matters for dietary reasons or for timing.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Cavatelli substitute

Other cavatelli substitutes

2Gnocchetti sardi or malloreddus

3Small or medium pasta shells (conchiglie)

4Cavatappi, fusilli or campanelle

5Potato gnocchi

6Ditalini or orzo

7Homemade cavatelli