Cavatelli substitutes

The best swap, full stop. Made from the same semolina and water dough in the same part of Italy, with the same cupped shape and rough surface, so it holds sauce identically. Slightly thinner in the middle and a little more delicate on the tooth than a chunky cavatello, which makes the dish feel a touch lighter but not meaningfully different.

Best for

broccoli rabe and sausage, chunky vegetable sauces, ragu, bean and greens dishes, cime di rapa

Cooking times are close but check the packet, since orecchiette is often a minute or two quicker. Both are thick pastas that need the full stated time, not less.

Essentially the same family of pasta from Sardinia, ridged on the outside and hollow inside. 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.

The best option in an ordinary supermarket. 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.

Twists and ruffles trap oil and small pieces of sausage or greens well, so the sauce does not slide off. 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. 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.

A closer cousin than it looks, since cavatelli are sometimes called gnocchetti and are eaten in the same dishes. 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.

Only for brothy dishes and soups where the pasta is a small element floating in liquid, such as pasta e fagioli. 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.

Very much worth doing, and no machine is needed. 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.