Linguine substitutes
Linguine substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Spaghetti
Same amount by weight as the linguine
Spaghetti and fettuccine are the two substitutes for linguine you almost certainly already have, both used one for one by weight. Spaghetti is the same length but round, so a garlic-and-oil or clam sauce clings a little less; fettuccine is flat like linguine but twice as wide, so each bite carries more sauce and the dish feels richer. The job linguine does is a compromise between the two: it has enough flat surface for an oily clam or scampi sauce to grab, while staying fine enough to twirl. If you have no long pasta, any short ridged shape will hold the sauce, but you lose the twirl entirely.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- clam sauce
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of linguine | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spaghetticlam sauce | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 2 | Fettuccinecream sauces | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 3 | Bavette or trenettepesto | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 4 | Bucatiniclam sauce | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Thin spaghetti or spaghettinigarlic and oil | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 6 | Angel hair or capellinivery light oil sauces | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
Spaghetti
similar taste and texture
The round strand of the same length, in nearly every kitchen.
- Best for
- clam sauce, shrimp scampi, garlic and oil, tomato sauce
The default answer, and a good one. Because the strand is round it has less flat surface, so an oil-based sauce coats it slightly less evenly and a heavy cream sauce slides toward the bottom of the bowl. The fix is to finish the drained spaghetti in the sauce pan for a minute with a splash of pasta water so the starch emulsifies the oil onto the strands.
Fettuccine
similar taste and texture
A flat ribbon about twice the width of linguine.
- Best for
- cream sauces, butter and garlic, shrimp dishes, mushroom sauce
Flat like linguine, so sauces cling properly, but each ribbon carries more, which makes a rich sauce taste richer and a delicate clam broth taste unbalanced. There are fewer strands per forkful, so the dish eats heavier. Fettuccine also usually needs a minute or two longer in the water than linguine.
Bavette or trenette
similar taste and texture
Ligurian names for a narrow flat strand that is essentially the same pasta as linguine.
- Best for
- pesto, seafood sauces, garlic and oil, light tomato sauce
If you can find either, it is a true one-for-one match rather than a compromise; bavette is sometimes very slightly convex and trenette is the classic pesto pasta of Genoa. The only practical difference is that these are often better-quality bronze-cut brands, which have a rougher surface and hold sauce even better.
Bucatini
similar taste, different texture
A thick spaghetti-like strand with a hole running through the middle.
- Best for
- clam sauce, amatriciana, buttery sauces, thin tomato sauce
Round rather than flat, but the hollow center draws thin sauce inside, so a garlic, wine and clam sauce still ends up in every bite. The chew is much heavier and springier than linguine and it takes longer to cook, so a light seafood dish becomes a substantial one. Watch it closely, as the hollow strands go from firm to soft quickly.
Thin spaghetti or spaghettini
similar taste and texture
A finer round strand, one step down from spaghetti.
- Best for
- garlic and oil, light seafood sauces, brothy sauces
A close match for the delicacy of linguine and a good choice for anything with white wine and shellfish, since the strands are fine enough that the sauce coats them thoroughly. They cook two to three minutes faster than linguine and overcook in the time it takes to answer the door, so drain them at the early end and sauce immediately.
Angel hair or capellini
similar taste, different texture
The least-bad option if very fine strands are all you have.
- Best for
- very light oil sauces, brothy sauces
Honest answer: this is the wrong pasta for most linguine recipes. It cooks in about three minutes, so it is already overdone by the time you have tossed it in the clam pan, and it mats into clumps that trap sauce in the middle and leave the rest bare. If you must, undercook it by a full minute, drain it and put it straight into a sauce that is already finished, then serve at once.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use spaghetti instead of linguine?
Yes, it is the most common swap and works in almost every linguine recipe at the same weight. The only real difference is that a round strand holds slightly less sauce than a flat one, so toss the drained spaghetti in the sauce pan with a splash of pasta water to make the sauce grip.
What is the difference between linguine and fettuccine?
Width. Both are flat ribbons; linguine is about an eighth of an inch wide, fettuccine roughly a quarter of an inch. The wider ribbon carries more sauce per bite, which is why Alfredo is traditionally fettuccine and delicate clam or oil sauces are traditionally linguine.
What is the best pasta for linguine with clam sauce if I have no linguine?
Spaghetti or thin spaghetti first, bucatini if you want something chewier that pulls the sauce into the hollow center. Skip angel hair, which overcooks in the pan, and skip short shapes, since the sauce is thin and needs strands to cling to.
Can I just leave the pasta out?
Not really; the strands are the dish. A clam or scampi sauce is genuinely good spooned over crusty bread, rice or polenta, or tossed with spiralized zucchini for a lighter meal, but the sauce was built to be absorbed by pasta and will seem thin without it.
How much linguine should I cook per person?
Around three to four ounces of dried pasta each as a main course. Weigh it if you can, because long pasta is very hard to judge by eye; a common trick is that a bundle roughly the diameter of a US quarter is about one serving.
Tips for substituting linguine
5 tips- Linguine and linguini are spellings of the same pasta, and bavette and trenette are regional Italian names for the same narrow ribbon. Any of them will work in a recipe that names the others.
- For clam sauce or shrimp scampi, drain the linguine a minute early and finish it in the sauce pan with a ladle of pasta water. The starch in that water is what turns loose oil and wine into a sauce that actually clings to a flat strand.
- Do not break the strands to fit the pot. Put one end in the boiling water, wait fifteen seconds, and press the rest down as it softens; broken linguine will not twirl and it turns a seafood pasta into a soupy mess.
- Never rinse linguine. The surface starch is what makes an oil or cream sauce stay put, and rinsed pasta in a scampi tastes bland with all the butter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Cook linguine in plenty of well-salted water and stir in the first thirty seconds. Flat strands stick to each other far more readily than tubes, and clumped strands cook unevenly.