Pastina substitute

Best substitute

Acini di pepe

Use the same amount as the pastina you are replacing

Best for pastina soup

Close match

Acini di pepe is the closest match at 1:1 and is often literally sold as pastina. Stelline, the little stars, are equally good. Orzo works one for one if you cook it a minute or two longer and accept a chewier bite. In a real pinch, break angel hair or capellini into pieces about half a centimetre long and use it by weight. What pastina is doing is releasing starch to give a broth soft body, so any tiny shape will do the job.

Other pastina substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Stelline or other tiny shapes (farfalline, alphabet pasta)
Close match
Use the same amount
Miniature stars, bows or letters, all in the pastina size range.
What changes
Best for
pastina soup, children's meals, brodo, chicken soup
Prep. Cook in broth, tasting from five minutes; add a little extra broth as they absorb it.
Interchangeable with pastina in every practical sense, since they are pastina. Stelline in particular are what most people picture when they think of pastina soup: the little points soften and the pasta releases enough starch to make the broth faintly creamy. Alphabet pasta is usually slightly thicker and takes a minute or two longer. Any of these can be used with no changes at all to the recipe.
3Orzo
Different texture
Use the same amount
Rice-shaped pasta, considerably larger than pastina.
What changes
Best for
soups, brothy dishes, when the shop has no tiny pasta
Prep. Cook in broth for eight to ten minutes; expect the broth to stay looser than it would with pastina.
Widely available and it works, but the dish changes character from a soft spoonable comfort food into something closer to a soup with rice in it. Orzo grains are several times the volume of pastina, so they stay firm and distinct and give a definite chew rather than melting into the broth. It also needs an extra minute or two, usually eight to ten. It releases less starch relative to its volume, so the broth stays thinner and clearer instead of turning silky.
4Ditalini
Different texture
Use the same amount
Very short wide tubes, the name meaning little thimbles.
What changes
Best for
pasta e fagioli, minestrone, hearty soups, adults rather than toddlers
Prep. Cook in broth eight to ten minutes; drain well if the tubes are holding a lot of liquid.
A good soup pasta but a noticeably heartier one. Ditalini are hollow, so they scoop up broth and burst with it, which is enjoyable but very different from pastina's soft, uniform, almost porridge-like result. The bite is definite and the pieces are large enough to need chewing. Cooking time runs eight to ten minutes. Choose this if you are making soup for dinner and pastina if you are making something soothing.
5Broken angel hair or capellini
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The thinnest long pasta, snapped into very short lengths.
What changes
Best for
emergency pastina soup, using up what is in the cupboard
Prep. Crush into short pieces, add to simmering broth, and cook three to four minutes only.
Surprisingly effective and the answer most likely to already be in your kitchen. Put the bundle in a bag or wrap it in a tea towel and crush it into pieces roughly half a centimetre long. Because it is so thin it cooks in three or four minutes and releases a lot of starch, which is exactly what you want for a silky broth. The differences are cosmetic and textural: you get soft short threads rather than little beads or stars, and the pieces will be uneven, with some longer strands to catch on the spoon.
6Couscous
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Tiny granules of steamed and dried semolina, technically a pasta.
What changes
Best for
five-minute soups, very quick meals, gluten-containing pantry emergencies
Prep. Stir into hot broth off the heat, cover for five minutes, then serve immediately.
Fast and workable, with one real caveat. Couscous is precooked so it hydrates in about five minutes off the heat, which is convenient, but it releases far less free starch than pastina, so the broth stays thin and watery instead of turning soft and slightly creamy. The texture is granular and slightly sandy rather than tender and yielding. It also keeps absorbing, so a bowl left standing turns into a solid mass. Use pearl or Israeli couscous if you have it, which behaves more like a small pasta.

What is Pastina?

Pastina is Pastina, plural pastine, is not one shape but the whole family of the tiniest dried pastas, including stelline stars, acini di pepe beads and minute tubes, sold for cooking in broth and soups.

Cooking tips

Cook pastina and its substitutes directly in the broth rather than boiling them separately in water. The whole appeal of pastina soup is that the pasta releases its starch into the liquid and gives it a soft, faintly creamy body, and draining that starch away leaves you with pasta sitting in thin broth.
Pastina absorbs a truly startling amount of liquid and does not stop. A pot that looked like soup when you turned off the heat will be a thick porridge twenty minutes later. Either serve it immediately, or use noticeably more broth than seems right and keep extra hot broth on hand to loosen it back out when you reheat.
One quarter cup of dry pastina per person is generous for a bowl of soup. It looks like nothing in the measuring cup and roughly triples in volume, and overshooting is the single most common reason people end up with pasta paste instead of pastina soup.
For the classic soothing version, take the pot off the heat, then stir in a beaten egg, a good handful of finely grated hard cheese and a knob of butter, whisking as you go. Off the heat is important: on the heat the egg scrambles into threads rather than thickening the broth into something silky.
Because the pasta is tiny it goes from underdone to blown out in about ninety seconds. Start tasting at five minutes even if the box says eight, and pull it while it still has the faintest resistance, since it will keep cooking in the hot broth in the bowl.

Frequently asked questions

Is pastina the same as acini di pepe?

Nearly, and the confusion is understandable. Pastina is a category rather than a specific shape, meaning simply little pasta, and it covers stelline stars, acini di pepe beads, tiny tubes, alphabet shapes and more. Acini di pepe is one particular shape within that category, and in many countries it is exactly what is inside a box labelled pastina. If your recipe calls for pastina, acini di pepe is a completely correct choice with no adjustments needed.

Can I just leave the pastina out?

Not really, if the recipe is pastina soup, because the pasta is the dish and without it you simply have broth. What you can do is replace it with any other small starch that will soften and thicken the liquid: orzo, broken angel hair, small soup pasta, or even a few tablespoons of rice or pearl barley if you are willing to cook them longer. What you cannot do is skip the starch entirely and still get the thick, soothing, spoonable result people are after.

Is there a gluten-free substitute for pastina?

Some brands now make gluten-free small soup shapes from corn and rice flour, which are the most direct answer, and gluten-free orzo is also available. Failing that, small gluten-free pasta shapes broken up, or simply short-grain rice cooked in the broth, will give you the same soft starchy comfort even though the texture is different. Bear in mind that gluten-free pastas release starch differently and tend to go from firm to disintegrated very quickly, so taste early and often.

Can I feed pastina to a baby or toddler?

That is a question for your pediatrician or health visitor rather than a cooking website. Decisions about what and when to introduce foods to infants and young children depend on the individual child, and we do not offer infant feeding advice. Please follow the guidance of your child's healthcare provider.

Why did my pastina turn into a solid paste?

Almost always too much pasta, too little liquid, or too long standing in the pot. Pastina keeps absorbing broth for as long as it is warm and wet, so a correctly loose pot will stiffen dramatically within twenty minutes. Use a quarter cup of dry pasta per person, use more broth than looks necessary, serve it straight away, and keep a cup of hot broth or water aside to whisk back in when you reheat leftovers. Stirring it constantly at a hard boil also breaks the pasta down faster, so keep the heat at a gentle simmer.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Pastina substitute

Other pastina substitutes

2Stelline or other tiny shapes (farfalline, alphabet pasta)

3Orzo

4Ditalini

5Broken angel hair or capellini

6Couscous