Reshteh (Persian Noodles) substitute

Best substitute

Linguine or fettuccine, broken short

Use the same amount by weight, broken into 2-3 inch lengths as the reshteh (persian noodles) you are replacing

Best for aash reshteh

Different texture

Snap linguine or fettuccine into two to three inch lengths and cook it directly in the soup, one for one by weight. Cooking it in the pot rather than separately is the important part, because reshteh does two jobs at once: it fills the soup and its released starch is what makes aash reshteh creamy. Since reshteh dough is salted and Italian pasta is not, add about half a teaspoon of salt per hundred grams of pasta to the pot. Flat egg noodles are an even softer, closer match if you have them.

Other reshteh (persian noodles) substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Flat egg noodles, medium width
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Closer than dried Italian pasta in tenderness, and widely stocked.
What changes
Use the flat ribbon type rather than the curly ones if you have a choice.
Best for
aash reshteh, a softer, more traditional mouthfeel, thickening the soup, cooking for children
Softer and slightly richer, with a faint eggy flavour that reshteh does not have. Egg noodles also break down more readily, so the soup thickens well but goes a shade paler and creamier and the noodles lose their ribbon definition if you overcook them. Add them a couple of minutes later than you would linguine.
3Udon, dried or frozen, cut short
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Mechanically the closest match of all, because udon dough is salted like reshteh dough and it behaves the same way in liquid, going slippery and soft and clouding the broth.
What changes
Best for
soup texture, matching the salted-dough character, when you have an Asian grocer nearby
Since udon is already salted, do not add extra salt for it. The catch is the shape: udon is much thicker and squarer in cross-section, so every mouthful is bouncy and chewy where reshteh is a soft flat ribbon. The aash tastes right and eats slightly wrong. Cut the strands into two inch lengths to make it less obvious.
4Fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle, torn
Close match
Use the same amount by weight, or 1.5:1 if fresh replacing dried
The best match for silky tenderness.
What changes
Tear the sheets into rough short pieces rather than cutting them neatly, which is closer to how broken reshteh looks in the bowl.
Best for
the softest, most tender result, aash reshteh made in a hurry, when only fresh pasta is available
Fresh pasta cooks in three or four minutes and then keeps going, so in a soup that sits on the stove or gets reheated it turns to mush. Add it at the very end, off the heat if you are reheating. It also releases starch quickly, which is helpful for thickening but can make the aash gluey if you use too much.
5Spaghetti or thin vermicelli
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, broken short
Perfectly usable, and the most likely thing to already be in the cupboard.
What changes
Break it into short lengths and cook it in the soup.
Best for
emergencies, very quick aash, when only round pasta is available
Round thin strands vanish into a thick herb soup, so you lose the visible ribbons of noodle that are half the appeal of aash reshteh, and the bowl looks and eats more like a bean soup with something in it. Flavour is fine. If it is a choice between this and no noodles, use it, but pick the thickest spaghetti you have.
6Toasted broken linguine for reshteh polo
Close match
Use the same amount by weight, toasted until deep golden before use
For the rice dish rather than the soup.
What changes
Break the pasta short and toast it in butter or oil in a dry pan until it turns a deep nutty gold, then steam it with the rice.
Best for
reshteh polo, Persian rice dishes, Nowruz cooking
The toasting is not optional and it is the step people skip. Untoasted, the rice just tastes like rice with boiled pasta in it; toasted, the noodles give the dish a warm, nutty, almost brown-butter aroma. Italian pasta is thinner than real reshteh and browns considerably faster, so keep the heat moderate and stir constantly or it will go from gold to burnt in under a minute.

What is Reshteh (Persian Noodles)?

Reshteh (Persian Noodles) is Reshteh are flat dried Persian wheat noodles about the width of linguine, salted in the dough and sold in short bundles for the herb-and-bean soup aash reshteh and, toasted, for the rice dish reshteh polo.

Cooking tips

Never boil the noodles separately and add them to aash reshteh. The starch they shed while cooking in the soup is what gives the aash its thick, creamy body, and draining it away leaves you with a watery bowl no amount of simmering will fix.
Break dried bundles inside a folded tea towel or a zip bag. Snapping them in the open sends shards of pasta across the kitchen, and you want the pieces roughly two to three inches long so they are spoonable.
Do the salt maths. Reshteh dough is salted, ordinary Italian pasta is not, and udon is. If you swap in unsalted pasta, add roughly half a teaspoon of salt per hundred grams to the pot or the whole soup will taste underseasoned in a way you cannot pin down.
For reshteh polo, toast the noodles before they meet any liquid. Deep golden, not pale, not dark. This is the difference between a dish that tastes nutty and complete and one that tastes like leftovers mixed together.
Add the noodles late. Aash reshteh often simmers for an hour or more to soften the beans and cook down the herbs, and noodles need only the last ten to twelve minutes. Put them in early and they turn to paste and the soup goes gluey.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use spaghetti instead of reshteh?

Yes, broken into short lengths and cooked in the soup, though linguine or fettuccine is better because reshteh is a flat ribbon and thin round strands disappear into the aash. Whichever you use, add about half a teaspoon of salt per hundred grams to the pot, since Persian reshteh dough is salted and Italian dried pasta is not.

Do I cook reshteh separately or in the soup?

In the soup, always. This is the single most important thing about the substitution. The noodles release starch as they cook and that starch is what thickens aash reshteh into something creamy rather than watery. Boiling them in a separate pan and draining them throws that away and you will wonder why your aash is thin.

Are reshteh noodles gluten free?

No. Reshteh is made from wheat flour, so it contains gluten, as do all the pasta and noodle substitutes listed here except where you specifically buy a gluten-free version. For a gluten-free aash reshteh, brown rice or corn-based fettuccine works, but it sheds much less starch, so mash a good ladleful of the beans to thicken the soup instead.

Can I just leave the noodles out of aash reshteh?

You can, and you will have a good Persian herb and bean soup, but reshteh is in the name of the dish and the soup will be noticeably thinner without the starch the noodles contribute. If you skip them, mash some of the beans or add a peeled diced potato early on to give the aash body. Do not simply omit them and change nothing.

Why is my aash reshteh not creamy?

Usually because the noodles were cooked and drained separately, or because the beans were not cooked long enough to start breaking down. Cook the noodles in the pot, simmer the beans until they are soft enough to crush, then mash a ladleful against the side of the pan and stir it back in. A vigorous stir at the end also helps release starch from the pasta surface.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Reshteh (Persian Noodles) substitute

Other reshteh (persian noodles) substitutes

2Flat egg noodles, medium width

3Udon, dried or frozen, cut short

4Fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle, torn

5Spaghetti or thin vermicelli

6Toasted broken linguine for reshteh polo