Trofie substitutes

Two strands of pasta twisted together, almost exactly the size and shape of trofie and stocked in most supermarkets. The single best swap.

Best for

pesto, trofie al pesto with potatoes and green beans, oil-based sauces, pasta salad

Nearly identical in how it behaves with pesto: the groove between the two strands traps the sauce the same way. It is usually a touch springier and less dense than hand-rolled trofie, which have a chewy, slightly uneven bite from being twisted by hand, so the mouthfeel is a bit more uniform and bouncy.

The corkscrew shape traps thin sauces exceptionally well, which is why it is the standard pesto pasta almost everywhere outside Liguria.

Best for

pesto, pasta salad, oil-based sauces, vegetable sauces, family meals

Holds noticeably more sauce inside the corkscrew than trofie do, so each bite is saucier and richer and you may find yourself using less pesto than the recipe says. Springier and slightly less chewy. Fusilli corti bucati, the hollow spring type, holds even more and is also a good choice.

Short rolled scrolls from Sicily, open along one side, and one of the best pesto shapes made. Increasingly easy to find.

Best for

pesto, oil-based sauces, vegetable sauces, ricotta sauces

The open scroll catches sauce along its length very effectively and the bite is dense and satisfying, close to trofie. It is smoother than trofie, so slightly less grip on the outside surface, but the internal channel more than compensates. Look for bronze-die versions, which are rougher and better still.

A hollow corkscrew, sometimes labelled cellentani. Excellent cling and a satisfying chew.

Best for

pesto, pasta salad, cheese sauces, family meals, vegetable sauces

Because it is hollow as well as twisted, sauce gets inside the tube and each bite is richer and heavier than trofie deliver. That is a plus with a cheese sauce and a slight mismatch with a delicate basil pesto, where trofie's virtue is a thin even coating rather than a mouthful of sauce. It also holds more water, so drain it well.

Small ridged cups from Puglia and small ridged shells from Sardinia. Both grip pesto well and nestle nicely alongside cubes of potato.

Best for

pesto, trofie al pesto with potatoes and green beans, chunky vegetable sauces, sausage and greens

Chunkier and chewier than trofie, and they sit in the bowl in clusters rather than tangling, which changes the eating experience from twirling to spooning. Very good in the Ligurian potato-and-green-bean version, since the shapes are similar in size to the diced potato and everything comes up on the fork together.

The cupboard fallback. Worth naming because it is what most people actually have.

Best for

pesto in a hurry, family meals, baked pasta

The outside ridges give some grip, but the smooth straight interior means thin pesto slides straight through and gathers at the bottom of the bowl, which is the exact problem trofie were invented to solve. Toss it hard with a couple of tablespoons of pasta water and serve immediately, and it is fine. Smooth penne lisce is worse; skip it if you have a choice.

The best gluten-free option, because the corkscrew shape does the sauce-holding work that gluten-free pasta's smoother surface otherwise fails at.

Best for

pesto, gluten-free pasta salad, vegetable sauces

Softer and more fragile with a slightly grainy bite, and the cooking window is narrow, so start tasting three minutes before the box says. Gluten-free pasta releases less starch into the water, so the cooking water is a weaker binder; loosen the pesto with a tablespoon of olive oil as well as a splash of water and toss off the heat.