Rotini means “twists” in Italian and that name fully answers. They are thick, screw-like pasta shapes, long around two inches, and come from North Italy. The shape was indeed thought for children, it is fun to eat, and it well takes any sauce, that you pour on it.

Those twists? They well grab sauce during every bite.

What is Rotini Pasta?

That spiral pasta shape ranks between the most flexible, that you will find. The wrapping is denser than that of fusilli, although honestly said, one can exchange them, and none will notice. Fusilli one twists from dough strands in little spring-like spirals, while rotini one does by means of a machine with an already spiral mold, that gives narrower, tihck twists.

Interesting fact: in United States and Canada, folks commonly call fusilli by means of the word rotini vice versa. Real Italian rotini start from only wheat flour and water, mixed together. The dough one then pushes through bronze molds…

Bronze one gives the best results. Later come slow, careful drying steps, that surprisingly care about the final structure.

Rotini have steady thickness, so it cooks equally from the edge until the centre. The spiral form helps, that it well takes and keeps sauce, more then any other. The most many brands reach the ideal texture between ten and twelve minutes during boiling.

Cook it a bit less in short, and it stays more firm in the bite; add some minutes, and it softens well.

No limit exists about that, what you can prepare with rotini. Cheesy baked pasta dish involve from only five main items and almost do not need more than ten minutes to prepare. Children love to eat it.

Extra way is browning ground meat with onions, salt and pepper, pour in stirred spaghetti sauce, add the cooked rotini, cover everything with mozzarella and stick it in the oven. Rotini in Florence style end in less than thirty minutes and offer creamy tomato sauce full of mozzarella cheese. You can also create something more clever, rotini with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and cheese.

Or combine it with chicken in cheesy garlic cream sauce together with cherry tomatoes.

Garden rotini, sometimes called tricolor, carry spinach and tomatoes mixed directly in the dough itself. Cold pasta salad with rotini are great, especially if you fill it with colorful summer veggies. Tricolor salad with broccoli, tomatoes, olives and dressing ranks between the easiest cold pasta salad recipes here.

For serving, half cup of dry rotini weigh around two ounces. The dough almost doubles, when one drops it in hot water. Now exist more choices.

Banza offer chickpea rotini, that is without gluten, without grains, vegan and non-GMO everything. Carbe Diem produce low-carb version from real wheat with extra fiber. Veggie Craft did one from peas, lentils and cauliflower, that well tastes andkeeps nice chewy texture without become wet.