Make Your Own Pesto Cavatappi (Noodles & Co. Copycat Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for cavatappi pasta? ›

Cavatappi are short, ridged corkscrew-shaped pasta. If you can't find them, substitute another short, sturdy pasta shape, such as rigatoni or even farfalle (bowties).

Pesto Sauce

This fresh and fragrant pasta sauce is served uncooked, so choose a pasta shape that won't overwhelm it. Similar to oil-based sauces, pesto is served best with longer cuts of pasta, like the corkscrew shape of Fusilli. Pesto works best with Bucatini, Capellini, thinner Spaghettini, and Fettuccine.

Cavatappi is a spiral pasta with a hollow center and outer ridges. Made with just durum wheat semolina and water, this springy spiral pasta originated in Southern Italy.

The taste:

When I first tried it, the most notable flavour was the garlic, making me wonder if a little more basil and just one clove would provide a more balanced taste. There were no complaints though – homemade was a unanimous hit!

Cavatappi is macaroni formed in a helical tube shape. Cavatappi is the Italian word for corkscrew. Cavatelli resembles a tiny hot dog bun. Commonly known as "shells" or "seashells." These are usually sold in the plain durum wheat variety, and also in colored varieties.

Cavatappi is a short S-shaped pasta tube that looks similar to a small corkscrew. Its slender, spiral shape makes it great for serving with sauces, in salads, and baked in casseroles. Cavatappi works well with any sauce but pairs especially wonderfully with sauces that include vegetables and lean proteins.

Properly made pesto tastes fresh and zingy and balanced, not muddy. Each flavor component is identifiable—the fragrant basil, the pungent garlic, the buttery olive oil and sweet pine nuts, the tangy cheeses—and yet none dominates. Basil is the star, for sure, but its perfume works in balance with the other ingredients.

Pasta alla Genovese. This pasta alla Genovese recipe from Manuela Zangara stays true to tradition in this classic Ligurian dish, with basil pesto gently coating al dente pasta, cubed potato and green beans. It's incredibly quick to make, and packed with flavour.

Most pesto recipes call for Parmesan cheese; we often use Romano which has a stronger flavor. Basil pesto recipes often call for pine nuts, but you can easily substitute walnuts.

Vernacular names of this pasta are “scoobi doo” and “double elbows”. Typically, it has a furrowed or grooved surface making it able to hold sauces in salads and casserole dishes. Its name is technically derived from the compound terms “cava tappi” which means “tap extractor” or simply corkscrew.

Does Barilla make cavatappi? ›

A delightful corkscrew-shaped pasta, Barilla® Cellentani is as fun to look at as it is to eat.

For a protein-rich pasta topper, your best bet is to make a pesto (like this one) that's loaded with pine nuts and Parmesan—two solid protein sources. For a healthier pesto that still boasts an impressive amount of protein, try this superfood version made with sunflower and hemp seeds.

The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.

You'll want to be mindful of the sodium content. Some jars have more than 500mg per serving and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines recommend you eat no more than 2,300mg per day. It would be hard to stay within those guidelines if you get more than 20% of your sodium from pesto.

The cause of pesto turning brown, or grey is usually because the herbs have started oxidising. The best way to slow that process is to reduce the amount of time the sauce is exposed to air.

Cavatappi is usually scored with lines or ridges (rigati in Italian) on the surface. Cavatappi is a type of macaroni, or thick, hollow pasta that is made without using eggs. It may be yellow in color, like most pastas, or have vegetables or a food coloring added to make it green or red.

Fusilli. Like cavatappi, fusilli features a corkscrew-like shape. And because it's smaller and tighter, it can serve as a good happy medium between cavatappi and elbow macaroni.

The best orzo pasta replacements are fregola pasta, stellette pasta, macaroni pasta, ditalini pasta, and alphabet pasta. They're all very small and have a similar texture to orzo when cooked.