Mostaccioli Vs Rigatoni: What's The Difference?

Pasta is one of those ingredients you'll find in most pantries. An easy go-to for a quick meal after a busy day at work, it's hearty and filling and when paired with the right sauce, absolutely delicious. There are over 1,000 different types of pasta that we know of, and over 350 different shapes, each with its own special characteristics that give reason for its name and purpose for its shape.

Pasta ranges from small pasta between 1 and 2 inches, called macaroni, which includes (but is not limited to) orzo, farfalle, stelline, and rotini; to ribbon-cut pasta we often just call spaghetti, but includes linguine, tagliatelle, fettuccine, and vermicelli, amongst others. Then we have our tube-shaped pasta –- also known as extruded pasta, because of how they're made by pushing dough forcefully through a die to create the various shapes. These include cannelloni, ziti, mostaccioli, and rigatoni.

Both mostaccioli and rigatoni are types of penne which, translated, means quills, and you can see in their shapes that they do kind of look like quills or pens. Mostaccioli is also known as penne lisce, with lisce in Italian meaning smooth. Rigatoni, on the other hand, is called penne rigate in Italy, with rigate meaning –- yup, you called it –- rigid. This is the first difference between the two pastas. Let's delve into the purposes of the different surfaces.

While one may think that the different surfaces of our penne shapes are just a design element, there's actually a really functional reason for them being smooth or rigid. The smooth outside of mostaccioli isn't very supportive of the sauce clinging to it, whereas the defined ridges of rigatoni create perfect grooves for the sauce to really get in there. This generally makes mostaccioli more suited for thinner sauces that can gently coat the outside as well as the inside of the tubes. Think lighter tomato sauces, or go for more oil-based sauces like a bright and fresh pesto. Mostaccioli also works well in a pasta bake.

Now take your rigatoni with its crafted ridges. This is best served with chunkier sauces where the grooves invite the sauce to cling to the outside. A robust tomato sauce is magical with rigatoni or try a mushroom marinara sauce. Ragu works well too, or try thicker creamy sauces like a heavy-cream Alfredo. Meat in a sauce works brilliantly with rigatoni, like your bolognese sauce (traditionally served with spaghetti, but great with rigatoni), or mix your favorite meats into a sauce to serve with your rigatoni. Try these interesting sauce recipes to bring life to your rigatoni.

These two penne pasta shapes originate from different parts of Italy. Mostaccioli hails from Campania in the south of Italy (though different regions in Italy also lay their claim on being the origin). Interestingly, mostaccioli wasn't originally a pasta –- it was a type of biscuit. It was cut into the shape of a rhombus, being an easy shape to cut, and it's believed that this is also where the pasta version got the inspiration for its name, looking almost like a rhombus when viewed in profile.

Meanwhile, rigatoni is believed to have originated in Rome, with some claims being made by southern Italy. Different regions in Italy have their own little take on the pasta: In Rome it has a very conical shape, and Sicilians call it rigatoncini (little rigatoni).

The ends of the two pastas are also different. The ends of a piece of mostaccioli are cut off at an angle (hence the conical shape) which helps the tubes to scoop up extra sauce. But look at the ends of your rigatoni and you'll see that the ends are smooth-cut. It may also have a bit of a curve to the shape, whereas mostaccioli is always straight.