Linguine
Compare linguine with spaghetti and learn why its flat strands suit seafood, pesto and smooth lemon sauces.
- Format
- Long narrow ribbons, flatter and slightly wider than spaghetti.
- Surface and bite
- Silky surface with more sauce contact than a round strand.
How to recognise linguine.
Linguine is a long, narrow, solid ribbon. It is flatter and a little wider than spaghetti but far narrower than fettuccine.
Most dried linguine is made from durum-wheat semolina and water, fitting Liguria's dried-pasta tradition.
Linguine comes from Liguria. The name refers to little tongues.
Silky surface with more sauce contact than a round strand.
Separate the flat strands during the first minute. Finish gently to avoid breaking them.
Why the geometry matters.
Its flat faces give pesto, seafood juices and lemon-butter emulsions more contact area than a round strand without becoming as heavy as a broad egg ribbon.
- Seafood sauces
- Pesto
- Lemon and butter emulsions
Do not confuse it with…
Linguine vs Spaghetti
Spaghetti is round; linguine has clearly flat faces and edges.
See the spaghetti guide →Linguine vs Fettuccine
Fettuccine is a broader ribbon, often made with egg.
See the fettuccine guide →Famous dishes
- Pasta al Limone
- Linguine alle Vongole