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

FAQs

What is a good substitute for cavatappi noodles? ›

Cavatappi: You can substitute rotini, rigatoni, bow-tie, or any small or medium-sized pasta. Mushrooms: Noodles & Company puts them in, but you can leave them out. White wine: Choose a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay.

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.

I usually use around 1/3 to 1/2 cup pesto per 1 pound of pasta. If you accidentally add too much pesto, just add in a bit more pasta water.

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.

Fusilli: With its twisted shape, fusilli grips onto thicker sauces, making it a flavorsome stand-in for cavatappi. Rotini: Slightly larger spirals compared to fusilli, rotini's grooves are excellent for lighter or chunky sauces.

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

Its scarcity, plus the fact that the plants are picked roots, soil, and all to ensure that only juvenile leaves make it into pesto, makes it extraordinarily expensive and something that only premium, artisan pesto makers can justify using.

Depends how much pasta you cook surely? I cooked pasta for 2 teens tonight (which probably could have fed 3) and used about 2/3 of a jar of pesto. I use a jar because I love pesto. But I suppose it depends how much pasta you're cooking!

Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.

Adding a splash of pasta water helps to dilute and distribute the flavours more evenly, creating a well-balanced dish. Before draining your pasta, remember to reserve a cup or so of the cooking water. It's easy to forget this step, but it's crucial for the technique to work.

What makes pesto taste so good? ›

What does pesto taste like? Traditional pesto is a thick, green sauce that tastes bright and herby from the basil, and salty and rich from the cheeses and pine nuts. It should be garlicky, with pleasant grassiness from good quality olive oil.

Both homemade and shop-bought pesto sauces have their advantages. If convenience is your top priority, then store-bought pesto is right for you, but if freshness is your main concern, then nothing can compete with making pesto yourself.

Fusilli. With more ridges, twists, and turns than cavatappi or cellentani, fusilli is another short corkscrew-shaped pasta that's worth cooking any night of the week.

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.

Substitutes such as orecchiette, gnocchi, and fusilli are not only readily available at grocery stores but also hold onto sauces well, offering a similar dining experience to that of cavatelli pasta.