The best shapes for ricotta sauce
Fresh ricotta loosened with hot pasta water into a pale, barely sweet cream. Mild by design, and usually finished with black pepper or something sharp to give it an edge.
Ricotta loosened with pasta water into a mild cream. Coats short shapes evenly and fills bakes without weight.
Caccavelle work as a single giant cup, parboiled and then stuffed and finished in the oven.
Cjarsons carry a sweet-and-savory filling, so the dressing stays restrained and aromatic rather than tomato-based.
A shell is a scoop.
Conchiglioni are built to be stuffed and baked rather than tossed.
A lasagna sheet is less a noodle than a building material.
The build is a contrast machine.
Manicotti works as a container first and a noodle second.
A cooked pacchero rarely stays a cylinder.
What we would not put it on
Heavy ridged shapes intended for meat sauce. They are built to hold far more than this dressing provides, and the pasta reads as underdressed.
Want it the other way around? Start from a shape in the Pairing Finder.
Stay in the loop
From the Almanac
Updates from Pasta Almanac, when there is something worth sharing.