Pasta night: the right noodle, a better sauce, and supper sorted

There’s a lot happening on the pasta shelf. Chickpeas and yellow peas become penne. Rice and quinoa become spaghetti. Edamame becomes fettuccine. And a bag of wet-packed shirataki needs a completely different treatment from any of them.

That variety is wonderful, but it also explains why one pasta can turn out beautifully with your usual method and another can become a very soft dinner. Here’s how the different bases work, which shapes suit which sauces, and a tomato, white bean and spinach pasta to put it all together.

Meet the pasta families · Cooking and rinsing · Make supper · Troubleshooting

First, what is the noodle made from?

Durum wheat: the familiar Italian starting point

Bio Italia Penne Rigate is made with organic durum wheat semolina. Its ridged tubes are a lovely match for a chunky tomato sauce: sauce coats the outside, while little pieces of vegetables and beans can settle into the hollow centres. This is wheat pasta, not a gluten-free product.

The shape and the flour answer two different questions. Penne describes the cut; durum wheat describes the base. You’ll find that same penne shape made from several other ingredients, too.

Chickpea and yellow pea: legumes in pasta form

Chickapea Organic Penne uses organic chickpea and yellow pea flours. It’s a different starting point from wheat, rice or corn, and the maker identifies the plain pasta as gluten-free. It works in the tomato-and-bean recipe below, or with pesto and cooked vegetables.

The important cooking difference is the short boil. Have the sauce nearly ready before this pasta goes into the water. A few extra minutes waiting in a hot pot matter much more here than they do with a long-simmering sauce.

Rice, corn and quinoa: gluten-free doesn’t mean grain-free

There are several grain-based routes. Felicetti’s gluten-free penne combines rice and corn. Rizopia’s penne is a brown-rice pasta. GoGo Quinoa Spaghetti combines white rice flour with quinoa flour: the name doesn’t mean it’s made entirely from quinoa.

These belong in the same dinner conversation as wheat pasta, but they aren’t one interchangeable formula. The maker’s cooking time and rinsing method matter more than a general rule for “gluten-free pasta.”

Edamame and shirataki: two very different kinds of noodle

Liviva Organic Edamame Fettuccine is a soybean-based pasta. For a creamy direction, try mushrooms, garlic and a plant-milk sauce in this mushroom pasta recipe. Edamame is soy, an important distinction for anyone avoiding that allergen.

Liviva’s wet-packed Shirataki Spaghetti with Oat Fibre is made with water, konjac flour, oat fibre and citric acid. It arrives hydrated. Rinse it thoroughly, drain well and remove excess water before adding it to a sauce or stir-fry; it doesn’t need the dry-pasta cooking routine. A ginger-garlic sauce with cooked vegetables is a good direction here. Let the noodles spend a few minutes with the sauce, rather than pouring it over at the last second.

Match the shape to what’s in the pan

• Penne, shells and spirals: good companions for chopped mushrooms, beans, peas and chunky sauces. The pieces mingle instead of all the vegetables being left at the bottom of the bowl.
• Spaghetti and linguine: especially easy to toss with a smoother tomato sauce, pesto or garlic and olive oil. Finely chopped additions distribute more evenly through the strands.
• Small shapes such as orzo: useful in spoonable dishes and soups. Orzo is a pasta shape, not a type of rice; its ingredient base still depends on the product.

Other noodle traditions have their own methods. For example, Hakubaku’s Canadian soba formula includes wheat as well as buckwheat, so “buckwheat noodles” doesn’t automatically mean gluten-free. Its short boil and cold rinse are also different from a pot of Italian penne.

Should you rinse pasta? Sometimes, yes.

The familiar advice to never rinse pasta isn’t universal. Two makers on our shelf specifically tell you to rinse:

• Chickapea: use about 10 cups of water for a 227 g box, boil steadily for 5–8 minutes, then drain and rinse. Begin tasting towards the early end rather than waiting for the full eight minutes.
• GoGo rice and quinoa spaghetti: use 3–4 litres of boiling water, cook for about 13 minutes or to the desired tenderness, then rinse promptly with cold water. Toss with hot sauce and serve.

Stir after adding dry pasta and occasionally as it cooks, giving the pieces room to move. For a new brand, taste a piece before draining. You’re looking for the texture you want to eat, not simply a timer reaching zero. If your pack has different directions, use those: recipes and formats do change.

For a sauce that needs loosening, add liquid a tablespoon or two at a time. Reserved wheat-pasta water can help bring a sauce together; plain hot water also works, particularly when your pasta needs rinsing. A splash is helpful. A cup all at once can turn supper into soup.

Tomato, white bean and spinach pasta

Serves 4 · Allow about 30 minutes. This adaptation of a Mediterranean spaghetti recipe uses a generous tomato-and-bean sauce with penne.

Ingredients

• 350 g dry penne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes, 796 mL, with juices
• 1 can cooked white beans, 398 mL, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Salt, pepper and optional chilli flakes, to taste

Method

1. Put the pasta water on. In a large saucepan, soften onion in oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, spinach and basil. Bring to a simmer; cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring and breaking up the spinach, until it is fully cooked; extend the time if its package directions require it. Season.
3. Meanwhile, cook penne using its own directions, including rinsing if specified. Time it to finish with the sauce.
4. Combine gently and serve. Add a little hot water if needed to loosen.

A few pasta-night questions

Why did the sauce turn watery?

Draining makes a difference, especially with rinsed noodles and wet-packed shirataki. If the sauce itself is thin, simmer it before adding the pasta. Trying to boil off a lot of water after everything is combined can overcook the noodles.

Can I use a different pasta in the recipe?

Yes: wheat, rice-and-corn, brown-rice or chickpea penne can each take the tomato sauce. Keep the dry weight the same and change the pasta cooking method. Wet-packed shirataki is not a gram-for-gram substitute for dry pasta because its weight already includes water; treat it as a separate noodle dish.

What about tomorrow’s lunch?

For meal prep, keeping some sauce separate lets you loosen and reheat the pasta without adding another full coating of sauce. Cool leftovers promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate; eat within 2–3 days or freeze. Reheat only the portion you need to 74°C. These leftover-storage and reheating guidelines apply to plant-based pasta dinners too.

Explore our pasta and noodles, or come chat with us about what you’re making. There’s plenty of room for a new favourite pasta night.