Angel Hair pasta cooks the fastest in 4-5 minutes, followed by other thin long pasta like Linguine Fini and Thin Spaghetti. Among short pastas, mini shapes such as Mini Wheels and Elbows are quickest, taking 7-8 minutes.
| Ranking Position | Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1° | Angel Hair | 4 – 5 minutes |
| 2° | Pastina | 6 – 7 minutes |
| 3° | Linguine Fini | 6 – 7 minutes |
| 4° | Spaghetti Rigati | 6 – 7 minutes |
| 5° | Thin Spaghetti | 6 – 7 minutes |
| 6° | Fideo Cut Spaghetti | 6 – 7 minutes |
| 7° | Mini Wheels | 7 – 8 minutes |
| 8° | Elbows | 7 – 8 minutes |
| 9° | Mini Farfalle | 7 – 8 minutes |
| 10° | Rotini | 7 – 8 minutes |
There are so many different types of pasta shapes, each with its own thickness and different taste, clearly, cooking times also change dramatically between one dried pasta shape and another.
Sp, what pasta cooks the fastest? Considering every pasta shape, both short, long, and stuffed pasta, there is one precise shape of pasta that stands out for being the fastest to reach the “al dente” cooking degree.
The absolute fastest-cooking pasta shape is Angel Hair, also known as Capellini or “fine hair,” which cooks in just 4-5 minutes in boiling water. It resembles spaghetti but is much finer in diameter. Angel Hair cooks quicker than any other pasta shape.
Now you know which pasta cooks the fastest. Angel Hair is the winner, and is the fastest cooking pasta!
Why do some types of dry pasta cook faster than others?
Dry pasta cooking times largely depend on the volume-to-surface ratio; a lower ratio means shorter cooking times. This is because if the surface area in contact with water is larger relative to the overall volume, the cooking time reduces.
Small soup pasta, like pastina (at this link, I have explained how many types of pastina exist), has a relatively small volume compared to its exposed surface area, resulting in very short cooking times. Spaghetti cooks quickly for the same reason.
Please note: For those interested in the passive cooking method for pasta, we recommend reading our separate post on that topic. Click here to read about the passive cooking method. The timings provided here are for traditional pasta boiling water methods.
Now that you know which pasta shape to cook in record time, you’ll want to know how to season your Angel Hair pasta in the true Italian way, continue reading at the link.
If you love short pasta or want to know more about the cooking times of various pasta shapes, continue reading below.
Which type of Short Pasta cooks faster?
Take a look now at the ranking of the 10 short pasta shapes, sorted by cooking pace.
As you can see, there is no clear winner emerging from the ranking, but what is noticeable is that among the short pasta shapes, mini pasta is the one that cooks the fastest.
Mini Wheels, Elbows, Mini Farfalle, and Rotini are the short pasta shapes that cook in the least amount of time, data show that they cook in just 7-8 minutes.
Speaking of short pasta, did you know that here in Italy we season short pasta with sauces that are different from those we use for long pasta?
| Form of Pasta | Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|
| Short Pasta | Mini Wheels | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Elbows | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Mini Farfalle | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Rotini | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Tri-Color Rotini | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Pipette | 8 – 9 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Mini Penne | 9 – 10 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Campanelle | 10 – 11 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Casarecce | 10 – 11 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Mezzi Rigatoni | 10 – 11 minutes |
Which type of Long Pasta cooks faster?
Let’s see how the ranking of the long pasta shapes, sorted by cooking pace.
| Form of Pasta | Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|
| Long Pasta | Angel Hair | 4 – 5 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Linguine Fini | 6 – 7 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Spaghetti Rigati | 6 – 7 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Thin Spaghetti | 6 – 7 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Bucatini | 7 – 8 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Linguine | 9 – 10 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Spaghetti | 9 – 10 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Thick Spaghetti | 11 – 12 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Fettuccine | 12 – 13 minutes |
As you can see if we consider only long pasta shapes, the fastest to reach cooking are Angel Hair, Linguine Fini, Spaghetti Rigati, and Thin Spaghetti, all these pasta shapes are characterized by a very fine diameter that makes them reach cooking in a few minutes.
Which type of pasta cooks slower?
Curious to know which Italian pasta format is the slowest to cook?
Here is a ranking of the 10 pasta shapes that need to be cooked for the longest time.
As you can see Large Shells is the pasta shape with the longest cooking time, 14-15 minutes. It is probably because it is a fairly thick one with a complex shape.
| Form of Pasta | Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|
| Shells | Large Shells | 14 – 15 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Fettuccine | 12 – 13 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Gemelli | 12 – 13 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Orecchiette | 12 – 13 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Rigatoni | 12 – 13 minutes |
| Shells | Jumbo Shells | 9 – 12 minutes |
| Long Pasta | Thick Spaghetti | 11 – 12 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Cellentani | 11 – 12 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Farfalle | 11 – 12 minutes |
| Short Pasta | Penne | 11 – 12 minutes |
Which pasta shape cooks faster, Spaghetti or Fettuccine?
Spaghetti cooks faster than Fettuccine pasta. Generally, spaghetti has 9 to 10 minutes of cooking time, while fettuccine has 12 to 13 minutes of cooking time.
| Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|
| Spaghetti | 9 – 10 minutes |
| Fettuccine | 12 – 13 minutes |
Please note that it is best to check and follow the cooking time of each pasta on its original package before cooking it.
Which pasta shape cooks faster, Spaghetti or Linguine?
There is generally no significant difference between the cooking times of spaghetti and linguini, both formats cook in about 9-10 minutes.
| Shape of Pasta | Cooking Time |
|---|---|
| Spaghetti | 9 – 10 minutes |
| Linguine | 9 – 10 minutes |
