Mostaccioli Vs Penne

The world of pasta is so diverse that it is almost impossible to remember all the names of pasta. Also, there are varieties of pasta that look almost identical but turn out to be different.

Penne and mostaccioli are a pair of pasta varieties that appear to be the same. But are they?

What are the differences between penne and mostaccioli?

Penne is a tubular pasta with the ends cut at an angle. There are two types of penne: penne rigate, which is penne with horizontal ridges, and penne lisce, which is penne with a smooth finish. The latter is also known as mostaccioli. Thus, mostaccioli are a type of penne. 

In this article, you’ll learn all about penne and mostaccioli and what sets them apart. From looks to uses, we have compared every aspect of the two varieties of penne.

You’ll also learn how to make penne at home and which variety of pasta to use instead if you’ve run out.

What is penne?

Penne is one of the most popular pasta varieties with a tubular shape.

The ends of the penne are cut at an angle and the surface has horizontal ridges throughout. 

The shape of the penne was inspired by a feather, and the word penne translates to “feather,” which makes perfect sense considering the shape of the pasta.

Although there are many varieties of pasta, penne is one of the few whose birth date has been recorded.

It was in 1865 that Italian pasta maker Giovanni Battista Cappuro obtained a patent for a machine that could cut fresh pasta dough into the shape now known as penne.

The machine that cut pasta in the shape of a pen was a real breakthrough, since before pasta was cut with scissors. The scissors left the edges of the pasta uneven and rough.

Although penne is known to have ridges, there are two main varieties of penne: ridged penne and smooth penne. The former goes by the name of penne rigate, while the latter is called penne lisce.

There is also the widest variety of penne: the pennoni. They look like normal penne, but are much bigger.

Penne was originally made with durum wheat flour . Since durum wheat flour contains a high amount of protein and gluten, people have always considered it to be an ideal flour variety for making pasta dough.

Today, you can also find penne pasta made with whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour is much healthier than pasta made with regular white flour.

This is why whole wheat penne pasta, and pasta in general, has become very popular. Colored penne pasta is also available in supermarkets.

What is mostaccioli?

Mostaccioli is also known as penne lisce. This makes it clear that it is the smooth variety of regular penne pasta.

Like penne, mostaccioli is also tubular in shape with the sides cut at an angle.

Mostaccioli vs. Penne - What’s the difference?

So, mostaccioli are a type of penne pasta! But this does not mean that there are no differences between penne and mostaccioli. Let’s compare all aspects of the two varieties of pasta to see how they are similar and how they are different.

Origin

Penne is said to originate from Liguria, a region in northwestern Italy. Once penne became popular in Liguria, its popularity began to spread throughout the Italian peninsula.

Mostaccioli, on the other hand, are known to originate from Campania, a region in southern Italy. 

shape and size

The shape of the penne rigate and the mostaccioli is the same. The only difference is that penne rigate have ridges and mostaccioli are smooth.

In general, penne come in two sizes. There is the normal penne, which is usually 5 centimeters, and the mezze penne, which is about 5 centimeters. Both penne sizes are very versatile.

However, keep in mind that some American pasta brands make mostaccioli slightly larger than regular penne.

Popularity

Although pasta is traditionally Italian, it is widely consumed throughout the world. There are more than three hundred varieties of pasta, but most of us only know the names of a few of them. This is because some varieties of pasta are more popular than others.

Penne is among the most popular varieties, along with spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, fusilli, linguine, lasagna, and a few other types of pasta. 

When it comes to the popularity of the different types of penne, penne rigate (penne with ridges) is more popular than penne lisce (smooth penne).

The reason is that penne with a textured surface works with all kinds of sauces, while smooth penne is only suitable for lighter sauces. 

Cooking time

The traditional way of cooking penne is al dente, that is, firm when biting. But penne cooks a little longer than finer pasta varieties, like spaghetti or fettuccini.

Penne and mostaccioli require almost the same cooking time. Penne takes about 10-13 minutes to cook and the typical cook time for mostaccioli is 10-14 minutes. But the cooking instructions are obviously the same.

1. Fill a pot with water following the instructions on the pasta container. The amount of water you will need to boil also depends on the amount of pasta you are cooking. 
2. Salt the water generously and let it boil over high heat. 
3. Once the water starts to boil, add the pasta and let it cook for 10-14 minutes, depending on the variety. 
4. As the pasta cooks, stir it occasionally to prevent the tubes from sticking to each other and also to the bottom of the pot. 
5. Once cooked, drain the pasta and serve it with the sauce of your choice.

Applications

The uses of each variety of pasta largely depend on the category to which it belongs. The main pasta groups are as follows

• long pasta
• paste in tube
• Stuffed pasta
• Pasta for soup
• special shaped pasta 

Both penne and mostaccioli fall under the tube pasta category , along with pasta varieties such as bucatini, manicotti, pipe rigate, and rigatoni. The tubular shaped pasta is perfect for holding a lot of sauce.

Because short tube pasta varieties like penne and mostaccioli have thick walls, they’re also great in pasta salads and casseroles.

Penne rigate goes very well with all kinds of thick sauces. Thanks to its robustness, it also works well in dishes with large pieces of meat and vegetables. It also works well for salads and baked casserole dishes.

One of the most popular penne pasta recipes is arrabbiata. It has penne covered with tomato sauce. The sauce is spicy thanks to the chillies used in it.

Since mostaccioli does not have ridges, it is best used with lighter sauces, such as aromatic olive oil or fine tomato sauce . Penne, thanks to its textured surface, can hold much heavier sauces.

The most popular use of mostaccioli is to bake it in casseroles. These dishes are known as “pasta al forno”, which means baked pasta.

You can bake mostaccioli with sausage or minced meat, your favorite cheese, like mozzarella and Parmesan, and a little tomato sauce. Baked mostaccioli are an easy one-pot recipe that will easily feed an entire family.

Can you use mostaccioli instead of penne?

Since mostaccioli is essentially plain penne, you can use it in place of penne in almost any recipe. Some people don’t like striped pasta, so mostaccioli is a great alternative.

However, if you substitute the penne for the mostaccioli , you should know that although the ridges may seem like a small detail, they make all the difference . Thanks to their textured surface, penne can hold much more sauce than smooth mostaccioli.

What to do with leftover penne/mostaccioli

Cold pasta, whether penne, mostaccioli, or another variety of pasta, is pretty unappetizing. But what can you do with leftover pasta?

Sure, you can reheat it with some canned pasta sauce. But isn’t it boring to eat the same food over and over again?

Once you have mixed the freshly cooked penne or mostaccioli with the sauce and have leftover pasta, we recommend that you chill them in the fridge and prepare a pasta salad to eat the next day. 

Making pasta salad is quick and easy. All you have to do is mix the penne or mostaccioli with your favorite ingredients: pieces or strips of chicken breast, various greens, vegetables, cheese or whatever you want.

You can also top the pasta salad with your favorite dressing to bring all the flavors together.

Can you make pasta at home?

Making pasta at home can be a bit tricky for a beginner. There is a learning curve both in getting the dough right and in shaping each piece of pasta by hand. But it is undeniable that homemade pasta tastes better and fresher.

Plus, when you make the pasta dough yourself, you know what’s in it and you can make it much healthier than store-bought.

And yet, despite the difficulties, many people enjoy the experience of making different types of pasta at home, including penne.

Commercially made penne has no seam. Obviously, you can’t make seamless penne by hand. You can make seamless homemade penne only if you have a pasta extruder with a penne die. 

But making penne by hand is also possible, taking advantage of the fact that penne pasta and garganelli pasta look quite similar.

The difference is that the garganelli’s ridges are perpendicular to their length, while the penne’s are parallel.

Also, garganelli, unlike penne, have a seam. This is the part where the end of the pasta dough square sticks to the rest of the pasta once you finish shaping it.

So if you’re making penne at home without a pasta extruder, you can probably go for fresh garganelli instead!

How to make penne at home

Penne is not the easiest variety of pasta to make at home. However, if making pasta is something you enjoy doing and you have all the utensils you need to make pasta yourself, why not try making penne too? Here’s how to make penne at home.

For this recipe, you’ll need a garganelli board (this is our favorite).

1. Start by making the pasta dough. Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of semolina flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. 
2. In another bowl, combine 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks. Combine the flour mixture with the eggs by slowly pouring them into the dry ingredients. You can use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to mix the pasta dough. 
3. Stop mixing until you get a smooth, non-sticky ball of dough. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Wrap them in plastic to prevent the dough from drying out.
4. At this point, you can use a penne extruder if you have one, or start rolling out the dough to form a thin layer. The process is easier and faster if you have a pasta machine and can roll thin sheets of pasta without the need for a rolling pin. 
5. When the dough is so thin that you can see your hand through it, dust it with flour and cut it vertically into 2.5cm-wide strips. 
6. Then, leaving the strips in place, make horizontal cuts leaving 2.5 cm of space between them. Thus, you will obtain rectangles that measure 2 by 3 cm.
7. Pick up the rectangles, put them in a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. 
8. Take a rectangle and put it on a choker board (a small board with a handle and a ridged surface). Place the rectangle on the board so that the corner is facing you. Flip the board over to make sure you get ridges that are parallel to the length of the pasta. 
9. With a clean pencil or the stick that came with the garganelli chart, start rolling the pasta from one corner to the other. As you roll, the board will imprint the ridges into the dough.
10. To shape the penne (or garganelli), start rolling the rectangle from one corner to the other. Use a little pressure at the end to glue the final corner to the rest of the paste. 
11. When you have formed all the penne, put them on a baking tray lined with a clean towel and let them dry. 
12. Next, bring water to a boil, salt it generously, and add the freshly made penne pasta. Serve the homemade penne with your favorite sauce. 

Can you make Mostaccioli at home?

Since the shape of penne and mostaccioli are quite similar, obviously you can also make mostaccioli at home. You can use a pasta extrusion die for mostaccioli to make the process easier.

Or, you can follow the same steps as for making penne at home. In this case, mostaccioli will also resemble garganelli. But you can use a cutting board or a flat pasta board to make the surface of the mostaccioli smooth. 

What is a good substitute for Penne?

If a dish you’re making calls for penne but you don’t have any, smooth or ridged, you can use ziti instead.

Ziti is another variety of tubular pasta. It is longer than penne and its ends are straight and not cut at an angle. The diameter of the ziti is also larger than that of the penne. But despite these differences, ziti can still work in many recipes that call for penne.