Deliciously nutritious, quick to prepare, and satisfying

Pasta — it's everyone’s go-to food when you’re tight on time, haven't managed to stock the pantry, or are just right out of good ideas for dinner.

There's really no limit to pasta’s versatility, making it such an easy win when you need lunch on the table in five.

With hundreds of different shapes, sizes and types to sample, the world of pasta is pretty expansive.

Step out of your pasta comfort zone and try something new the next time you whip up your favourite classic pasta dishes.

Fusilli and Penne

Apart from regular, stringy spaghetti, these two are probably the most popular shapes for most dishes.

Pasta bakes, pesto pasta and even soups, the carb culprits with usually consist of fusilli and penne.

Today there are many options when selecting both fusilli and penne, including normal, wholewheat, organic, vegan and even red lentil varieties.

Perfecting pesto

Pesto, a sweet basil herb sauce has become a staple when it comes to cooking pasta dishes, especially as it conveniently requires no-cooking.

Your pasta only needs a light coating of pesto sauce, which means it’s important that your pasta of choice is not too dense.

Tagliatelle, bucatini, capellini and fettuccine are probably the best options as they coat easily and retain all the flavour.

We love it with cooked peas and freshly chopped coriander.

Long spaghetti

There are about 400 different pasta shapes in the world and though there are more of the short variety, long pastas are still incredibly popular.

The word literally translates to small strings, and it's perhaps the most widely known and eaten of all the long pasta varieties.

The obvious choice is to serve it with a traditional bolognese sauce but we love it paired with carbonara as well. 

Sauces made from scratch may have the upper hand but today, the formulas in famous brand jar alternatives come extremely close to the real thing.

If you're short on time, or energy, reach for a trusted recipe and claim it as your own.

Where's the basil?

It's a herb staple in almost all pasta dishes so make sure you have either a fresh bunch, or dried alternative to hand.