Some noodles you can substitute for rigatoni are Ziti, Penne, Paccheria, Chifferi or Elicoidali.
Penne and ziti are some of the best substitutes for rigatoni.
The difference between penne and rigatoni is that rigatoni is cut straight across and is often larger in diameter and has a wider tube and penne is cut at a diagonal and is given pointed ends.
Both penne and rigatoni are tube shaped pasta that has ridges although basically rigatoni is a wider version of penne pasta, which makes rigatoni better for holding onto thicker sauces as a result of it's larger surface area to catch the sauces.
The difference between rigatoni and rotini is in the shape.
Rotini pasta is a short, corkscrew shaped pasta that has a twisted design and rigatoni is a large and tube shaped pasta that has ridges that run along the length of it.
Rotini is basically a coiled spiral pasta and rigatoni is a straight tube shaped pasta with ridges.
Rigatoni looks like a wide, tubular and ridged pasta that is often straight but can also sometimes be curved.
Rigatoni pasta is shorter and also wider than penne and ziti pasta and has a hollow center and is typically around one inch in diameter and 2 to 4 inches long.
Rigatoni also has deep ridges around the outside of the pasta.
Rigatoni is a type of pasta that is used for pasta bakes or for pasta dishes that have heartier and thicker sauces.
The Rigatoni pasta is great for dishes and pasta bakes with heartier and thicker sauces because of the ridges on the outside of rigatoni noodles.
The ridges hold thicker sauces much better than smoother pasta shapes do which makes rigatoni pasta perfect for the thicker and creamier sauces.
Rigatoni makes for a great baked Rigatoni pasta or you can make a normal pasta with it as well.
Rigatoni pasta is also larger than ziti pasta and penne pasta and sometimes it's slightly curved but not as curbed as elbow macaroni is.
The word rigatoni comes from the word "rigato" which means ridged and are short, wide tubes of pasta that have ridges on the outside but are smooth on the inside.
Rigatoni pasta noodles are also great for big chunkier sauces due to their ridges which that have a wide center which capture the sauce perfectly.
Rigatoni pasta noodles are the perfect shaped pasta for meat sauces that are substantial like ragu or classic tomato sauce and seafood sauce.
You can take the rigatoni pasta noodles out of the cooking water while they are still much al dente so they can finish cooking directly in the pan along with the sauce.
Southern Italy favors the Rigatoni pastas where they are also often paired with thicker sauces.