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Food

What is Tagliatelle?

By Alex Paul
Updated May 16, 2024
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Tagliatelle is a type of pasta that originates in Italy. It has a flat appearance and is used with a variety of different types of sauce and dishes. Tagliatelle is often made as fresh pasta and is traditionally used with beef or pork dishes, although it can also be featured in vegetarian meals. There are several different types of tagliatelle depending on the size and thickness of the pasta.

Tagliatelle is a classic type of pasta that was first made in the Emilia Romagna region. This region is in Northern Italy and is known for its rich food tradition. The capital is Bologna and for this reason the pasta is often served with Bolognese sauce. Although it is uncertain who originally made the pasta it is often credited to a court chef in the 1400s. In its early origins, the pasta was seen as a specialist and exclusive dish.

The shape of tagliatelle is long and flat while the texture is relatively rough compared with other types of pasta. It therefore goes best with thicker sauce although it can also be used with thin sauces in some cases. The wide variety of sauces that it can work with is one of the main advantages of this type of pasta.

Tagliatelle can either be sold as straight pasta or in curls. Traditionally the pasta comes in two different colors — green and plain. The green version of the pasta is often colored and flavored using spinach. The pasta can also be bought dried or fresh. Generally the pasta is fresh for traditional dishes.

Some recipes that commonly use tagliatelle include spaghetti Bolognese, tagliatelle carbonara and creamy mushroom pasta. Today, the pasta is widely used across the world for a number of different dishes as many people have come to enjoy the taste and texture. The porous nature of the pasta means that it helps to soak up some of the thicker sauces.

There are also several different types of the pasta depending on the size. For example, tagliolini is a common variety that comes in a cylinder shape instead of being flat. Bavette is a thinner version while still flat, and bavettine is even thinner. The type of pasta which is right for a particular dish depends on the sauce as well as the chef’s personal preference. In many cases the different varieties of the pasta can be interchanged without negative impact on the taste.

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Discussion Comments

By chivebasil — On Jul 15, 2011

There is an Italian restaurant close to my house that makes an incredible spinach tagliatelle with an herb cream sauce and big portabella mushrooms. Before I ordered this for the first time I had never tried spinach pasta. Boy was I missing out. The flavor is subtly different but so much better. Now that I am thinking about it maybe I will try and convince hubby to go there for dinner tonight.

By nextcorrea — On Jul 15, 2011

I absolutely love bolognese sauce and I almost always get it with tagliatelle when I go out to Italian restaurants.

I remember that my mom used to make what she called bolognese sauce all the time when I was a kid. It was basically just a jar of marinara with hamburger and some carrot shavings. It was only once I was an adult that I tried an authentic version made by a friend of mine who is an incredible cook. It blew me away. It was so much better than my moms (sorry mom! love ya).

By backdraft — On Jul 14, 2011

@manykitties2 - I have been making my own pasta for years and tagliatelle is one of my favorites to make. In fact I never buy tagliatelle anymore because my own tastes so much better. It is also a great place to start for beginning pasta cooks. Its not quite as easy as a fettuccine or a lasagna noodle but it is just a half step up the latter.

Also, you can flavor it with anything you want. Spinach flavored pasta is pretty common but too often people think tat this is the only thing they can use to flavor their pasta. In reality the sky is the limit. You can use all kinds of herbs as well as a number of different vegetables to change the flavor of your pasta. Recipes are pretty easy to find online and you should have no problem adapting them to any type of pasta you would like. Good luck. This is the beginning of something really exciting.

By manykitties2 — On Jul 14, 2011

Would you recommend trying to make your own tagliatelle pasta for a beginner cook?

I am pretty new in the kitchen but pasta dishes are my absolute favorite. The pictures I have seen of tagliatelle make it seem like it would be easy to make.

For those who are experimental with their pasta is it possible to flavor tagliatelle with more than just spinach?

I really enjoy tomato and eggplant and am curious as to whether or not you could flavor tagliatelle with these things, or would it just make a mess?

I am not up for experimenting right now, but I would love to give it once I have mastered basic pastas.

By lonelygod — On Jul 13, 2011

Before I tried tagliatelle in my pasta dishes I was mainly stuck with using the same old spaghetti and elbow macaroni for every dish. I love that tagliatelle has a more distinct texture and makes me feel like I am creating a more artistic pasta dish even if I am still using the same sauce and ingredients.

For myself I love tagliatelle pasta with a rich basil tomato sauce with nice big slices of grilled chicken in it. I find that the larger flat noodles almost seem to absorb some of the basil flavor making the whole dish seem richer.

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