Small Pasta For Soup

There are all kinds of soups out there that really lend themselves well to having pasta added, but you want to make sure you’re not only adding the right amount of pasta – too much and you run the risk of the pasta soaking all the broth – but that you’re adding the right kind of pasta to the dish as well.

With so many different types of pasta to pick and choose from, finding the right pasta is always a little bit tougher than most people think it’s going to be right out of the gate!

In an effort to help out (and to get you trying new pasta types when you’re making soup), here are eight of our favorite small pastas perfect for you!

Rotelle

Rotelle pasta looks a lot like a mini wagon wheel, and it’s fantastic for soups that are veggie heavy but are lacking a little something. You probably remember making pasta necklaces with rotelle in the past, and while it’s a little bit on the larger side of things it remains a small pasta shape that works well in a lot of different soups (especially the rustic style ones)!

Achini di Pepe

On the opposite side of the size spectrum from rotelle sits achini de pepe, which literally translates into “grains of pepper” – which should give you a great idea as to how small this pasta starts out (and how small it ends up after cooking)!

A lot like Israeli couscous, this pasta is even smaller than most grains of rice and goes really well with a dish like Italian Wedding soup. (Pictured above.)

Ditalini

Ditalini looks like elbows that have been straightened out and then sliced in half, and the name directly translates to “tiny thimbles”. Small, but not too small, this is a perfect replacement for elbows, for macaroni, and work exceptionally well in a soup filled to the brim with broth. Throw some ditalini in a soup like minestrone and you can’t go wrong!

Stelline

Stelline is a big favorite with little kids, if for no other reason than the fact that it has a star shape when it is finished cooking and just seems to add a little bit of fun to a bowl of soup. We all remember getting to eat “alphabet soup” as kids, or pigging out on stars and pasta sauce, and that’s the kind of fun and whimsy that this pasta is going to bring to every bowl of soup that you add it to.

Just be careful when you’re adding it to the broth to be cooked. It’s really easy to go overboard and end up soaking all of that delicious broth into your pasta, turning your favorite soup into a porridge (or worse!) faster than you thought possible!

Small Shells

Small shells are just the jumbo pasta shells shrunk down. We love these little conch-shaped pasta shells because delicious soup liquid clings to the shells like

Orzo Pasta

Orzo pasta is a favorite for people making soup, and it’s easy to see why. It looks a lot like rice while adding that pasta flavor, and its elongated football shape adds some visual punch that other pastas don’t. This is a standard addition to a lot of soup recipes that call for pasta, but don’t be shy about adding it to recipes that call of some other form of pasta – you really can’t go wrong with orzo!

Mini Farfalle

Commonly called Bow-Tie pasta or Butterfly pasta, this pasta is just thick enough to make about any hearty soup a little heartier! Farfalle pasta is an Italian pasta that gets its name from the word farfalle meaning butterflies. Farfalle has the jagged edges that we are all so familiar with.

Try mini farfalle in hearty soups or stews and even in chili.

Fideo Spaghetti

Fideo Spaghetti is probably one of our favorite pastas to use. It is a light pasta very similar to angel hair or thin spaghetti, but cut into very small pieces.

This is a great pasta to throw in just about any soup. Here is one of our favorite Fideo Recipes.

Pastina

Pastina is a tiny pasta that is available a variety of shapes. It is the smallest type of pasta you can buy. It’s perfect if you are making q quick soup as it only takes about 6-7 minutes to cook.
Try some of our super-delicious Chicken Pastina Soup!