While classics like Bolognese, carbonara and puttanesca are sure to remain menu favorites, the potential of pasta stretches far beyond Italian staples. As a hearty, cost-effective dish, pasta can welcome any number of trending ingredients and global flavors, whether suffused in a broth, mixed in a sauce or added atop the finished product.

The myriad shapes, neutral flavor profile and overall versatility of pasta make the perfect base for unexpected elements, which in turn set the tone for renewed flavor adventure. By leaning into high-impact ingredients, menu developers can transform a traditionally Italian dish into a universal category.

To reexamine pasta’s far-reaching potential, start with its four main components: the base, mix-ins and fillings; broths and sauces; and finishing touches. Each offers its own opportunities to inject new flavor, experiment with new textures, deviate from the standard recipes and artfully blur the lines of possibility.

1

The Next Generation of Noodles

Whether lesser-known, old-country varieties like mafalde and lumache, or new, custom creations, shapes and sizes run the gamut and can accordingly complement any dish. Pasta now comes in a variety of colors as well, thanks to veggie infusions and alternative flours. Beyond the visual appeal, ingredients like spinach, tomatoes and red lentils lend functional benefits.

Ingredient Treatments to Explore

• Protein-packed chickpea, lentil, quinoa, barley pastas
• Naturally hued pasta, derived from spinach, tomato, squid ink, ube
• Rustic shapes, such as mafalde, orecchiette, cavatelli, strozzapreti, creste di gallo
• Unique or custom pasta shapes, like ravioli lasagna and corzetti (design-stamped pasta)

Try This

• Mafalde n’ Cheese: mafalde noodles + roasted garlic cream sauce + four-cheese blend + pork sausage crumbles + toasted panko

On the Menu

Chamomile Sacchetti: snap peas, stracciatella, almond trapanese, preserved eureka lemon
—Flour + Water, San Francisco

Radiatori Negro, with seafood Bolognese and tabasco pangrattato
—The Kenwood, Minneapolis

Korean Noodle Bowl: sweet potato glass noodle, pickled shiitake, organic spinach, carrot, bean sprout, chef Matt’s “magical dust”
—True Food Kitchen, based in Arizona

2

Memorable Mix-ins and Fillings

The mix-in and filling possibilities for pasta might just surpass pizza topping options. Once global cuisines, regional mashups and unconventional flavor profiles are fair game, restaurants can dive into uncharted territory. These captivating ingredient combinations not only heighten quality levels, but also drive the next iteration of pasta as a category.

Mix-ins to Explore

• Tinned fish
• Breaded, fried squash, roasted Brussels sprouts leaves
• Dark berries, roasted grapes
• Mushroom duxelles or tapenade
• Vegetable purées, such as roasted sunchoke, winter squashes, puntarelle blends

Try This

• Butter Chicken Penne: red lentil penne + garam masala–braised boneless chicken thigh + Indian ginger-garlic creamy tomato sauce + sliced scallions + paneer cubes + naan wedge

On the Menu

Casonsei, with duck confit, huckleberry, chanterelle, sage
—Sorella, San Francisco

Curry Mazemen (brothless noodles): thick, chewy noodles, spicy minced pork, Japanese curry powder, kale, poached egg, scallions, minced garlic, fish umami, seaweed flakes, homemade umami vinegar, scoop of rice
—Mogu Mogu, Fullerton, Calif.

Tagliatelle, with chickpeas, basil and puntarelle purée, cherry tomatoes
—L’Oca d’Oro, Austin, TX

3

Intriguing Sauces and Broths

Sauce and broth are liquid gold that can anchor any pasta, set the flavor tone and immediately grab guest attention. Pairing the familiar with uncommon sauces and broths brings new flavors and textures into play while incorporating culinary traditions from the world over.

Ingredient Treatments to Explore

• Peruvian huancaina sauce, made with sautéed aji amarillo, chile, garlic, onion; puréed with queso fresco, saltines, evaporated milk
• Butters and broths for flavoring pasta, such as fruit, seeds, porcini
• Contemporary pesto or pistou
• Flavored hummus (mixed with water or broth) as pasta coatings
• New takes on arrabbiata sauce with trending chiles
• Sofrito
• MSG for a light umami infusion
• Yuzu and yuzu kosho
• Miso

Try This

• Mexican Fideo Seco: oil-toasted spaghetti simmered in guajillo-tomato-chicken broth “sauce” + ground chorizo + avocado crema + crumbled queso fresco + squeeze of lime

On the Menu

OG Ramen, with noodles, sunflower seed broth, bean sprouts, scallions, bok choy, king oyster mushrooms, nori, chile threads
—Ramen Hood, Los Angeles

Pappardelle Huancaina, with chicken saltado, huancaina sauce
—Pachamama, Green Book, NJ

Jolly Spaghetti, topped with Jollibee’s signature sweet-style sauce (made with bananas), loaded with chunky slices of savory ham, ground meat, hot dog
—Jollibee, based in Los Angeles

4

Finishing Touches

Operators can complete pasta’s sensory experience with an indelible finishing touch. A customizable dollop, drizzle, sprinkling or splash of unexpected complexity will set the flavor bar high with an explosion of multi-dimensional flavor and aromatics.

Ingredient Treatments to Explore

• Burrata, stracciatella, whipped cheese, smoked scamorza
• Pickled golden raisins, pickled fennel, pickled green garlic, pickled mushrooms
• Truffled hot honey
• Preserved lemon or blood orange
• Gremolata riffs
• Global variations of chile crisp or salsa macha (Chinese, Mexican, Moroccan, Indian, Filipino)
• Fried capers or fried fresh herbs (basil, sage)
• Pork or duck cracklins and Mexican machaca

Try This

• Yuzu-Sake Shrimp Scampi: linguini + togarashi-buttered wild shrimp + yellow tomato + roasted garlic + yuzu-sake sabayon dollops

On the Menu

Tagliarini Bolognese al Centro: winter wheat pasta with tomato-braised pork belly, finished with red wine, topped with Calabrian gremolata and Chianti-soaked pecorino
—Bottega, Yountville, Calif.

Cacio e Pepe Bucatini, served in a warm pecorino Toscano cheese wheel
—Giada at The Cromwell, Las Vegas

Red King Ramen, with garlic, chile oil, cayenne, broth; topped with a ball of miso-infused pork and Nagi’s select cayenne with tender chashu
—Ramen Nagi, Palo Alto, Calif.