Cookbooks with pasta recipes would often list out the specific type of pasta needed to make the recipe. 

However, if you find yourself falling short of one type of pasta, then you don’t have to be bothered. 

With each pasta shape, there are a couple of others that can easily be used as substitutes with nearly the same if not exactly the same result. 

Linguini and tagliolini pasta are two varieties that can easily be substituted for each other. 

These pasta varieties share many similarities; they are made up of long, thin strands of nearly the same size that they are almost indistinguishable. 

However, there is a slight difference between these two pastas, and in this post, we are going to highlight the difference between linguini and tagliolini. 

Difference between tagliolini and linguini

Taglioni is an egg pasta that is made up of long ribbon-like strands typically served with butter sauces.  

Linguini is a long strand pasta from Liguria where it is traditionally paired with seafood sauce or pesto 

While both pasta shapes are very similar in appearance, the primary difference is in their cross sections.

Unlike Tagliolini which is essentially flat and shaped like a ribbon, Linguini has an oval cross section and is more cylindrical in shape. Linguine is also slightly wider compared to tagliolini  

Tagliolini description

A ribbon shaped long cut pasta that is popular in the Molise and Piedmont regions of Italy. 

This pasta is known as tajarin or tagliarini. 

It is also a variant of tagliatelle, a similar ribbonlike pasta that is at least twice the width of tagliolini 

Tagliolini is made from egg, semolina flour, salt and water. This pasta is very flat, and has strands that are usually between 2-3 mm in width  

This paper-thin pasta is often used fresh although the dry pasta can be found in grocery stores  

Apart from linguini, another good substitute for this pasta is angel hair pasta. 

What is tagliolini served with?

This pasta is traditionally paired with butter-based sauce.  

It can also be paired with sauce made from the drippings of roast meat known as sugo d’arrosto,  

Tagliolini could be paired with other light sauces or even used in Italian soups.  

To prepare a pasta dish with this type of pasta, the pasta is first boiled in water within two to three minutes for the dried pasta but shorter for the fresh pasta.

The pasta is then strained, served in a sauce or added to soups. 

Linguini description

A variety of pasta from the Liguria region. This classic Italian pasta is also popular all over the world.

It can also be spelled as Linguine. Its name means “little tongues in English.

The strands of this pasta are long and also very thin.

They may appear somewhat flat but on closer inspection, you’d notice that it is actually oval or elliptical in cross section.  

The strands of linguini are therefore more of a cylindrical shape. 

This pasta is made from durum wheat semolina and eggs. It is readily available fresh and dry in grocery stores.

 It is also an extruded pasta, and it is about 4 mm in diameter It can also be used as substitute for spaghetti in recipes.

Linguine can be made with whole-wheat. It can be colored with spinach which gives it a green color or other food coloring agents. 

Linguettine is a variant of linguine pasta the shares the same elliptical cross section but is much thinner than linguine. 

What is linguini served with?

Liguria is a coastal region hence this pasta is often used with seafoods including clams, shrimp, mussel. It can be found in various popular Ligurian dishes 

It goes best with thinner sauces. Linguini can be paired with olive oil. This pasta is also paired with pesto sauce or tomato sauce 

Linguini can also be made into stir fry.

To prepare linguini, put the pasta in salted boiling water for up to 10 minutes to soften, drain and dress with a sauce.