Last updated on October 18th, 2024
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between linguine and fettuccine?
Are you about to cook a pasta recipe and and you’re wondering if you can substitute one for the other?
Let’s take a look at what linguine and fettuccine are, and answer some common questions about them:
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What is Linguine?
Linguine (pronounced leen-GWEE-neh in Italian) is a long, ribbon-shaped pasta about the length of fettuccine or spaghetti. It is slightly elliptical and about 4 millimeters (about ⅛ inch) in diameter. Not to be confused with a close relative smaller in size, linguinette, linguine is not quite as wide as fettuccine but much more so than spaghetti.
Fun Fact: The name linguine literally means “little tongues” in Italian and if you look closely that’s exactly what they remind you of.
Where to Find Linguine
Traditionally linguine was made fresh with durum wheat flour and water in pasta shops but with modernization, it is mostly made with white flour and sold dried. It is easy to find both white and whole wheat options in almost any large grocery store.
Nice To Know: It is sold almost exclusively dried as it is extremely difficult to mimic by hand the exact oval-like shape of the noodle.
Best Sauces for Linguine
Linguine originally comes from the seaport town of Genoa, capital of the Liguria region, which explains why it is often served with fish sauces or pesto sauce (also originating in Genoa). The thicker and wider shape of the linguine tends to suck in and plump up with whatever sauce you are serving it with which is why oily, chunky fish sauces are ideal such as clam sauce.
Cooking Linguine
Although not as popular in Italy as fettuccine, we love to eat linguine because we can taste the ‘bite’ of the pasta better when it is cooked al dente.
Fettuccine can sometimes lose its hard center and is easier to overcook (especially when fresh) while linguine tends to stay al dente meanwhile absorbing all the tasty sauce into the noodle itself.
Cook time ranges from 9-12 minutes, and I recommend cooking the pasta for the last couple of minutes directly in the sauce in a pan over medium-low heat (unless it is pesto which is best tossed in the serving dish).
Make sure you Cook Your Pasta Like an Italian!
Common Linguine Recipes in Italy
Linguine agli scampi – with scampi (Sicily)
Linguine con pesto – with pesto sauce (Genoa)
Linguine con pesto di pistacchi – with pistachio pesto (Genoa)
Linguine alle vongole – with clams (Campania or Southern Italy)
Linguine con salmone e zucchine (modern spin)
Linguine a cernia – with grouper (Southern Italy)
Linguine alle seppie – with squid (Southern Italy)
Linguine al limone – with lemon (Southern Italy)
What is Fettuccine?
Fettuccine (pronounced feh-too-chee-neh) meaning “little ribbons” is a long flat pasta about ¼ inch (6.5 millimeters) wide and found primarily throughout Tuscany and Lazio.
Traditionally made from egg and flour, fettuccine is often confused with tagliatelle, which are more narrow and paper thin. This being said, they are commonly used synonymously and are interchangeable when cooking as they are very similar in shape and size.
Good to Know: Fettucce is a synonym for fettuccine.
Where to Find Fettuccine
Just like linguine, you can find dried versions readily available but also fresh fairly easily. Dried fettuccine is common in most supermarkets throughout Italy while fresh is more commonly found at pasta shops. Fresh fettuccine is also mass-produced in Tuscany and Lazio, from where it is said to have originated.
Fact: Unlike linguine, fettuccine comes in different ‘flavors’ such as spinach, beetroot or squid ink, each of which turns the pasta from a pale yellow to light hues of green, pink or gray, respectively, and tends to be richer in flavor from the addition of the eggs.
Making Fettuccine by Hand
Although it is a bit of a dying art, fettuccine is still ‘fatto in casa’ or made at home in many households, especially in the countryside. The most common technique is to roll the egg dough very thin, similar to pie crust but even thinner, and then roll it into a long tub and slice into thin ribbons. It is quite easy to do and kids love to get involved.
The trick is to keep your board well-floured! If not cooked that day, it must be formed into small ‘nests’ and frozen. And remember, fresh pasta only cooks for a few minutes. You know it is ready when it floats to the top!
Best Sauces for Fettuccine
Common ways to serve fettuccine are with more robust sauces that pair well with the heft of the noodle such as “ragu’ or meat sauce, with porcini mushrooms in Tuscany or with artichokes, a common ingredient among the Jewish community in Rome.
Because fettuccine is such a ‘flexible’ pasta shape (unlike linguine which doesn’t pair well with many sauces according to Italian culinary code) more modern recipes have been written for fettuccine to include cream combined with bacon, peas, or walnuts – and even truffles.
Similarities and Differences Between Linguine and Fettuccine
On the whole, linguine is a lot less common and versatile than fettuccine. Because fettuccine is often confused with tagliatelle, it is much more widespread throughout Italy’s 20 regions. You might find it slightly thicker, perhaps slightly wider but generally the taste and overall ‘mouth experience’ is very similar.
Because linguine is confined primarily to seafood sauces it is less widespread and eaten in coastal towns.
Like most Italians, I prefer the taste and texture of fettuccine because the egg makes for a richer dish.
The lightness of linguine lends itself well to chunks of fresh fish, a drizzle of oil or melted butter, or thin sauces rather than rich meat sauces and heavier sauces that coat thicker fettuccine well. Warmer coastal climates and the local fish economies are optimal conditions for linguine, while the slightly cooler mainland regions of Lazio and Tuscany, which are large producers of red meat, tend to prefer fettuccine.
Because of this, linguine and fettuccine are not considered interchangeable in recipes. Of course, your pasta isn’t going to taste bad if you substitute fettuccine for linguine, but each recipe is written to suit the characteristics of the pasta it calls for.
Our Italian Family’s Preference – Linguine or Fettuccine?
Where we live in southern Tuscany, fettuccine al ragu (although referred to as tagliatelle colloquially) is always on the menu in both restaurants and in our home.
Cook time ranges greatly on whether it is fresh or dried from 3-8 minutes which makes for a very quick meal for hungry mouths.
We pair it with Tuscan ragu – a red meat sauce with a base of tomatoes and beef stewed for hours on end and top it with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Leftovers can be tossed with a bechamel sauce (a white sauce thickened with flour), covered in parmesan cheese and baked at 350 for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is melted and becomes crispy on top. Frozen ragu and piles of dried fettuccine are staples in our pantry!
Read about the Most Popular Italian Pasta Sauces.
Common Fettuccine Recipes in Italy
Fettuccine al prosciutto crudo – with cured ham (Tuscany)
Fettuccine ai funghi – with mushrooms (Tuscany)
Fettuccine ai porcini e salsiccia – with porcini mushrooms and sausage (Tuscany)
Fettuccine al ragu – with meat sauce (Rome / Tuscany)
Fettuccine con panna, prosciutto e piselli – with cream, cured ham, and peas
Fettuccine ai carciofi – with artichokes (Rome)
Fettuccine al ragu bianco – with a non-tomato meat sauce (Tuscany)
Fettuccine al tartufo – with truffles (Tuscany)
Fettuccine al ragù di ossobuco – with a veal shank sauce (Rome)
Linguine vs Fettuccine – A Summary
| LINGUINE | FETTUCCINE |
| Flour and water | Flour, water and eggs |
| Narrow and elliptical in cross section | Wider and flat in cross section |
| Pairs well with light sauces such as fish and pesto | Pairs well with heartier sauces such as meat ragu and porcini mushroom |
| Dried | Dried and fresh |
| Store-bought only | Store-bought and homemade |
| Sold only as plain variety (no added flavor) | Sold as spinach, beetroot and squid ink varieties |
| Cook time 9-12 minutes | Cook time 3-8 minutes |
You may also like our article on Linguine vs Spaghetti.
Linguine vs Fettuccine FAQ
Fettuccine Alfredo is most commonly known as an Italo-American dish but it is actually a traditional first course pasta dish made with butter and parmesan cheese. The American recipe, however, includes cream.
Italians do eat fettuccine alfredo, primarily in Rome where it was developed.
Fettuccine is easily made using a pasta maker with the starter attachments. Linguine can also be made with a pasta maker but the attachment is less common so be sure to check your model.
Linguine does work well with tomato sauce but Italians would never serve it like this as tomato sauce is typically served with spaghetti or a short pasta such as penne.
