Advertisement

What is Britain's favourite pasta shape?

Fusilli is a popular choice amongst British people. (Getty Images)
Fusilli is a popular choice amongst British people. (Getty Images)

Pasta is a popular choice among Brits. Perhaps it’s the versatility or the non-offensive way it’s favoured by even the fussiest of eaters, but 68% of British people eat it on a weekly basis. 42% of us eat it more than once a week.

It won’t come as too much of a surprise, then, that when it comes to the shape of our pasta, we’ve got opinions - and plenty of them.

The corkscrew-style fusilli shape has taken top spot, according to YouGov, with 19% of people favouring this style of pasta for their weekly meals.

Read more: Parents are “tricked” into buying sugary snacks

Spaghetti (15%) fought off the competition to land in second place.

Spaghetti’s popularity is most likely down to it being a staple part of spaghetti bolognese, a firm favourite as far as Italian food exports go.

In third place came the humble penne pasta. Penne, which comes from Bologna, got its name in 1865 because it resembles a pen nib.

Although tagliatelle made it into fourth place, there was a bit of a divide between the younger and older generations.

While 13% of over 65s picked it as their favourite pasta, only 7% of 18-24 year olds did.

Read more: Toblerone launches orange-flavoured bar

Tortellini came in 5th place. The stuffed pasta shells are an almost smaller version of ravioli, which didn’t make it onto the list.

Tortellini is often ready-made in supermarkets and takes just minutes to cook through, making it a good option for those who are looking for a quick meal.

If tagliatelle isn’t in favour with 18-24 year olds, then that’s because conchiglie is.

Regularly cooked with chorizo, cheese and tomatoes, under 25s were almost twice as likely to pick this underrated pasta compared to the rest of the population.

Farfalle and the American favourite, macaroni, clinched the final two top spots. They both received 4% of the overall vote.

Top 8 pasta shapes:

  1. Fusilli

  2. Spaghetti

  3. Penne

  4. Tagliatelle

  5. Tortellini

  6. Conchiglie

  7. Farfalle

  8. Macaroni