Italian Pasta Brands: 25 Quality Picks for Pasta Lovers

Ciao, pasta lovers! Are you ready to explore Italy’s finest pasta? Italian brands offer a world of flavors and textures, from ancient traditions to modern innovations.

Short on time? Check our at-a-glance guide below for the essentials. Hungry for more? Keep reading as we tour the 25 best Italian pasta brands. Andiamo!

The Art and Mastery of Italian Pasta: Italy’s Gift to the World

Dive into the world of the best pasta brands from Italy as we explore their cultural significance, regional specialties, exceptional ingredients, and unparalleled quality.

These make pasta a true gastronomic masterpiece and Italy’s cherished gift to the world.

Regional Specialties and Time-Honored Italian Pasta Brands

With over 300 varieties of pasta made in Italy, encompassing fresh, dry, long, short, textured, and whole-grain striped options, a diverse array of delectable and wholesome choices is available. Each region of Italy boasts its unique pasta specialties.

Many pasta brands have deep-rooted histories, some even dating back to the late nineteenth century. Although production techniques have evolved, these brands have maintained their connection to tradition, ensuring a genuine and tasty product.

Essential Ingredients and Quality Factors

Made simply from water and flour, pasta can vary significantly in quality.

To determine the caliber of the pasta on grocery store shelves, consider factors such as the type of flour (durum wheat semolina), origin (preferably Italian, as their wheat is grown with fewer pesticides), drawing (bronze is superior to Teflon), and drying (ideally 18 to 60 hours at temperatures below 50°C/122°F).

Industrial vs. Artisanal Pasta

Numerous factors differentiate industrial pasta from artisanal pasta, including the size of factories, automation levels, and the quantity of the final product. The choice of raw materials is essential, with artisanal pasta makers prioritizing the highest quality ingredients.

Artisanal pasta factories also have more freedom to create unique shapes, often highlighting traditional recipes. The appearance, cooking, and cost of artisanal pasta are distinct from industrial pasta, generally resulting in a higher price for the consumer.

Suggested Read: Dive into our guide: 100 Most Interesting Italian Food Facts You’ll Love!

The Art of Cooking Pasta Al Dente

In Italy, pasta is traditionally prepared “al dente,” which translates to “to the teeth” in Italian.

This culinary practice ensures that the pasta is slightly resistant when bitten rather than becoming overly soft or mushy. Italian chefs perfect the al dente texture and ensure pasta remains delicious and satisfying.

Suggested Read: How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian

How to Recognize the Best Pasta from Italy

To identify the best pasta brands, try a simple test at home. Place the pasta in a container of room temperature water and check it after a couple of hours.

It is of excellent quality if the pasta remains compact without releasing much starch into the water.

Another indicator of premium pasta is its protein content. If the content ranges between 12.5% and 15%, it signifies using high-quality semolina. This information is usually available in the nutritional values on the product label.

Additionally, bronze-drawn pasta provides better cooking resistance and retains sauce more effectively. Low-temperature drying, often mentioned on labels, influences the pasta’s physical and nutritional characteristics and ensures better cooking resistance.

Searching for the perfect Italian cooking gift? Check out our ultimate guide to the 28 Best Gift Ideas for Italian Food Lovers.

What Are the Best Italian Pasta Brands?

Discover the epitome of authentic Italian cuisine with our selection of the 25 best Italian pasta brands, listed in no particular order, each showcasing unique flavors and time-honored traditions.

1. Barilla: A Leader in Italian Pasta

Barilla Pasta is Italy’s largest dry pasta brand and dominates the European and American markets. With a long-standing reputation as one of the best Italian pasta brands in the United States, Barilla’s products are made with high-protein durum wheat flour, ensuring top quality.

In addition to offering various pasta shapes such as fusilli, spaghetti, and penne rigate, Barilla is Italy’s leading baked goods seller. Their distinctive blue packaging sets them apart from competitors. Barilla is renowned for their delicious rustic sauces, which perfectly complement its pasta.

Barilla products are in 98% of Italian supermarkets, making them a household staple in Italy and beyond.

2. Garofalo: A Time-Honored Pasta Tradition

Established in 1789 in Gragnano, Pasta Garofalo S.p.A. is a long-standing, highly respected brand in the Italian pasta market. The ideal climate and conditions of Gragnano have enabled the production of superior-quality pasta for centuries.

Today, the company enjoys immense success, utilizing advanced technologies and certifications to expand its reach to Japan and Europe. Garofalo sources the finest wheat from around the world, including Italy and Australia.

Their pasta-making process involves gentle drying and bronze drawing to achieve the perfect balance of color and porosity. With a high % protein value of 14%, their product range is extensive, including short and long pasta, specialty shapes, wholemeal, and gluten-free options.

Garofalo’s transparent packaging highlights the quality of its four pasta categories (durum wheat semolina, whole durum wheat, gluten-free, and organic for children) and over eighty formats.

3. Voiello: A Rich History of Excellence

For over 130 years, Voiello has been a symbol of quality pasta. Established in 1879, the company expanded its reach beyond its original location in Campania, growing its presence nationwide and abroad.

Many regard the Voiello pasta as one of the best-dried pasta from Italy. It is made from 100% golden wheat (Grano Aureo), which is highly valued for its high protein content (14%) and gluten.

The pasta is bronze-drawn, and its label has been recently redesigned in a retro style. Voiello offers diverse shapes, including linguine rigate, gran fusilli, and grooved spaghetti.

Their drying process involves low temperatures and slow drying times, ensuring optimal quality. Voiello’s long-standing reputation as one of the world’s best Italian pasta brands is a testament to its commitment to quality.

Suggested Reading: 14 Best Italian Olive Oil Brands to Buy.

4. La Molisana: A Century of Pasta Perfection

Founded in 1912, La Molisana has become a famous Italian pasta brand in the USA. Made from 100% Italian durum wheat flour, their products boast high protein values and nutrient-rich composition.

Famous Italian chefs highly regard La Molisana’s pasta dough, which has earned the Leonardo Quality Italy award for excellence.

With a focus on customer satisfaction, La Molisana’s elegant, simple packaging showcases the shape and color of the pasta. Spaghetti, penne rigate, and fusilli are among their many shapes, and they are highly sought after.

Pasta La Molisana’s dedication to quality has made it a favorite among pasta lovers worldwide.

5. Rummo: A Legacy of Quality

With a history spanning over 150 years, Pasta Rummo brings a legacy of goodness to each dish. Founded by Antonio Rummo in 1846, the company takes pride in its Slow Processing method, inspired by tradition.

Rummo pasta is known for its high-quality Italian ingredients, high protein index (14.5%), slow processing method with low-temperature drying, and bronze drawing.

The brand offers classic shapes, whole organic pasta, professional lines, egg pasta, baked or gluten-free options, and unique shapes like long candles and “Legendary” pasta. The multilingual label conveniently places essential information for consumers.

6. De Cecco: A Beloved Italian Pasta Classic

De Cecco is a highly appreciated and popular pasta brand in Italy and abroad. This historic Italian pasta boasts a high protein value (14%), bronze drawing, and slow-drying preparation.

Filippo De Cecco, who invented this method in 1889, is recognized in the prestigious Treccani Encyclopedia.

De Cecco pasta is known for the excellent water in the dough, sourced from the Majella mountains. The semolina comes from carefully selected European and extra-European grains. While a bit dated, the label is important and representative, featuring only Italian text.

Think you know your spaghetti from your fusilli? Dive into our Italian pasta trivia quiz and see if you’re al dente or still a bit doughy.

7. Divella: A Timeless Icon

Established in 1890, Divella is a renowned Italian pasta brand. Its first pasta was made by Francesco Divella near Bari. Divella’s philosophy revolves around quality control and consumer health and safety.

The brand offers a variety of pasta shapes, such as Spaghetti Restaurant, Ellicoidali Pasta, Lisce Zitoni, and Penne Ziti Rigate. Divella pasta is known and exported worldwide as an icon of Italy.

This southern Italy company produces an extensive range of pasta, with over 150 formats available. The packaging label is multilingual, catering to a global audience.

8. Granoro Dedicato: A Commitment to Excellence

Founded by Attilio Mastromauro in 1967, Granoro Pastificio produces more than 150 pasta shapes. Made with 100% Puglian wheat, Granoro Dedicato pasta uses coarse-grained semolina with high-quality gluten, 13% protein content, and pure spring water.

The pasta retains mature wheat’s rich golden hue and fragrance by utilizing a bronze extrusion process and gradually drying at reduced temperatures.

Granoro Dedicato pasta is known for maintaining its elasticity and consistency after cooking without becoming sticky. This is achieved by carefully selecting fine semolina with high protein content.

The brand offers a variety of pasta shapes, including traditional Puglian styles and original shapes like “clouds,” “cavatelli murgiani,” and “mushrooms.” The packaging features a pleasant and clear label in multiple languages.

9. Pastificio Liguori: A Time-Honored Tradition

Established in 1795, Pastificio Liguori is among the oldest pasta manufacturers in Italy. Liguori was the first Italian pasta maker to achieve IGP Certification.

Over the past decade, the company has become a prominent player in national and international markets, with a presence in 40 countries, including the USA, Japan, China, Australia, and Brazil.

Liguori pasta is crafted using the finest southern Italian hard grains and the purest water from the Monti Lattari Regional Park.

The spring water’s specific chemical-physical properties account for the pasta’s unique and unmistakable taste. With a high protein content of 14.5%, Liguori pasta is bronze-drawn and undergoes a slow drying process.

The packaging, updated in 2019, is made of recyclable paper and features multilingual labels, perfect for international supermarket shelves.

10. Delverde: Nature’s Finest

Delverde pasta is an increasingly popular high-quality product in Italy and abroad.

Made from carefully selected wheat sourced globally, Delverde pasta has a high protein content (14%) and is bronze-drawn. The manufacturing process involves slow drying and low cooking temperatures.

The secret ingredient is the water used, which comes from the nearby Verde River. It is untreated and low in mineral content, ideal for producing top-notch pasta. The recently updated, elegant label includes information in multiple languages.

11. Pastificio Gentile: Artisan Craftsmanship

Gragnano, Italy, is synonymous with pasta. When the Zampino family took over the Gentile artisan pasta factory in the 1980s, they preserved a legacy dating back to 1876.

Today, the traditional sun and wind drying process is perfectly replicated through the Cirillo Method, giving Gentile pasta its unique texture. Over forty bronze-drawn pasta shapes are produced exclusively with Puglian semolina from on-site milled wheat.

12. Mancini Pastificio Agricolo: A Passion for Excellence

Inspired by his grandfather’s love for farming, Massimo Mancini founded Mancini Pastificio Agricolo and dedicated seven years to developing a new durum wheat variety named Nonno Mariano.

Other durum wheat varieties are meticulously selected, cultivated, harvested, cleaned, and stored in adherence to eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

Fresh semolina is used in pasta production, resulting in a distinct taste and aroma. The pasta is also extruded through a bronze die, increasing surface porosity and roughness to better hold sauces.

The brand’s commitment to sustainability extends to its recyclable packaging and a factory constructed of wood, glass, and concrete nestled among its durum wheat fields.

13. Gerardo di Nola: A Passion for Pasta

In La Città dei Maccheroni (Gragnano), Gerardo Di Nola, established in 1870, has mastered the art of blending traditional practices with modern techniques.

The exceptional taste of their pasta is attributed to the slow drying process, limestone-free water sourced from Monte Faito streams, and Italian hard wheat semolina flour obtained from carefully chosen partners.

Like other pasta makers, Gerardo di Nola employs bronze dies to produce pasta shapes with the perfect texture for holding sauces and condiments.

Available in 36 countries, the brand’s packaging is hand-folded, reflecting its dedication to tradition and quality. Gerardo di Nola is genuinely one of Italy’s best pasta brands.

14. Pastificio Setaro: The Art of Artisanal Pasta

As the last remaining artisan pasta maker in Torre Annunziata, Setaro operates in a century-old tuff building, ideally suited for pasta drying.

The production process remains traditional and manual, including using original bronze dies, select durum wheat semolina, pure water, and a slow drying process ranging from 24 to 120 hours, depending on the pasta shape.

The invaluable knowledge of the ‘white art,’ passed down through generations, has contributed to the family business’s growth since 1939. Setaro offers a diverse range of pasta, including classic and unique shapes, soup, oven-baked, whole wheat, and aromatic pasta.

15. Benedetto Cavalieri: A Legacy of Excellence

The Cavalieri family has been in the pasta industry since 1872, perfecting the art of pasta making through generations. With a deep-rooted history in wheat cultivation and milling dating back to the 1800s, the Cavalieri process always begins with the finest durum wheat from the sunny hills of Puglia and Basilicata.

The pasta is then crafted using the ‘Delicato’ method, which involves lengthy kneading, slow processing, drawing, and low-temperature drying. This approach maximizes flavor while retaining the pasta’s natural consistency.

Benedetto Cavalieri offers 45 pasta varieties, ranging from Capellini d’Angelo to Farfalle, and an organic whole wheat pasta line for a healthier alternative.

16. Buitoni: Classic Italian Value

Buitoni is another historical Italian brand known for its classic pasta colors. With a protein content of 12% and semolina from both EU and non-EU sources, Buitoni pasta is highly appreciated by customers for its quick cooking time and affordable price.

You can savor top-quality spaghetti, penne, maccheroni, and more at affordable prices.

17. Agnesi: A Legacy of Italian Pasta Making

Founded in 1824, Agnesi is one of Italy’s oldest pasta manufacturers. Based in Imperia, Liguria, the company boasts a rich history of pasta-making expertise.

Agnesi is renowned for using high-quality durum wheat semolina and traditional bronze die extrusion methods. This technique gives their pasta a rough texture that is ideal for holding sauces.

Their product range includes classic shapes like spaghetti, penne, fusilli, and specialty cuts. With exports to over 80 countries, Agnesi has become a globally recognized Italian brand.

18. Pasta Zara: Global Reach with Italian Roots

Pasta Zara, founded in 1898 in Treviso, has grown to become one of Italy’s largest pasta exporters. The company produces many pasta shapes using 100% Italian durum wheat semolina.

Known for its state-of-the-art production facilities, Pasta Zara combines traditional pasta-making techniques with modern technology. Their commitment to quality has earned them several certifications, including BRC and IFS.

With products available in over 100 countries, Pasta Zara has established itself as a significant player in the global pasta market.

19. Alfieri: Piedmont’s Artisanal Egg Pasta Specialist

Pastificio Alfieri, founded in 1996 in Asti, Piedmont, has quickly established itself as a respected name in Italian pasta production. Despite being a relative newcomer, Alfieri has gained recognition for its commitment to artisanal methods and use of premium local ingredients.

The company specializes in egg pasta, a Piedmontese delicacy known for its rich flavor and delicate texture. Alfieri’s dedication to traditional pasta-making techniques and focus on regional specialties have helped it carve out a unique niche in the competitive Italian pasta market.

20. Marella: Puglia’s Artisanal Pasta Treasures

Pasta Marella, a family-run enterprise near Bari, embodies Puglia’s rich culinary heritage. This artisanal brand uses traditional methods, bronze dies, and local durum wheat semolina to create superior pasta. Their low-temperature drying technique results in a porous texture that excellently holds sauces.

Marella’s product line features regional specialties, with Orecchiette being a standout choice. They also offer frilled ribbon pasta, which provides an ideal texture for various dishes. By combining time-honored techniques with local ingredients, Marella delivers an authentic taste of Puglia in every bite.

21. Felicetti: Organic Excellence from the Dolomites

Felicetti, founded in 1908 in Predazzo, Trentino, is renowned for its organic and whole grain pasta. The company uses spring water from the Dolomite mountains and high-quality organic grains in their production process.

Felicetti is particularly famous for its Monograno line, which features pasta made from single-origin grains like Matt (an ancient variety of durum wheat), Kamut, and Farro.

Their commitment to sustainability and artisanal production methods has earned them recognition among pasta connoisseurs worldwide.

22. La Rosa: Traditional Craftsmanship Meets Modern Innovation

While less known internationally, La Rosa has cultivated a loyal following within Italy for its high-quality durum wheat semolina pasta.

The company’s philosophy is deeply rooted in the Italian saying “Avere le mani in pasta” (to have a hand in pasta making). This philosophy embodies the company’s hands-on approach to ensuring quality throughout production and distribution.

La Rosa has also entered the gluten-free pasta market, developing products that match the quality of traditional pasta. Their commitment to using pure gluten-free flour without additives, preservatives, or sugars sets them apart in this specialized segment.

Through extensive testing and refinement, La Rosa has created a gluten-free pasta line that maintains the company’s high standards for taste and texture.

23. Antico Pastificio Morelli: Tuscany’s Artisanal Gem

Established in 1860 in Tuscany, Antico Pastificio Morelli is a family-run artisanal pasta maker. The company is known for its unique production method of adding wheat germ back into the semolina, which enhances the pasta’s nutritional value and flavor.

Morelli offers a wide range of traditional and innovative pasta shapes, including some infused with truffles, squid ink, and other distinctive ingredients. Their commitment to artisanal methods and high-quality ingredients has made them a favorite among pasta enthusiasts.

24. Pastificio Riscossa: Puglia’s Pasta Pioneer

Founded in 1902 in Corato, Puglia, Pastificio Riscossa has grown from a small family-run operation to a significant player in the Italian pasta industry. The company is known for using 100% Italian durum wheat semolina and adhering to traditional pasta-making methods.

Riscossa offers various pasta shapes and has expanded its product line to include ready-made sauces and other Italian food products. Their commitment to quality and tradition, combined with modern production techniques, has helped them establish a presence in numerous international markets.

25. Anfosso: Ligurian Tradition in Every Medallion

Anfosso, a company rooted in Ligurian tradition since 1945, is primarily known for its high-quality olive oils but has also made a mark in the pasta world.

Their standout product is a unique medallion-shaped durum wheat pasta; each piece is individually hand-stamped in a nod to medieval Ligurian nobility.

Crafted in the picturesque region of Liguria, home to the Italian Riviera, Anfosso pasta is made from premium durum wheat semolina flour. The company’s commitment to tradition and quality, honed through decades of olive oil production, shines through in its pasta-making process.

The distinctive medallion shape pairs exceptionally well with pesto sauces, a Ligurian specialty. This harmonious match highlights Anfosso’s deep connection to its regional culinary roots, offering pasta enthusiasts a taste of Italy’s beautiful coastal region in every bite.

In conclusion, utilizing the best ingredients and time-honored techniques, these top 25 Italian pasta brands embody the authentic Italian pasta experience and showcase Italy’s remarkable culinary legacy. Treat yourself to a true taste of Italy by savoring these exceptional pasta choices. Buon appetito!

Further Reading:

• How to Cook Pasta Like an Italian: Essential Steps
• 10 Traditional Italian Pasta Dishes You Must Try
• French Bread vs. Italian Bread: What’s the Difference?