As kids, a bowl of mac and cheese just seemed to taste better if the pasta was in the shape of our favorite cartoon character. As adults...well...we still love pasta that comes in silly shapes! What about you?
Besides the fun shapes, we actually really like the texture of pasta like this. Because all the little corners and joints take a bit longer to cook, the outside parts get really soft. Every bite is a little squishy and a little chewy! We know this breaks about every rule in the Italian cookbook, but we love it.
We keep an eye out for funny-shaped pasta when we're on vacation. Packages like the elk pasta in the picture above are one of the few tourist schticks (or Ikea schitcks!) we actually enjoy. Other than that, we have to admit that some of the best pasta shapes come in that infamous blue box with the powdered cheese mix. We always keep an eye out for the fun ones. (Toss the cheese packet though - it's so easy to make our own!)
Do you love these silly pasta shapes, too? What are your favorites?
Related: Oodles of Noodles: 4 Things to do with Leftover Pasta
(Image: Flickr member ann gav licensed under Creative Commons)
Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Make Chocolate Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping with Only 2 Ingredients
Our reading list
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
30 DIY Projects for the 3-Day Weekend
Tina Wilson's Striking Style 
Comments (12)
Yes! Even wagon wheels are way more fun to eat than regular pasta!
I am more of a traditionalist. I prefer my mac and cheese to be made with the usual elbow pasta. I am however attracted to all the funky shapes but am always disappointed with it whenever I try a new one.
Oh my...a friend brought mac and cheese made with noodles shaped like you-know-which part of the male body to my potluck bridal shower (NOT bachelorette party, mind you) that had my grandmother, future mother-in-law and a handful of other elder relatives in attendance. I didn't have a problem with funny shaped pasta before, but I'll stick with traditional after that traumatic experience!
I think they're great! Especially the ones shaped in a way that they hold lots of cheese - it's like a surprise with every bite. Definitely more fulfilling than the plain old elbow pasta in my own opinion!
Homemade shells and cheese! Love the way the shells hold the cheese, and my three-year-old son likes the novelty of sea shells.
Ha! We just had pasta moose (mooses? meese? lol) last Monday night. They were delicious. I love pasta shapes especially well when you're using a chunky sauce (which I was). Chunky sauces tend to get left on the plate when you're twirling regular noodles.
I love oddly shaped pasta. The texture is great and a lot less boring than smooth pastas.
Maybe I'm a rarity but I have always found the texture of novelty shapes disappointing. I prefer the standard elbows or shells for mac & cheese; shells are the best for holding sauces.
there is an online store called The Pasta Shoppe (www.pastashoppe.com) based out of Nashville that sells a TON of uniquely-shaped pasta. i have a friend who likes horses, so i bought her the "Horsin' Around" pasta mix for Christmas - it had pasta shaped like horse heads and horseshoes. they have pasta for different sports, hobbies, holidays, seasons, even college athletic teams! they would make great gifts for a fellow food-lover :)
I hated shaped pasta when I was a kid. The texture grossed me out. Now I love it for its cheese-holding properties!
My kids love the alphabet pasta from Trader Joe's. Now lunchtime is also time for word games.
@lorigami: Moosen!
I'm a fan of fun shaped pastas from time to time. I like the chewy texture... As for my mac n cheese though, Its usually small shells or spirals.