Natural form

Dry fusilli: compact corkscrew spirals with three ridged edges running the full length.

Shows the defining spiral geometry and ridged surface that distinguishes fusilli from other short pasta shapes.

Grains & Rice

Fusilli

Spiraled pasta that twirls up sauce and dresses cold salads

Corkscrew twists that trap pesto and chunky sauces in their grooves, and hold their shape in a cold pasta salad. Keep the dry box airtight.

Fusilli are the cheerful corkscrews of the pasta drawer — short spirals of durum-wheat dough whose twisted, ridged form is a sauce-catching machine. The tight spiral creates nooks and ridges that trap everything from a clingy pesto to a chunky ragù, which is exactly why fusilli is a favorite for pasta salads: the curls hold a dressing and look generous on the plate without going soft and slumped. (Some shapes are extruded as a true helix; others are short cut spirals — both behave the same way.) Sturdy and forgiving, fusilli holds its shape in bakes and one-pot dishes, plays nicely with vegetables that lodge in its twists, and is a reliable family pasta when you want something a little more playful than penne. Standard durum semolina means it cooks fast and contains gluten.

Measured in: g
Storage: Airtight

Allergens

Gluten

Find it in

Pasta Grains

Types & varieties

Fusilli

The short corkscrew — the everyday default for salads and sauces.

Fusilli lunghi

Long, springy spirals — a dramatic twist on a strand pasta.

Rotini

Tighter, often three-bladed spirals (the American cousin) — same grip.

Whole-wheat / tricolor fusilli

Nuttier whole-grain or spinach/tomato-tinted versions for color.

How to cook

Fusilli cooks like any short dried pasta. For salads, cook to just-tender (a hair past al dente, since it firms up cold) and toss with dressing while warm so the spirals absorb it.

Boil in plenty of salted water 10–12 min
Reserve pasta water; drain but don't rinse for hot dishes
For pasta salad, you can rinse to cool and stop the cooking, then dress while still warm
Toss with sauce off the heat so it settles into the twists

How to sauce

Those spirals are built to grab, so fusilli is happiest with sauces and bits that lodge in the curls — pesto, chunky vegetable sauces, and crumbly meat ragùs cling beautifully.

Great with pesto and clingy, oily sauces
Catches chunky vegetable and meat sauces in its twists
A salad workhorse — holds dressing without going limp
Toss with small diced veg, beans, or olives that nestle in the spirals

Common uses

Pasta salads (cold and warm)Pesto pastaChunky vegetable and meat saucesBaked pasta casserolesOne-pot pastas with beans and greensCreamy sauces that pool in the twistsKid-friendly weeknight dinnersSoups with short pasta

Tips & pitfalls

Fusilli is the pasta-salad champion — its spirals hold dressing where smooth shapes shed it.
Dress salad pasta while warm so it soaks up flavor, then chill.
Pesto clings to the corkscrews better than to almost any other shape.
Reserve pasta water to loosen thick sauces into a glossy coat.
Pick ridged fusilli for the best sauce grip.

Nutrition

No USDA FoodData Central match for Fusilli yet. We surface a per-100 g profile once a generic whole-food entry is matched and verified.

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Fusilli Pasta
BERRUTO · kg · Bonpreu
€1.39
Armando Fusilli
Armando · 500 g · Mercadona
€1.40
Garofalo Long Fusilli Pasta
GAROFALO · kg · Bonpreu
€2.95
Felicia Gluten-Free Fusilli Pasta
Felicia · 500 g · Mercadona
€2.05
Gluten-Free Fusilli Pasta
BERRUTO · kg · Bonpreu
€1.65

Good to know

Flavor & texture: Mild, wheaty; springy corkscrews with ridges that grip sauce
Cook ratio & time: Boil in abundant salted water 10–12 min (al dente = 1 min under)
Soak?: No — boil from dry
Nutrition: ~158 kcal/100g cooked; ~5.8g protein, ~1.8g fiber; contains gluten
How to store: Dry box airtight, cool, dark — keeps 1–2 years

Substitutes