The Italian pasta consisting of short, diagonally cut tubes is penne.
The name penne comes from the Italian word for “quills” or “feather pens,” referring to the pasta’s angled ends. Its tube is formed by extruding dough through a die and cutting it diagonally, producing a shape that resembles a small quill.
Penne is commonly divided into penne lisce, with smooth sides, and penne rigate, with ridges. The ridged version is especially popular with thick or chunky sauces because the grooves help retain sauce.
Penne is used in baked pasta dishes, pasta salads, and sauces based on tomato, meat, vegetables, or cream. Although rigatoni is also tubular, it is generally larger, wider, and cut straight across rather than diagonally.