Rotelle is the Italian pasta shaped like small wheels and often used in soups or pasta salads. Its name comes from the Italian word for “little wheels,” matching the pasta’s circular outline and spokes.
The shape is designed to catch ingredients in sauces, dressings, and broths. Rotelle is commonly made from durum-wheat semolina and water, like many dried pasta shapes. It is also popular in cold pasta salads because the wheel-like structure holds small pieces of vegetables, cheese, and dressing.
Rotelle is sometimes marketed in English-speaking countries as wagon-wheel pasta. That informal name describes its appearance but does not identify the traditional Italian term. The shape is also occasionally confused with rotini, a spiral pasta, or radiatori, whose ridged form resembles miniature radiators.
Pasta shapes often have multiple names across countries and manufacturers. For this reason, “rotelle” is the precise answer when the defining feature is a wheel with spokes rather than a spiral or radiator-like profile.