When you see pastas as similar looking as angel hair and capellini, people tend to assume there is some big difference that they’re missing. If someone somewhere went through the trouble of giving them a different name and your favorite pasta brand bothered making both of them, surly there must be something that makes them better suited to different uses. Usually, that way of thinking is right.
One of the best examples is spaghetti and bucatini. On the surface they are almost identical, but bucatini’s hollow center makes it better at clinging to heavier and chunkier sauces like Bolognese. So angel hair and capellini must have some similar relationship, right? Well, kinda, but for once, the difference between the two pastas is so small that they really are entirely interchangeable.
The only thing separating angel hair and capellini is thickness, but in this case, you might need a microscope to spot it. Angel hair is the thinnest pasta, being as small 0.78 millimeters thick, while the low end of capellini is usually about .85 millimeters. That’s it, that’s the difference, less than one-tenth of a millimeter on average. Other than that, they are both smooth, round, long pastas. The similarity between the two is even in the name, as capellini is Italian for “little hairs,” and the Italian name for angel hair is capelli d’angelo. So this is one blessed case where you don’t have to fret over which pasta shape is the best one for your sauce.
Less than .1 millimeters separates angel hair from capellini
The difference between angel hair and capellini can get even more confusing because some pasta companies and sources use the two terms completely interchangeably — or just claim that they are literally the same thing. While this might as well be the case, it is true that they are labeled differently in Italy based on that small size difference, so while they are functionally the same, they aren’t the same product. But because the two pastas share that incredibly thin size, both angel hair and capellini should be cooked quickly and delicately to make sure they don’t get mushy, and they can be done in less than two minutes and work well in the same dishes.
The big key for either capellini or angel hair is going with very light sauces. Pesto is a great choice for both, but light Italian style cheese sauces like cacio e pepe that are made with heavy cream can also be great. Or go super basic with a comfort food favorite and just do buttered noodles. And while you want to avoid too many additions, a simple, classic marinara sauce is a standard pairing, as long as you don’t go too heavy on the sauce. Finally the two pastas can also be added to soups to make a more hearty meal without making them too heavy. Both angel hair and capellini give you lots of opportunities for a light pasta dinner, just don’t worry which one you pick.
