5 Substitutes For Pastina In Your Soup

We all might remember when Ronzoni famously announced the discontinuation of its popular pastina pasta in 2023. Luckily, the brand has brought pastina back since then — and there are other brands like Barilla that make it as well. Even so, you might not have a box of pastina in the back of your kitchen cabinet, or it could be hard to find at the grocery stores in your area. That's where we come in with five perfect substitutes to use in your soup.

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The perk of pastina in soups, like in our Italian green soup recipe (other than its adorable star-like shape that looks like it's plucked out of a storybook) is its size and texture. Its small size results in a rather quick cooking time, and the pasta will still have time to absorb some of the flavors of the soup. That means it can cook right in the broth without the need to boil a separate pot of water first. Its texture makes a nice contrast with the ingredients in the pot that have more of a bite. And to be clear, pastina is a broader category of pasta that can include shapes other than those mini stars that most of us are accustomed to eating. Fret not, because the following options (including some that are technically pastina) will also offer a similar taste, texture, and cook time despite not having that iconic shape.

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Acini di pepe

The first substitute for pastina in soup is acini de pepe, which translates to seeds of pepper in English due to its shape. In fact, it's a type of pastina that has a small, round shape that resembles couscous. Because it's a type of pastina, it's also made from durum wheat flour like the star-shaped pasta in discussion. That means that both its taste and texture will be relatively similar to the pastina you're used to cooking with.

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Depending on the recipe, acini de pepe cooks in six or seven minutes, so add it to the pot towards the end of the cooking process or it might overcook and turn gummy. Ever had Italian wedding soup? That's one of the more popular dishes that relies on acini de pepe, including in our rustic Italian wedding soup recipe. You can find it from major pasta brands including De Cecco, so it should be available on most grocery store shelves for your pot of homemade soup.

Arborio rice

Arborio rice is a variety of short-grain rice, but that doesn't mean you can't replace pastina with it in soups. It's often used to make parmesan risotto, but there are differences between pastina and risotto, mainly that the former is a category or pasta, whereas the latter is a dish made with Arborio rice. Its small size and ability to absorb liquid and flavors quite well is what makes it an ideal replacement for pastina in soups.

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Because of its ability to absorb liquids like other grains, which is why it works so well in risotto, it's important not to toss it into the pot too soon. Its high starch content lends itself to thickening soups if your pot came out too brothy. You will want to cook it until it's tender — not until it soaks up the broth. For that reason, add it to the soup towards the last 10 minutes of the recipe. And to make sure it's really done properly, here are our tips to cook rice in soup to consider first.

Ditalini

You may not have heard of ditalini, but you might want to use it to replace pastina in your soup for a few reasons. It's a rather small pasta, so it has similar perks to pastina in homemade soups. However, ditalini is tubular, almost like miniature rigatoni. Ditalini roughly means small thimbles in Italian, which portrays the pasta shape well. You can find it with or without ridges, but ditalini with ridges will help the broth, herbs, and spices cling on to each piece.

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As you might guess, ditalini is also a type of pastina pasta, so it's made of durum wheat flour. It will cook directly in the pot of soup and be ready to go in less than 10 minutes so check its doneness after eight to nine minutes. One of its popular uses is in pasta e fagioli, a hearty soup that combines vegetables and beans in a broth. Give it a try with our vegetarian pasta e fagioli or classic pasta e fagioli recipes, and thank us later.

Israeli couscous

This next option comes from Israel in the form of couscous. Now, Israeli couscous is different from Moroccan couscous, and those differences are why it works well as a pastina substitute in soups. Made from semolina flour, this couscous is in the shape of mini pearls, meaning it will cook quickly but also provide bites of texture in soups. In fact, you may find it labeled as pearl couscous from some brands. You can even find tricolor Israeli couscous to give pops of color to your soup — an aesthetic that pastina can't offer.

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To add Israeli couscous to soups, the technique isn't far off from pastina. It will take a bit longer to cook but should be ready in about 15 minutes, so adjust the recipe accordingly. It's a popular addition to many chicken-forward soups for a contrast in textures, so use it in your favorite chicken pastina soup recipe to switch it up. Another option is to replace the noodles in our easy chicken noodle soup recipe.

Orzo

The last option to replace the pastina in that pot of soup is orzo, which you might have used in many varieties of the dish already. If you haven't used it, orzo looks like rice but is actually a variety of pastina pasta. It's small and shaped like an oval, so it will cook rather quickly like the other substitutes on our list. It's made from semolina pasta, unlike the star-shaped pasta we discussed at the top.

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The key to adding orzo to any soup is to either cook it separately or add it to the pot near the end of the process, just like many of these other options. Otherwise, the orzo will come out mushy and not exhibit that bite that you want in the spoonfuls of soup. Give it a try with our "marry me" Italian sausage orzo soup recipe, which recommends cooking it for 10 minutes to achieve al dente. Another classic way to use the ingredient is in this chickpea orzo soup. You can also try orzo in any soup recipe that uses other pastina pastas or even rice for similar textures.

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