catering for special diets

Italian Noodle Meal Ideas

Whether you have a large family that loves pasta or you're planning a special event, buying Italian noodles via a wholesale retailer can save you money. You'll purchase the pasta in bulk, which will help keep costs down while ensuring your pantry stays full.

There is a wide variety of wholesale Italian noodles available, such as spaghetti, cavatappi, capelini, ziti, ditalini, elbow macaroni, farfalle, fettucini, fusilli, lasagna, and linguine. Gluten-free noodles are also an option for those with dietary restrictions.

Although all of the noodle types contain the same basic ingredients, including semolina or durum wheat flour, as well as other types of grains, the different shapes work better with specific recipes. Because of this, it's convenient to have a range of pasta types on hand at all times, especially if you love to cook. 

After purchasing the Italian noodles in bulk, keep them fresh by storing them in air-tight containers in a cool, dry location. If you have fresh pasta, however, you'll need to store it in your refrigerator.

Here are some meal ideas using Italian pasta:

1. Lasagna

Lasagna is a handy meal option in that it can feed a lot of people, making it ideal for holidays and family get-togethers. You can serve it family-style on a buffet table, and then refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for later.

Traditional lasagna is made using an Italian sausage-based sauce, but you can create a vegetarian version using plain marinara. Enhance the flavor with a variety of sauteed vegetables, such as mushrooms, squash, and zucchini. 

Stuffed shells are an alternative to lasagna, but they require tube-shaped manicotti noodles instead. You stuff the ingredients into the pasta, rather than layer them on, but the result is a similar flavor. 

2. Pasta Salad 

On hot summer evenings, the last thing you'll want to do is turn on your oven, so create a fresh and filling pasta salad instead. Boil any type of bite-sized noodle, such as bowtie-shaped farfalle or corkscrew-shaped cavatappi, earlier in the day, and allow it to cool in the refrigerator.

Next, mix the chilled noodles with the ingredients of your choice to create a fast and easy meal or side dish. Mix-in ideas include tuna, olives, shredded or cubed cheese, cooked shrimp, green, red, orange or yellow bell peppers, diced tomatoes, avocado, salami, and fresh corn. 

Add either Italian dressing or a olive oil and red wine vinegar mixture, and stir well to evenly distribute. 


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