Macaroni

For other uses, see Macaroni (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with macaron or macaroon.

Macaroni

Alternative names	Maccheroni (in Italian)
Type	Pasta
Place of origin	Italy
Main ingredients	Durum wheat
Food energy (per 100 g serving)	350.5 kcal (1,466 kJ)
Nutritional value (per 100 g serving)	Protein 13 g Fat 2 g Carbohydrate 70 g
Cookbook: Macaroni   Media: Macaroni

Elbow macaroni die: front view (left) and rear view (right)

Macaroni (/ˌmækəˈroʊni/), known in Italian as maccheroni, is a pasta shaped like narrow tubes. Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as "elbow macaroni". Some home machines can make macaroni shapes but, like most pasta, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The common curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite sides of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.

The word macaroni is often used synonymously with elbow-shaped macaroni, as it is the variety most often used in macaroni and cheese recipes. In Italy and other countries, the noun maccheroni can refer to straight, tubular, square-ended pasta corta (lit. 'short pasta') or to long pasta dishes, as in maccheroni alla chitarra, which is prepared with long pasta such as spaghetti. In the United States, federal regulations define three shapes of dried pasta (macaroni, spaghetti, and vermicelli) as falling under the label of "macaroni product".