I've been buying DeCecco - I have four different kinds in my pantry at the moment, but I also have Colavita.

I used to boycott Barilla because of homophobic remarks made by their CEO, but he appears to have learned the error of his ways.

The brand I bought most recently is Corex, but it comes in a bag rather than a box. I bought some tiny macaroni (ditalini) that I will be using in bok choy soup for lunch today.

I also grew up on Ronzoni and Prince (Anthony!!!). I don't like starchy or toothy pasta and use Barilla now. DeLallo is a good brand but it can be starchy and toothy. I really like their gemelli though.

I’ve been using both Barilla and DeCecco for many years now. I like to buy lasagna sheets from a local Italian deli.

I grew up with DeCecco, and still like it, but my favorite is Rustichella d’Abruzzo. Well, it's bagged, not boxed, but so good! There was a white bag, maybe Rummo, that was the only radiatorre in the stores here, a long time ago, which I used in my then favorite pasta dish to make. I like Tolerant 100% black bean pasta best for GF/grain free, especially the penne, though I haven't tried the newer ones, including R d’A. I adored the DeBoles whole wheat spaghetti made with Jerusalem artichoke flour, but it was discontinued. For Macaroni & Cheese, my favorite is Barilla Protein+ tiny elbows, which are part legume protein (I forget which). They're firmer and have tooth—but that was a pandemic find. I'm pretty sure before then I used Rustichella d’Abruzza or similar, but I didn't make it often, and there hasn't been easy to find supply of that (rough die Italian artisan mini-elbows) or similar since.

I make lasagna sheets by hand and have been rolling them out with a rolling pin. They are extremely easy to make, and I often make them to fit the pan I will be putting them in.

We don’t have all the brands here that you have there, but I always get Barilla if I can. I can tell if it’s Barilla- I was having pasta in a reastaurant once and asked the server if it was Barilla: she came back from the kitchen looking surprised and told me it was.

Barilla’s gluten free pasta is also good, it’s a little fragile so you have to stir it carefully once it’s cooked, but it tastes pretty much just like regular pasta.

I do believe the Ronzoni of my youth is not the same product today. I stopped buying it in the early 1980s.

Like Lars, I boycotted Barilla for a few years.

I now buy Barilla, DeLallo, Garofalo, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's. I love TJ's Fusilli Corti Bucati. They have a gluten free yellow lentil and brown rice pasta that's pretty good too.

My Italian son in law happily uses supermarket own brands and tells me to do the same.. He swears he can't tell the difference between them and De Cecco. Only lasagne comes in boxes here. Other shapes come in bags or packets.

Does bagged pasta count?

I like the organic pastas from Trader Joe's - the ones imported from Italy. They come in some neat shapes too.

Bionaturae papardelle or fetuccine egg pasta. I also make homemade pasta a lot, but this bionaturae brand imported from Italy tastes as good as homemade to me. Thanks for the cooking discussion, it makes me think !

I tend to use Garafalo (a favorite of our Italian friend) or DeCecco.

I’ve always bought Barilla, but didn’t know about DeCecco! I just ordered some to try.

I tend to use Garafalo (a favorite of our Italian friend) or DeCecco.

I started buying Garafalo during the pandemic when bucatini was hard to find.

https://www.grubstreet.com/2020/12/2020-bucatini-shortage-investigation.html

My go to is Alessi Organic pasta, The local grocery store usually carries it.

https://alessifoods.com/catalog/category/pasta?gclid=Cj0KCQiAlKmeBhCkARIsAHy7WVtk9mQdahLtA2vKwoxyqqR7pllt1ZkRSxfY71jc9JJe9b5AAkOOOCkaAiwoEALw_wcB

For shapes not available from Alessi, I will buy DeCecco and I use Garafalo Bucatini.

I don't think a 'best' exists. But it is worth trying a variety in your price point.

I grew up like many with the cheapest pasta and the cheapest ground round and the cheapest on sale sauce. No complaints. Feeding a family of six, price was an issue.

My parents have never cared about quality. They have always had a good diet...no processed foods,... lots of veg and salads but no interest in foods beyond 'fuel for living'. Big night out was Friendly's for the salad bar.

And nothing wrong with 99cent pasta if that is what you like. Pasta is a pantry staple. Quick meal.

DeCecco is a good choice being so available.

I tend to agree with Alex about medium tier pastas...afordable for a pantry staple quick meal. 50cents more the quality jumps. DeCecco fits that profile. A pantry staple for years here.

Obviously many more could fill out the top line depending on availability. I do like Garofalo and Molisana and ROMMO. Garofalo has an organic line.

The past couple years i've been stocking a local available brand...FreshDirect. Organic. 9$ for 4 pounds of spaghetti. 2 for 9$ the various shapes. Bronze dye and good quality.

Pasta is only once/twice a month but various other choices are pantry staples...rice, veg, soba.

Alex has an entertaining pasta series visiting Italy, etc.

One of a few videos....

“I don't think a 'best' exists. But it is worth trying a variety in your price point.”

Agree! It’s ”best” if you like it.

I like the bronze die cut pastas so usually I'll buy from Costco or DeCecco. I don't buy Barilla first because of the remarks he has made and second they don't use bronze dies. If I'm at Caputos in SLC I'll get the fancier Rustichella d’Abruzzo pasta.

Part of ”best” is available, I like R d'A partly because it's in the stores, locally. Loved the part of S’s video, above, where he went to the most notoriously expensive Italian food store (Eataly, in high end malls) and tried to make pricey imported pasta sound necessary by comparing it to steak! He didn't compare the ”rare” ones to other artisan pastas that are in better supermarkets. That would be really interesting to me. The rest is fun (Alex is fun) but pretty basic. But considering there are 40 Eatalys in the world, his top tier ones are pretty inaccessible unless you have them shipped. So not ”best”. But I also think what S said and C quoted was kind of assumed in Ricky's question. Best you use or like, not what wins medals, which Google can easily answer.

I am a pasta peasant. I never pay attention to brand. I want the prettiest or most fun shape.

Slight tangent, but is anyone else aware of the quirky story of how cascatelli pasta came to be? It's a new shape created by podcast host Dan Pashman. Looks like Trader Joe's must've worked out a deal with them. I have to say it is a really good shape for lots of things.

https://www.sfoglini.com/products/sporkful

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/22/978877878/for-pasta-lovers-bored-by-spaghetti-theres-a-new-short-wavy-sauce-holding-shape

Amylou, I'm not sure if that includes or excludes the naughty ones,,,,

Grrr, our chain store is gradually dropping various lines for their national store brand. I couldn’t find the pasta I wanted today.

Back door to Eataly in Florence.

Slight tangent, but is anyone else aware of the quirky story of how cascatelli pasta came to be?

Yeah, I remember finding it at Fresh Market a couple years ago. To be honest, I wasn't impressed. I prefer Casarecce or TJ's Fusilli Corti Bucati.

I usually buy the Meijer store brand, it's $1 a box and suits me just fine. If Barilla is on sale I may buy that, or Mueller's or Creamettes elbows. It's all the same to me -- it's what you do with it, the final result, that makes it or breaks it.

I think I finally figured out the OP's question. I had made some lasagna awhile ago and froze pieces to eat later. Today was later. The noodles tasted like cardboard and icky; the extra sauce didn't help. Whatever kind I used I hope to never use again.... but I don't remember what brand.

PS: I've made this recipe many times and have never had this problem.

Price point is an issue for me. I buy whole wheat and usually the cheapest brand I can tolerate. That is often Barilla or Ronzoni. It is what it is. Yes, that whole Guido Barilla comment on homosexuality was bizarre, why should he care one whit about the sex lives of his pasta customers, and why alienate a whole set of them. Discretion is the better part of valor, and a wise man knows when not to pick up a hand grenade laid at his feet. PR was obviously not his strong suite. I love that they addressed the problem and made changes.

I don't buy many types of pasta on the regular. I used to favor De Cecco because "they" said it was best. But now only for lasagna. Orzo is small and we prefer the bigger Barilla. Barilla Tri Color Rotini for one staple dish because God forbid it's not tri color or it's not Barilla and daughter won't eat it. Nor will she eat any spaghetti but Barilla #5. So I guess Barilla wins.

Glad that you posted this thread, Ricky! I tried the DeCecco spaghetti last night and it's a keeper! definitely better than the Barilla spaghetti I have.