What’s The World's Most Expensive Dry Pasta?

Short answer
280g of tagliatelle from premium pasta producer Atavi will set you back £22. In terms of cost per kilo, that makes it the most expensive dried pasta on earth.

Long answer
Pasta is seen across the globe as being nutritious, tasty, easy to cook, and above all, affordable. 500g of Morrisons' Savers Spaghetti will feed over six hungry mouths and set you back just 28p. That is one of the key reasons pasta is on rotation at so many families' weeknight dinners.

We've previously detailed the reasons why, if you can afford it, expensive pasta warrants the price tag, but we were only really talking about the stuff you will find in your local delicatessen or farm shop. As it turns out, there is one company producing pasta that's so expensive that one portion will cost you £7.33 per head, and that's before you've even thought about buying a sauce or any accompanying proteins.

The world's most expensive dry pasta is produced by Atavi, which is the brainchild of Michelin-starred Spanish chef Albert Adrià. He was once the pastry chef at the legendary El Bulli restaurant, which is credited with producing many of the modernist cuisine techniques that became popular in the 1990s.

Atavi's trilogy of products costs between £20 and £22 for a 280g box. All three are made with organic, Italian durum wheat semolina and are best cooked "risotto-style" by adding the water in stages. The creators say this helps to turn the cooking water into a starch-rich, creamy sauce that enhances the pasta's flavour.

At first, it might seem surprising that tagliatelle is Atavi's pasta shape of choice. After all, most posh pasta brands rely on unusual or lesser-known shapes to give their products a premium price tag. Instead, Atavi has chosen a classic shape that pairs well with a wide variety of sauces so as not to distract from the flavours and textures that their products offer.

Sourdough pasta (£20 per 280g)
Atavi's sourdough pasta evokes the flavours of a freshly baked loaf and is described as having aromas of breadcrumbs and straw. Flavour-wise, it's lightly sour with hints of apricot, liquorice, and lemon zest.

Umami pasta (£20 per 280g)
Atavi's umami pasta is fermented for almost 2 days to give it a deeply savoury and complex taste profile.

Smoked pasta (£22 per 280g)
This unique creation has received plenty of positive online reviews and is infused with the smoky flavours of vine canes. At over £78/kg, it clocks in as 50% more expensive than lobster and a staggering 13,936 times more expensive than the UK's cheapest pasta sold by Morrisons.

Further reading
Although Atavi is the most expensive dried pasta when it comes to cost per kilo, there are some insanely rare shapes, the amazing su filindeu in particular, that could cost more to get your hands on. That's because it is only made by a handful of women in a remote Sardinian town and is therefore not just a nightmare to get hold of; but you'll be stung with eye-watering import costs.

When it comes to expensive pesto, check out our shiso pesto blog post. At £325/kg, this sauce competes in the cost stakes with products like Wagyu steak and caviar.