Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Cappelletti in Brodo
Little hat-shaped filled pasta floating in a clear, rich broth, the festive first course of San Marino.
Sammarinese · advanced · serves 4
prep 90 min · cook 30 min
~695 cal · 49g protein · 52g carbs · 30g fat · 2g fiber · 1g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Cappelletti in brodo, little hats in broth, is the treasured festive pasta of San Marino and the surrounding Romagna region, the dish that anchors Christmas and important family lunches. Making the tiny pasta by hand is a cherished ritual passed down through generations.
Small squares of thin egg pasta are filled with a mixture of cheeses, and sometimes a little meat, then folded into their distinctive hat shape. They are cooked and served in a clear, carefully made capon or beef broth, the pasta and its filling perfuming the golden liquid. Delicate and comforting, it is San Marino's idea of a special-occasion opener.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups soft cheese and parmesan (for the filling)
6 cups capon or beef broth
1 pinch grated nutmeg
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Make an egg pasta dough with the flour and eggs, and rest, then roll very thin.
2
Mix the cheeses with nutmeg and seasoning for the filling.
3
Cut small squares, add a dot of filling, and fold each into a little hat.
✎ Chef’s note
Roll the pasta paper-thin and keep the filling dabs tiny. Cappelletti are meant to be delicate; oversized ones cook unevenly and overwhelm the broth.
4
Bring the broth to a gentle simmer, cook the cappelletti in it until tender, and serve in bowls of the broth.
Sammarinese and Romagnol tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
City of San Marino. The City of San Marino sits on a clifftop and bakes nidi di rondine, pasta rolled with ham and cheese into swallow's nests and baked in sauce. Its cooking is Romagnol: piadina flatbread, cured meats, and the layered torta tre monti.
🗺️
San Marino. San Marino calls itself the world's oldest republic, dating itself to 301 AD, though that date was only fixed by decree in 1941 and historians put its actual institutions in the 13th century. The tiny mountain republic within Italy cooks Emilia-Romagna-style, filled pasta, roasts, and the layered dessert torta tre monti. Piadina flatbread and Italian tradition define its table.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from San Marino
Nido di RondineSan Marino's "swallow's nest": pasta rolls filled with ham and cheese, sliced, and baked in tomato and béchamel.
PiadinaA thin griddled flatbread folded around soft cheese with ham, or with jam, the daily bread of the region.
Torta Tre MontiCrisp wafer layers stacked with chocolate-hazelnut cream and glazed, the emblematic cake of San Marino's three towers.
Browse all San Marino recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a San Marino meal
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Fagioli con le CoticheDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Cappelletti in Brodo?
Little hat-shaped filled pasta floating in a clear, rich broth, the festive first course of San Marino.
Where does Cappelletti in Brodo come from?
Cappelletti in Brodo is a Sammarinese dish from City of San Marino, San Marino.
Can Cappelletti in Brodo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cappelletti in Brodo recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Cappelletti in Brodo safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Cappelletti in Brodo take to make?
About 120 minutes total (90 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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