Drying is one of the most important unit operations of the industrial production of pasta, both from the viewpoint of the final product quality and from the economical aspects of its manufacture. This work was aimed at evaluating the efficiency of air drying the type Penne short cut pasta with the assistance of microwave energy, from 23% to 12% (w.b.) product moisture, by using at first an adapted domestic microwave oven and later transferring the bench scale experimental parameters to test a continuous pilot scale microwave assisted hot air rotary dryer. The observed average drying time was reduced by more than ten times when compared to the air conventional drying, without being harmful to the appearance of the final product. An estimate of the economy of using a continuous hot air rotary dryer assisted by microwaves in industrial scale showed that this new option could be potentially competitive with the traditional short cut pasta drying process. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.