Pasta Portions & Cooking Time Calculator
Calculate the correct pasta weight per person, convert between dried and fresh pasta, and find the precise cooking time for every pasta shape.
Pasta Cooking Guide
How Much Pasta Per Person
Standard dried pasta portions: main course 75-100g per person, starter 50-60g, side dish 50g, children 50-60g. Fresh pasta portions are larger because it contains more moisture: main course 100-130g per person. When cooking for a crowd, always err slightly high — pasta is cheap, and running short of food is worse than having leftovers. Cooked pasta weighs approximately 2-2.5× its dried weight — 80g dried becomes 160-200g cooked. A standard 500g bag of dried pasta feeds 5-6 people as a main course.
The Golden Rules of Cooking Pasta
Use plenty of water — minimum 1 litre per 100g of pasta. Salt the water generously — it should taste like mild seawater (approximately 10g per litre). Do NOT add oil to the water — it coats the pasta and prevents sauce adhesion. Bring to a rolling boil before adding pasta. Stir immediately on adding to prevent clumping. Test 1-2 minutes before the packet time — different brands and altitudes vary. Always finish cooking pasta in the sauce with a splash of pasta water for the final 60-90 seconds —
Matching Pasta to Sauce
The shape-to-sauce match matters for both texture and flavour distribution. Long thin (spaghetti, linguine): olive oil-based, tomato, seafood — sauce coats the strand. Long flat (tagliatelle, fettuccine): ragù (bolognese), cream sauces — sauce clings to flat surface. Ridged tubes (penne rigate, rigatoni): chunky tomato, meat sauces — sauce enters tubes. Small shapes (fusilli, farfalle): pesto, summer vegetables — sauce traps in folds. Large shells (conchiglie): ricotta stuffing, chunky meat — sa
Pasta Water — Liquid Gold
Before draining pasta, always reserve 200-400ml of the cooking water. The starchy, salty pasta water is a secret ingredient in almost every Italian restaurant sauce. Add it to pan sauces to emulsify fat with the starchy water, creating a glossy, cohesive coating rather than a greasy sauce. For carbonara: pasta water replaces cream — the starch and temperature create the creamy texture without dairy. For aglio e olio: pasta water binds olive oil and garlic. For tomato sauces: a splash adds body a
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