Pasta Portion Calculator
Figure out how much cooked pasta you'll get from dry, and see exactly how much water and salt to add to your pot.
About 3 main course servings
Grows by about 2.25× when cooked
~19.8 oz · grows by about 2.25×
Cooked weight = Dry weight × Growth multiplier Water = 1 liter per 100g of dry pasta Salt = 10 grams per liter of water Growth multipliers: Long shapes (like spaghetti) 2.25× Short shapes (like penne) 2.20× Small shapes (like macaroni) 2.30×
Starchy pasta water is liquid gold! Save a cup or two before draining. Stirring it into your sauce with a splash of oil, butter, or cheese helps bind everything together into a glossy sauce that clings to the pasta.
Simple Rules for Perfect Pasta
Great pasta is incredibly simple: it's all about matching the weight of your dry pasta with the right amount of water and salt. Get these three in harmony, and you'll have perfect pasta every time.
Different shapes soak up water in their own ways. Spaghetti and other long strands tend to grow a little more than shorter, compact shapes like penne.
For a main course, aim for about 100 grams of dry pasta per person. Once it's boiled, that will turn into a satisfying 225 to 250 grams on the plate.
Salted, boiling water (1 liter per 100 grams of dry pasta) is the secret to perfectly seasoned, non-sticky pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dried pasta starts out completely dry, so when it boils, it drinks in a lot of water. By the time it's cooked, most of its weight on your plate is actually just the water it soaked up during boiling.
Use about 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of dry pasta. Pasta needs plenty of room to swim around! If you crowd the pot, the water gets too cloudy and starchy, which leaves your pasta gummy instead of sleek.
Absolutely! Adding a spoonful of salt (roughly 10 grams per liter) seasons the pasta from the inside out as it cooks and absorbs the water. If you don't salt the water, your pasta will taste flat and bland, no matter how much sauce you pour over it later.
If you're only cooking a small handful of pasta, you can use less water. Just make sure the water completely covers the pasta, and give it a good stir right at the beginning so the pieces don't clump together.
Yes. Thin shapes like angel hair can cook in just 2 to 3 minutes, while thick shapes like penne or rigatoni can take 12 to 15 minutes. Don't rely purely on the box timer—start tasting a piece a minute or two early. It should have a tiny bite to it in the center, without feeling chalky.
Before you drain the pot, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. It's full of starch from the pasta. Stirring a splash of this water into your sauce with a little butter or olive oil binds them together, making a glossy, restaurant-style sauce that clings to every noodle.
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