How much pasta per person?
The standard rule: 2 ounces (57 g) of dry pasta per person for a main dish. That's the serving size on most pasta boxes, and it's what restaurants typically plate. For a side dish, use about 1.5 oz (43 g); for big appetites or if you want leftovers, go with 3 oz (85 g).
Dry to cooked pasta
Pasta roughly doubles in weight when cooked — 2 oz dry becomes about 4.5 oz cooked (dried pasta absorbs water to roughly 2.25× its dry weight). A handful of dry spaghetti that looks tiny will fill half a plate once cooked, so don't panic when the raw amount looks small.
| People | Dry (main) | Cooked | Water |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 oz / 113 g | ~9 oz | 3 qt |
| 4 | 8 oz / 227 g | ~18 oz | 3–4 qt |
| 6 | 12 oz / 340 g | ~27 oz | 4–5 qt |
| 8 | 16 oz / 454 g | ~36 oz | 5–6 qt |
Sauce and water tips
- Plan about 1/2 cup of sauce per 2 oz of dry pasta — a little more if it's a light tomato sauce, a little less for creamy sauces.
- Use 4–6 quarts of water per pound of dry pasta (about 0.3 qt per oz) so the pasta has room to move and the water stays starchy — a big pot matters more than exact ratios.
- Salt the water like the sea — about 1–2 tablespoons per pot — before adding the pasta.
- Fresh pasta cooks in 1–3 minutes and weighs slightly more per portion; use the same 2 oz rule but expect it to shrink less.