Although everyone enjoys pasta, it’s not always easy to prepare, especially when it comes to getting the serving sizes just right. Seriously, how are you supposed to calculate the appropriate serving size for dry pasta?
We can’t be the only ones who always have a tragic shortage of noodles or way too many leftovers. Finding the right portions for a dinner party is difficult, perhaps because the size and texture of dry pasta and cooked pasta differ so greatly.
Use these measurements as guidelines because pasta shapes can vary in size depending on the brand you purchase. Additionally, the USDA states that a single serving of cooked pasta is just 1/2 cup, but most of the plates we serve typically contain two cups of pasta. In order to provide your guests with a substantial serving, aim to serve two cups of cooked pasta per person. However, if you want to keep things light, serve only 1/2 cup of cooked pasta.
When you cook pasta, 2 ounces (56 g) of dry pasta per person is a good rule of thumb to follow.
Small to medium pasta shapes
4 cups cooked from 8 ounces of small to medium-sized pasta.
This measurement applies to these types of pasta:
Long pasta shapes
4 cups of cooked long pasta from 8 ounces of uncooked long pasta
This measurement applies to these types of pasta:
2 1/2 cups cooked from 8 ounces of uncooked egg noodles
No scale? No problem
Use this trick to measure without a scale:
2 ounces dry spaghetti = the diameter of a quarter
To put it another way, two ounces of dry long pasta, such as spaghetti, thin spaghetti, linguine, or vermicelli, bunched up in your hand, are roughly the same size as a quarter in diameter. About one cup of cooked pasta (two USDA servings) is produced from two ounces of dry pasta.
Originally published September 2007. Updated July 2017.
FAQ
How many egg noodles is a serving?
Watch your portion sizes as well, and aim to limit each serving to 1 cup (160 grams) of cooked egg noodles.
How much dry egg noodles equals a serving?
A typical serving of pasta is two ounces of dry pasta, which is equivalent to about a cup of cooked pasta.
How many noodles do you cook for one person?
2 ounces of dry pasta per person is a good guideline to use when cooking pasta.
How many pounds of noodles do I need for 2 people?
The majority of recipes specify that one pound of pasta, or a typical box or bag, will serve four to six people. Eyeballing this is much simpler than fussing with precise measurements. Depending on the sauce and how hungry you are, I find that a half-box, or a half-pound (eight ounces), of pasta serves two to three people.