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Pasta Portion Calculator

Computes how much pasta to cook for a number of guests from per-person dry-weight portions by course (main 100 g, side or starter 60 g, kids 50 g, hearty 125 g), converts to fresh or filled pasta weight, and gives the cooked weight, boiling water, salt, sauce volume and 500 g packs to buy.

When to use

You are cooking pasta for a group and need to know how much to buy and cook, how much water and salt to boil and how much sauce to prepare.

Do not use when: You are scaling a specific recipe's ingredient list (use recipe-scaler), or cooking rice (use rice-water), noodles in broth or baked pasta dishes with their own ratios.

Formula

dry_equivalent_g = guests × portion (main 100, side/starter 60, kids 50, hearty 125); to_buy_g = dry_equivalent_g × (dry 1.0, fresh 1.3, filled 1.5); cooked_g = to_buy_g × (dry 2.25, fresh 1.4, filled 1.2); water_l = max(2, dry_equivalent_g / 100); salt_g = 10 × water_l; sauce_ml = dry_equivalent_g / 100 × sauce_ml_per_100g; packs = ceil(to_buy_g / 500)

Portions follow common Italian and retailer guidance (80–100 g dry pasta per person for a main course); 1 L of water and 10 g of salt per 100 g is the usual cooking rule. Fresh pasta holds about 30 % water and filled pasta more, hence the weight factors; cooked-weight factors are approximate and depend on shape and cooking time.

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Unit	Required	Description
`guests`	integer		yes	Number of people to feed. Range: ≥ 1, ≤ 1000
`course`	enum: main \| side_or_starter \| kids \| hearty		default main	Sets the dry-weight portion per person.
`pasta_type`	enum: dry \| fresh \| filled		default dry	Fresh and filled pasta contain more water, so more weight is needed for the same dry-equivalent portion.
`sauce_ml_per_100g`	number	ml	default 150	Sauce volume per 100 g of dry-equivalent pasta: about 100–150 ml for tomato or cream sauces, 60–80 ml for pesto or oil-based sauces. Range: ≥ 0, ≤ 500

Outputs

Output	Type	Unit	Description
`portion_g_dry_equivalent`	number	g	Dry-weight portion per person for the course.
`pasta_grams_dry_equivalent`	number	g	guests × portion, as dry pasta.
`pasta_grams_to_buy`	number	g	Weight of the chosen pasta type to buy (dry ×1, fresh ×1.3, filled ×1.5).
`cooked_weight_g`	number	g	Approximate weight after cooking (dry ×2.25, fresh ×1.4, filled ×1.2).
`water_liters`	number	L	1 L per 100 g of dry-equivalent pasta, at least 2 L.
`salt_grams`	number	g	10 g per litre of water (about 1 % brine).
`sauce_ml`	number	ml	Sauce to prepare: dry-equivalent grams / 100 × sauce_ml_per_100g.
`packs_500g`	integer		Whole 500 g packs needed for pasta_grams_to_buy.
`cooking_note`	string		Water, salt and timing instructions for the batch.

Example

4 main courses, dry pasta: {"guests":4,"course":"main","pasta_type":"dry","sauce_ml_per_100g":150} → {"pasta_grams_dry_equivalent":400,"pasta_grams_to_buy":400,"cooked_weight_g":900,"water_liters":4,"salt_grams":40,"sauce_ml":600,"packs_500g":1}

10 starters, fresh pasta: {"guests":10,"course":"side_or_starter","pasta_type":"fresh"} → {"pasta_grams_dry_equivalent":600,"pasta_grams_to_buy":780,"cooked_weight_g":1092,"water_liters":6,"salt_grams":60,"sauce_ml":900,"packs_500g":2}

GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/pasta-portions?guests=4&course=main&pasta_type=dry&sauce_ml_per_100g=150

Machine access

API: GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/pasta-portions (query parameters) or POST with a JSON body {"inputs": {...}}
Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/pasta-portions · Markdown: https://tttkmbb.com/food/pasta-portions.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/food/pasta-portions.json
MCP: server https://tttkmbb.com/mcp, tool run_calculator with calculator_id="pasta-portions"
OpenAPI operationId: calculate_pasta_portions
Freshness: static. Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use (see rate limits).

Sources

Wikipedia – Pasta (reference)
USDA MyPlate – Grains group (1 oz dry pasta = ½ cup cooked = 1 ounce-equivalent) (government)

FAQ

Is 100 g per person too much?

Italian guidance is 80–100 g dry for a main course; 100 g suits pasta served as the whole meal, 80 g when it is one of several courses (use side_or_starter for 60 g portions).

Do I really need 1 L of water per 100 g?

It is the classic rule; less water works for short shapes if you stir, but long pasta clumps in crowded pots. The salt rule (10 g/L) seasons the pasta itself; most of it stays in the water.

How much sauce for pesto or butter sauces?

Less: about 60–80 ml per 100 g of pasta, since they coat rather than pool; set sauce_ml_per_100g accordingly.

Related calculators

Recipe Scaler — Scale the sauce recipe to the number of guests.
Rice to Water Ratio Calculator — Portions and water for rice instead.
Brine Calculator — Salt concentration of the cooking water as a brine.