Dry Pasta Portion per Person Calculator

Pasta portions per person: how much to cook

Pasta portions are figured by dry weight. For an adult main course, count on 80 to 100 g of dry pasta per person. Fresh pasta is heavier, around 120 to 150 g, since it holds more water. Stuffed shapes such as ravioli or tortellini, or sheets for lasagna, climb to roughly 200 g a head. Kids usually eat about half of what an adult does. Risotto is denser, so 60 g of raw rice per person does the job. Then there's the sauce: budget around 150 g per person so the plate is coated rather than swimming. To put numbers on it, 4 adults at 100 g of dry spaghetti come to 400 g of pasta and about 600 g of sauce.

Common uses

• Restaurants and trattorias working out the nightly mise en place.
• Hosts putting together dinner parties or an Italian-themed night.
• Meal-prep cooks dividing up weekday lunches.
• Caterers and anyone planning a family celebration.

FAQ

Dry pasta or fresh pasta, same portion? No. Fresh pasta weighs more at the same volume, so go with 120–150 g per person rather than 80–100 g.

How much for kids? Roughly half the adult amount. About 40–50 g of dry pasta per child covers most ages.

And the sauce? Around 150 g per person. Lean a little heavier for tomato-based ragus and a little lighter for rich cream sauces.