Pasta and Noodle Portion Calculator

How the calculator works

The calculator starts from one figure. Barilla’s guidance is that 2 ounces, or 56 grams, of dry pasta per person is a good rule of thumb.

dry pasta in ounces = people x 2

That weight is the same whatever shape you cook. What changes with the shape is how you measure it without a scale, and how much it makes once cooked. For those, the calculator uses Barilla’s product yield charts, which list each shape separately.

• Long shapes (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, capellini) are measured by the bundle. One 2 ounce serving is a bundle about 2 1/8 inches in circumference.
• Short and soup shapes are measured in cups. One serving of rotini is 1/2 cup dry. One serving of rigatoni is 3/4 cup.

The cooked yield per serving runs from about 4/5 cup for orzo to 1 1/4 cups for penne rigate, rigatoni and farfalle.

Worked example

You are cooking penne rigate for 6.

1. Weight: 6 x 2 = 12 ounces, or 6 x 56 = 336 grams.
2. By volume: Barilla’s chart gives 2/3 cup of dry penne rigate per serving. 6 x 2/3 = 4 cups.
3. Cooked: 1 1/4 cups per serving. 6 x 1.25 = 7 1/2 cups.

A 1 pound box is 16 ounces, so 12 ounces is three quarters of the box.

Now the same dinner with rotini: still 12 ounces, but only 6 x 1/2 = 3 cups dry, making 6 cups cooked. A cup of rotini and a cup of penne are not the same amount of pasta, which is why the weight is the number to trust.

Why the cup measure changes with the shape

A cup measures space, and pasta shapes pack into that space differently. Small, dense shapes like orzo and ditali leave almost no air, so a 2 ounce serving fills only 1/3 cup. Big hollow shapes like rigatoni and bow-tie farfalle are mostly air, and the same 2 ounces fills 3/4 cup.

From Barilla’s chart, one 2 ounce serving is:

• 1/3 cup: orzo, ditali
• 1/2 cup: macaroni, rotini
• 2/3 cup: penne rigate
• 3/4 cup: rigatoni, farfalle, medium shells

If you measure every shape with the same scoop, you will cook more than twice as much orzo as rigatoni. A kitchen scale removes the problem. The cups to grams converter on this site can help if a recipe gives a weight and you only have cups.

Measuring long pasta

Spaghetti will not go in a cup, so the chart gives a circumference: 2 1/8 inches around for one serving. That is the distance around the bundle, not across it. A bundle that size is roughly two thirds of an inch across.

The easier check is the box. A 1 pound box holds 8 servings, so:

• half a box is 4 servings
• a quarter of a box is 2 servings
• the whole box feeds 8

Barilla’s chart gives the full 1 pound package of spaghetti as a bundle 5 3/4 inches around, making about 8 1/2 cups cooked.

Main course or side dish

The 2 ounce figure is a rule of thumb for a serving. It is not a law. Pasta served as the whole meal with a light sauce, for hungry adults, often wants more. Pasta as a first course or a side, or in a soup, wants less.

The calculator does not adjust for appetite, because the source does not give figures for that. If you know your table eats more, enter more people than you have: 6 instead of 4 gives each of four people a 3 ounce portion.

What this page does not cover

The charts are Barilla’s yields for its own semolina pasta. Other brands of the same shape will be close but not identical.

Asian noodles are not included. Ramen, udon, soba and rice noodles are sold fresh, dried and frozen in different forms, and we have not found a published serving chart for them that meets our standard. For those, use the serving size on the packet.

Barilla’s own chart also has separate, slightly different figures for its gluten free pasta. For example, a serving of gluten free rotini is 3/4 cup dry, not 1/2 cup.

Tips and common mistakes

Measure the pasta dry. All the cup figures above are for uncooked pasta, apart from the cooked yields.

Do not use one scoop for every shape. Check the chart for the shape in your hand.

Count the people, then check the box. Most 1 pound boxes are either enough for 8, or exactly twice what four people need.

Remember that pasta in a baked dish or a soup is sharing the plate. The 2 ounces is for pasta as the main item.

Cook a little more for a crowd serving themselves. People take uneven portions, and the last person in the line should still get a full one.