how to cook pasta

If you’ve been put off pasta by gloopy, sticky and rubbish pasta, it’s time to learn how to cook it properly!


In Italy, pasta is always served ‘al-dente’, which means ‘to the teeth’, or 'with bite' – which means it is boiled until softened, but still a little bit firm to bite (not raw though!).


Follow the steps below to find out how to do it properly...

pasta tips

don't skip the salt

Always, always put salt in the pasta water! It will add taste to the pasta, and the sauce you serve it with, so never skip this step! 

Use sea salt rather than table salt.

pasta likes to swim

Make sure the pan is big enough and there is enough water. Pasta likes space, and room to swim!

use portions

It is easy to cook too much pasta. Avoid wasting pasta and measure your portions. About 75g of dried pasta per person is enough. If you’re cooking for 4 people, you’ll need about 300g of pasta.

add pasta to boiling water

Only add pasta to boiling water. If you add it to warm water, it will go mushy and not very nice.

How long do you cook pasta for?

The way to cook pasta is the same whether it is dry pasta or fresh pasta. What changes though, is the time you cook it for!


All packets of pasta will have the cook time on the back. Follow the instructions below, but change the time to follow the cooking time of your pasta.


Use a kitchen timer to keep it accurate.

1. Fill a pan with boiling water

Fill a large saucepan with water - enough for your pasta to have space! Then put the lid on and bring to the boil over a high heat.

2. add a good pinch of salt

This is a very important step, don't skip it! It adds flavour to the pasta.

3. add the pasta

Only add it when the water is boiling! Don't add pasta to warm water.

4. gently simmer the pan

Put the pan on a medium heat to gently simmer the water. Give it a stir every minute or two to prevent the pasta sticking together.

5. follow the time on the packet

Cook the pasta for the time the packet says by using a kitchen timer. To tell if your pasta is cooked, try a piece of pasta about a minute before the end of the time. It’s ready when it’s soft enough to eat and feel cooked, but still a little bit firm. The Italians call this ‘al dente’.

6. time to add a sauce

Very carefully drain the pasta in a colander over the sink. Now it’s ready to toss the pasta through a sauce (it's better to cook the sauce before or at the same time as the pasta). Add the sauce in the pan you cooked the pasta to keep it clean and easy!

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