how much Uncooked Spaghetti To Make
Depending on how many servings you need, use the quick reference charts below to quickly calculate how many ounces of spaghetti to add to your pot.
| Servings | Oz of Spaghetti (as a side) | Oz of Spaghetti (as a main) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3-4 |
| 2 | 4 | 6-8 |
| 3 | 6 | 9-12 |
| 4 | 8 | 12-16 |
| 5 | 10 | 15-20 |
| 6 | 12 | 18-24 |
| 8 | 1 lbs | 24-30 |
| 10 | 20 | 30-40 |
| 20 | 2.5 lbs | 4-5 lbs |
| 50 | 6 lbs | 10-13 lbs |
| 100 | 12.5 lbs | 20-25 lbs |
Best Ways to Measure Spaghetti
To measure dry spaghetti noodles quickly, there are three easy ways to do it.
- Option 1: Use a kitchen scale. This is the most straightforward and precise way.
- Option 2: Hand Measure: Gather them together and approximate their size. Roughly two ounces make up a bunch that is as round as a quarter dollar.
- Option 3: Box Measure: Roughly divide an 8-ounce box of spaghetti in half. Split these in half once more so that each pile is equal to two ounces. This may sound absurd, but it forms the foundation of the Imperial measurement system, which we have employed since the Roman era, in contrast to the metric system. (You guessed it—the Romans could measure things easily by dividing them in two. That’s why there are two cups in a pint, two pints in a quart, and four quarts in a gallon. Pasta was invented by the Italians, so following Rome’s lead can’t be bad!)
Larger children: How many 3-noodle fork twirls will give you 1 ounce (24 noodles) of linguine? Bonus: How many noodles do you eat if you eat half of a box of angel hair noodles?
Little kids: 9 noodles. Bonus: No, since you’ll only eat 12 or 15, not 14, which isn’t a nice, neat multiple of 3.
Young children: It is recommended that you only twist three spaghetti noodles at a time with your fork to avoid creating a blob that is too large to bite into. Bonus: If you always eat all three off each forkful, can you end up eating 14 noodles? If you eat 3 noodles at a time, how many have you had after 3 bites?
The sky’s the limit: About 3 times as heavy. If there were 72 angel hairs per ounce, it would be precisely three times that.
The possibilities are endless: Given that an ounce weighs the same as 24 linguine noodles and 71 angel hair, how much heavier is a linguine noodle? What approximate value would make it “perfect”?
