Master pasta cooking from a professional chef with 24 years of restaurant experience. Learn proper water ratios, timing, salt levels, and the secret to restaurant-quality pasta at home.
Restaurant Reality
At Il Pizzaiolo in Seattle, we cooked hundreds of pounds of pasta every service. Fresh pasta from the cooler, dried pasta from bulk bins—all of it had to be perfect al dente, finished in sauce, and plated in under 3 minutes. I watched new line cooks massacre pasta daily: undercooked and crunchy, overcooked and mushy, undersalted and bland, or worst of all—rinsed under cold water (never, ever do this). The difference between amateur pasta and professional pasta isn't expensive ingredients—it's understanding water ratios, salt levels, timing, and how to finish pasta properly. Today I'm teaching you the exact technique that creates restaurant-quality pasta every single time.
Most people think cooking pasta is foolproof—boil water, add pasta, drain when soft. Then they wonder why their pasta tastes bland, sticks together, or has sauce that won't cling.
Cooking pasta correctly requires understanding four critical factors: water quantity, salt level, timing, and finishing technique. Get these right and your pasta will rival any Italian restaurant. Get them wrong and even expensive imported pasta tastes mediocre.
The rule: 4-6 quarts water per pound of pasta
Why it matters:
Minimum: 4 quarts per pound
Better: 6 quarts per pound (what restaurants use)
Home cooking: For 8oz pasta (2 servings), use 3-4 quarts minimum
The rule: 1-2 tablespoons kosher salt per 4 quarts water
Tastes like: Ocean water (actually seawater is 3.5% salt, pasta water should be 1-2%)
Why it matters:
The Pasta Water Rule
ALWAYS save at least 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining. This starchy, salted water is liquid gold for making sauce cling to pasta and adjusting consistency. Professional chefs use it in every single pasta dish. Home cooks throw it away. Don't throw it away.
Package times are guidelines, not gospel. They vary by altitude, water hardness, pot size, and heat level.
The only way to know: Taste it
When to start tasting: 2 minutes before package minimum time
What you're looking for: Al dente—slight resistance when you bite, but no raw flour taste in center
The cardinal sin: Rinsing pasta after cooking
Why never rinse:
What to do instead:
Want My Complete Kitchen Setup Guide?
Get my free "11 Essential Tools I Use Most" PDF—the exact equipment I rely on after 24 years in professional kitchens, including the stockpot that makes perfect pasta every time. No fluff, just the tools that actually matter.
Get the Free Guide →Unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.
Size: 6-8 quart pot for 1 pound pasta
Material: Any material works (stainless, aluminum, even nonstick)
Shape: Tall and narrow better than short and wide
How much: 4-6 quarts for 1 pound pasta
Rolling boil: Large, vigorous bubbles constantly breaking surface
Time: 10-15 minutes depending on pot size
How much: 1-2 tablespoons kosher salt per 4 quarts water
When: After water reaches full boil, before adding pasta
Taste it: Water should taste like seawater—clearly, noticeably salty
How: Add all at once (for long pasta, let ends soften 10 seconds, then push down)
Stir immediately: Within 30 seconds to prevent sticking
Don't add oil: Myth—oil floats on top and does nothing
Start tasting: 2 minutes before package minimum time
What you're looking for: Slight firmness when you bite, cooked through but with pleasant resistance
Continue tasting: Every 30-60 seconds until perfect
How much: 1-2 cups (use coffee mug or measuring cup)
When: Immediately before draining
Why: This is non-negotiable. You'll need it to finish the dish.
Pour into colander, shake gently. Work quickly—pasta shouldn't cool. Have your sauce ready in the pan before draining.
The professional technique:
Why this works: Pasta absorbs sauce flavor, starch from pasta water emulsifies sauce, everything heats together, and sauce and pasta "marry" instead of just sitting next to each other.
After cooking thousands of pounds of pasta in restaurants over 24 years, here's what I want home cooks to understand:
Perfect pasta has nothing to do with expensive imported brands and everything to do with proper technique.
Even mediocre boxed pasta tastes incredible when cooked correctly. Even the finest Italian pasta tastes bland when undercooked, undersalted, or poorly finished.
The non-negotiable rules:
Follow those five rules and your pasta will rival any Italian restaurant. Skip any of them and you're leaving quality on the table.
Stop cooking pasta like you're making kraft dinner and start finishing it like a professional.
No. Oil floats on top and does nothing to prevent sticking. Proper water amount and occasional stirring prevent sticking. Oil actually makes sauce slide off pasta.
2 oz dried pasta per person as a side, 4 oz as a main course. That's 1/4 pound for 2 people as main course.
Three reasons: (1) They salt the water properly, (2) They finish pasta in the sauce with pasta water, (3) They add fat at the end. Follow those three steps and yours will taste restaurant-quality.
My daily workhorse tools from 24 years in professional kitchens
No spam, unsubscribe anytime
Professional Chef • 24 Years Professional Kitchen Experience
Professional chef with 24 years of restaurant experience including Pizzaiolo at Purple Café, Kitchen Manager at Mellow Mushroom, and line positions at Feierabend, Il Pizzaiolo, and Paragary's. A.A.S. Culinary Arts from Seattle Central College, B.S. Business Administration from University of Montana. Every product tested through real professional kitchen use or extensive long-term home testing.
Read more about my testing methodology →