How many grams of pasta per person?

For a first course 80–100 g of dry pasta per person; for a main course 110–120 g. At multi-course events you can go down to 70 g.

What is the food cost of a pasta dish?

It's among the lowest on the menu, typically 15–25%: dry pasta is cheap and holds high markups. That's why first courses are often the most profitable dishes in a trattoria.

How much water and salt to cook pasta?

The classic rule is 1 litre of water and about 10 g of salt per 100 g of pasta. The water-salt calculator scales the amounts for any number of portions.

Calcoli HoReCa — Pasta

Pasta Calculators

Set pasta portions, water, salt, sauces, event quantities and food cost before service.

Open Pasta Portions

The recommended path

1
Calculate grams of pasta per person.
Pasta portions
2
Calculate the dish food cost.
Pasta food cost
3
Set the menu price.
Pasta menu price
4
Scale quantities for an event.
Pasta for events

When to use these calculators

Use these tools to portion pasta at home or work it professionally: grams per person, water and salt, cooking, recipe scaling, events and menu price. Pasta is the margin flagship of a trattoria: it costs little in raw material and lends itself to a low food cost if you portion and price it well.

Practical examples by venue type

Trattoria

You calculate food cost and price of a carbonara for 4 portions and check the margin against the menu.

Home

You set the right grams per person, water and salt for a perfect cook with no waste.

Catering

You scale the recipe for 100 guests and generate the shopping list with exact quantities.

Pasta lab

You calculate ingredients and yields for fresh egg pasta production.

Reference benchmarks

Dry pasta per person80–100 gFirst course; 120 g main course.

First-course food cost15–25%Among the lowest on the menu.

Cooking water1 l per 100 gClassic rule.

Water salt~10 g/lFor well-seasoned pasta.

Indicative industry figures: they vary by format, location and period. Use them as a reference, not an absolute rule.

Common mistakes to avoid

Pricing a pasta dish too low 'because it's cheap': that's exactly where the best margin is.
Getting per-person portions wrong at events, with leftovers or skimpy plates.
Not accounting for cooked vs raw weight when scaling a recipe or planning a buffet.
Forgetting sauce and condiments in the dish's food cost, not just the dry pasta.

Frequently asked questions

How many grams of pasta per person?: For a first course 80–100 g of dry pasta per person; for a main course 110–120 g. At multi-course events you can go down to 70 g.
What is the food cost of a pasta dish?: It's among the lowest on the menu, typically 15–25%: dry pasta is cheap and holds high markups. That's why first courses are often the most profitable dishes in a trattoria.
How much water and salt to cook pasta?: The classic rule is 1 litre of water and about 10 g of salt per 100 g of pasta. The water-salt calculator scales the amounts for any number of portions.