Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Cookware › Stockpots How to Boil Pasta Published: July 9, 2026 · Updated: July 9, 2026
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil — about 4 litres and a tablespoon of salt per 500g — add the pasta, stir, and cook until al dente, tasting a minute or two before the packet time. Save a mugful of the starchy cooking water for your sauce, and don't rinse the pasta, because that starch is what makes sauce cling.
Recommended Lots of salted water at a rolling boil, stir, cook to al dente, and save the pasta water — Good pasta is mostly about enough water, enough salt and not overcooking. Use a big pot with plenty of water — roughly 4 litres per 500g — so the pasta has room to move and the water returns to the boil quickly; too little water and it clumps and turns gluey. Salt it generously once it's boiling, about a tablespoon per 500g, until it tastes like mild seawater, because this is the only chance to season the pasta itself. Wait for a full rolling boil before adding the pasta, then stir straight away and now and then after, which stops the strands sticking — you don't need oil, which just coats the pasta so sauce slides off. Cook to al dente, meaning tender with a slight bite: start tasting a minute or two before the time on the packet, since that's usually a little long. Before draining, scoop out a mug of the cloudy cooking water; a splash of it loosens and emulsifies your sauce so it clings. Drain but don't rinse (rinsing washes off the starch that helps sauce stick), and toss the pasta with the sauce right away.
