How to Cook Pasta Properly
Updated August 15, 2026
Boil pasta in abundantly salted water (about 1–2 tablespoons of salt per 4 quarts), cook it 1–2 minutes short of the package time, and reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water before draining — then finish the pasta in the sauce with splashes of that water. No oil in the pot, no rinsing after.
The water is an ingredient
Pasta water is the only chance to season the noodle itself — under-salted water makes pasta that tastes flat no matter the sauce. And by the end of cooking that water is a dilute starch solution: a few splashes emulsify oil and cheese into a sauce that clings instead of pooling. Cacio e pepe and carbonara are built on it. Scoop a mugful out before you drain, every time, even if you're not sure you'll need it.
Finish in the sauce
Drain the pasta a minute or two early, while the center still has bite, and let it finish cooking directly in the simmering sauce with pasta water as needed. The noodle absorbs sauce instead of water for its last minute — the difference between sauced pasta and pasta with sauce on it. This is also why you never rinse (washes off the clinging starch) and never oil the boiling water (greases the noodle so sauce slides off).
Quick answers
- How much salt goes in pasta water?
- 1–2 tablespoons per 4 quarts — it should taste noticeably salty, "like the sea" is only a mild exaggeration. Most of it goes down the drain.
- Should I put oil in pasta water?
- No — it doesn't prevent sticking (stirring in the first minute does) and it coats the pasta so sauce won't cling.
- What is al dente exactly?
- "To the tooth": cooked through but with slight resistance at the center — no chalky white core, no mush. Usually 1–2 minutes shy of the box time.