PASTA: How to measure already cooked

Options
candlegal
candlegal Posts: 220 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm confused, as usual, regarding the measuring of pasta. Most pastas say 2oz dry= XX calories. If the pasta is already cooked how many oz. do I have? I like to weigh alot of food portions because some are just hard to put in a measuring cup. If someone could give me a good answer that would be great. Thanks. I usually have whole wheat penne pasta.
«1

Replies

  • trisha329
    trisha329 Posts: 266 Member
    Options
    So glad you've put that question out there! I've been wondering that myself!
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    Options
    Typically (not always) 1 cup cooked is 2 ounces dry. It really depends on the pasta type...I think.
  • Fat_n_Happy
    Fat_n_Happy Posts: 20 Member
    Options
    Just weigh it again after you cook it. For example - cook a pound of pasta then drain and weigh. Then divide cooked weight by 8 servings (2 oz. dry) and you have your cooked weight for a single serving.....

    The same volume of pasta can weigh more or less depending on how al dente it is cooked. The longer it cooks, the more water it absorbs.
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    Options
    Typically (not always) 1 cup cooked is 2 ounces dry. It really depends on the pasta type...I think.

    thats about right for most italian style egg pasta (which your Penne would be) also....since its Penne you might wanna take into account that it has a GIANT hole in the middle of it XD as far as taking up space goes, it takes up alot, so i think you might have a point about weighing it.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    If you're not cooking the whole package, it's going to be tough to divide by 8. 1 cup cooked, give or take, is 2 oz dry.

    I think even if the measurement is slightly off, it won't be enough to make a difference.
  • kirra_80
    kirra_80 Posts: 36
    Options
    I have a cheap plastic pasta thing that has holes in it, it works only for spaghetti and angel hair though. I grab a bunch, slip it through one of the holes and it'll tell me how many servings it is. Does anyone know the name of the thing I own?
  • StaceG1986
    StaceG1986 Posts: 350
    Options
    I have a cheap plastic pasta thing that has holes in it, it works only for spaghetti and angel hair though. I grab a bunch, slip it through one of the holes and it'll tell me how many servings it is. Does anyone know the name of the thing I own?

    I have one too but don't know its name lol


    I always weigh my pasta before cooking
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Options
    Doesn't anyone have a scale? You take it out of the box, weigh 2 oz per serving, then throw it in the boiling water.

    If you are not weighing it before you cook it, how do you know how much to cook in the first place?

    And if you cook the whole box--see the other answer that explained the technique of.....weighing the whole cooked portion and dividing by the number of servings on the box.
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
    Options
    My experiments with two ozs dry have resulted in 1 cup cooked. Spaghetti, angel hair, elbows, and the bow tie stuff.
  • kappy2010
    kappy2010 Posts: 24
    Options
    What I usually do is weigh the pasta before cooking. If this is not an option, pull all the pasta out of the box, divide it into xx amount of servings and cook 1 serving.
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
    Options
    Ah, Azdak, you assume that we are just cooking for ourselves. Some of us are cooking for our families. I've got 4 kids and one husband. Three of the kids are extremely active meaning they have no calorie limit ~~~I just try to make sure they get some of everything (carbo, veg, dairy, and protein). One is a growing teen super athletic teen who pretty much eats until he isn't hungry which works out fine for him.

    My standard pasta cooking is make two boxes in a huge spaghetti pot. Through experiments, I know that roughly 1 cup cooked is equal to 2oz dry.

    I ate pretty healthy before MFP, my downfall is serving sizes. I think it is too hard to make "different" for yourself for all meals from your family. In my mind, it is better that they eat better too. I just slap more butter / olive oil on those with high activity levels.
  • candlegal
    candlegal Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    LainMac- you are so right. It's fine when I am just making it for me BUT when you could a bunch and then need to measure after it is cooked I didn't know how much 2 dry oz is when it is cooked. Sounds like about a cup but penne pasta doesn't measure well in a cup. So I am cooking 2 dry oz and I will weigh it after and I will report my findings, if anyone is interested. I had to do this with brown rice. I was being lazy and thought someone might just know the answer. Couple more min and I will have my answer.
    Thank you to everyone who helped with my question, and I don't know what that plastic thing is called either.. Pasta measurer? But you're right it only works for spaghetti type pasta.
  • candlegal
    candlegal Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    Voala!!!! 2 oz of dry whole wheat penne pasta cooked = 4.25 oz or approx. 130 grams Now I know:happy: Now we all know:happy:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Options
    Ah, Azdak, you assume that we are just cooking for ourselves. Some of us are cooking for our families. I've got 4 kids and one husband. Three of the kids are extremely active meaning they have no calorie limit ~~~I just try to make sure they get some of everything (carbo, veg, dairy, and protein). One is a growing teen super athletic teen who pretty much eats until he isn't hungry which works out fine for him.

    My standard pasta cooking is make two boxes in a huge spaghetti pot. Through experiments, I know that roughly 1 cup cooked is equal to 2oz dry.

    I ate pretty healthy before MFP, my downfall is serving sizes. I think it is too hard to make "different" for yourself for all meals from your family. In my mind, it is better that they eat better too. I just slap more butter / olive oil on those with high activity levels.

    You are correct--I didn't think that one through so early in the morning.....my initial impression was that people were overthinking this way too much, but I definitely overlooked that part. Ironic, in that I have the same problem. I try to make one serving for myself, one for Mrs Azdak, and 2 servings for the high-school stepdaughter. She then ends up eating 2 1/2, Mrs Azdak sneaks in a little extra, and I am scouring the fridge for leftover brown rice......
  • SarahPaoli
    SarahPaoli Posts: 1
    Options
    I just found a great resource for figuring out how much cooked pasta is a serving:
    http://www.kraftrecipes.com/cooking-tips/foodbasics/pastaguide/pastameasuringchart.aspx

    Example: One serving of penne pasta is 2 oz. If you cook 8 oz. (4 servings), you'll have 4 cups of cooked pasta. Therefore, one serving equals 1 cup!
  • mrsamjones
    mrsamjones Posts: 14
    Options
    I measured out one cup of angel hair pasta and it is four ounces.
  • zuchy
    zuchy Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    Weigh your own portion before cooking (if cooking pasta for others as well) then cook it in a separate smaller saucepan.
  • firedroplet82
    firedroplet82 Posts: 3
    Options
    Spaghetti, linguine and other long pastas can be measured using a pasta measure. A pasta measure is a tool that is available at kitchen supply stores, in pasta-making kits and online. You place the long pasta in various loops to measure a serving of the pasta.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Options
    Weigh pasta dry, cook, weigh again, math
  • hqlane
    hqlane Posts: 1
    Options
    It's always nice to know I am not alone in my questions! I just found this great resource: http://www.barilla.com/faq?p=measuring. It shows approximate measurements for uncooked and cooked pastas my shape. Good luck everyone!:smile:

Categories