Learn how to boil the best spaghetti and how to cook the tastiest long pasta noodles in the world. You can`t and won`t find any better side dish than boiled spaghetti. And by adding only a few ingredients, for example, sautéed garlic in olive oil and grated parmesan, you can make spaghetti a separate dish that can be delicious and nutritious at the same time.
Besides, there are many ways to diversify spaghetti with different types of sauces and added ingredients. The number of combinations for vegetables, seafood, and various types of meat with cheesy, creamy, tomato, or olive oil-based sauces is endless.
How long do you boil spaghetti?
The easiest answer is to check the packaging for instructions. You can find there recommended times for boiling the type of pasta you have. As different types of pasta may have different cooking times due to the different ingredients, shapes, and sizes.
However, you should use those instructions carefully only as a guideline. The best way to know whether spaghetti is ready or not is to try it. So, here is your first rule to boiling perfect spaghetti: TASTE PASTA TO SEE IF IT IS READY.
And how do you know that pasta is ready? You should always cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. The inside of a noodle should be firm but not crunchy. Here is an approximate time frame for cooking spaghetti.
How long do you boil spaghetti on the stove? Average spaghetti cooking time in boiling water varies from 7 to 9 minutes.
How long to cook pasta in pressure cooker? It can take you from 10 to 12 minutes to cook spaghetti in a pressure cooker.
All the “rules” that I think you should always keep in mind while cooking spaghetti are listed at the end of the article.
How to boil spaghetti at home so it does not stick
You know how they say that every cook has their way to cook spaghetti. Well, as it turns out, it is not a joke. You won’t believe how many recipes I tried before I came up with this spaghetti cooking technique. I hope you will appreciate this post, and the mentioned tricks will make your pasta cooking experience easier.
Ingredients for boiled pasta:
- 100 g spaghetti noodles;
- 1 l water;
- 10 g salt.
How to cook spaghetti in boiling water:
- First, choose a pot of the right size, as you are to use one liter of water for every 100 grams of spaghetti noodles. There should be enough space for pasta to cook through evenly and to prevent it from sticking.
That is why it is important to calculate how many grams of pasta you will be cooking. The proper portion of pasta per person is around 56 grams/2 ounces. So, the measurements that I have in the recipe are enough for 2 people.
- Pour the necessary amount of water into the pot and let it boil on high heat.
- Add salt to boiling water. There is a saying that water for spaghetti should be as salty as water in the sea. Well, I have more accurate advice for you to follow. The ratio of salt to water for boiling spaghetti is 10 grams of salt per 1 liter of water.
- Now, lower spaghetti into boiling water. In 15-20 seconds, half of the spaghetti submerged in water will start melting. Then using a pasta fork or tongs, twist spaghetti noodles in such a way that they all will be submerged in water.
- For a minute, stir pasta with a fork, so it will help you to prevent spaghetti from sticking. You can cover the pot with a lid to get water boiling again. When it starts boiling with spaghetti, open the lid. Do not cover the pot again while cooking pasta!
- To prevent pasta from sticking, stir spaghetti once or twice while cooking.
- As I have already mentioned, the best way to know whether pasta is ready or not is to try it. I can`t stress how important to rely on your taste than on what is written on the packaging.
- When you have spaghetti al dente, drain it into the colander. Do not forget to save a cup of cooking water from pasta for further use (it is a perfect remedy to loosen up the sauce if it turns out too thick).
- To get the pasta to taste better, add some olive oil or a tablespoon of butter and some freshly ground black pepper before serving!
To summarize, I would like to make a list of all the important tips that will be useful to get that perfect boiled spaghetti:
- The real way to prevent spaghetti from sticking is to cook it in enough water.
- To season pasta, add salt to boiling water using a ratio of 10 g per 1 liter of water.
- Do not put olive oil in pasta water! It does nothing to pasta.
- Do not rinse pasta! The hot water on the spaghetti strands will help you to coat pasta with a sauce more evenly.
- Do not leave the pasta in water after cooking.
- When draining, do not forget to save a cup of pasta water. It can be useful later for stretching the sauce if it turns out very sticky.
Here is the list of my favorite spaghetti dishes:
- Spaghetti and Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe
- Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe
- Shrimp Pasta Recipe with Creamy Sauce
How to cook pasta in pressure cooker?
You can choose this method for boiling spaghetti if you have no time to check pasta when you have it cooking on the stove. This method is quick and easy to follow, but the main condition is that you have a cooker. See how you cook spaghetti in a pressure cooker, step-by-step:
- Take the necessary amount of spaghetti and break it in half. Unfortunately, we have to do it so that spaghetti fits into the cooker cup.
- Boil water in a kettle and cover spaghetti with it in a cooker. Make sure that water will be 2-3 cm above the pasta.
- Do not forget to add salt. 1 tsp for 1 liter of water.
- Press necessary mode. It can be called Spaghetti or Pasta (even Rice will do) and set the timer for 10 minutes.
- If spaghetti is still not ready after cooking for 10 minutes, cook it for additional 2 minutes.
- Drain the spaghetti with a colander or sieve. Serve with butter and freshly ground black pepper to make it more delicious.
I have decided to include this second method for boiling spaghetti just in case it comes in handy.
Hope that you enjoyed my recipe and will share it with your friends!
Easy spaghetti recipe - How to cook spaghetti on the stove
Ingredients
- 100 g spaghetti noodles
- 1 l water
- 10 g salt
Instructions
- First, choose a pot of the right size, as you are to use one liter of water for every 100 grams of spaghetti noodles. There should be enough space for pasta to cook through evenly and to prevent it from sticking.
- Pour the necessary amount of water into the pot and let it boil on high heat.
- Add salt to boiling water. There is a saying that water for spaghetti should be as salty as water in the sea. Well, I have more accurate advice for you to follow. The ratio of salt to water for boiling spaghetti is 10 grams of salt per 1 liter of water.
- Now, lower spaghetti into boiling water. In 15-20 seconds, half of the spaghetti submerged in water will start melting. Then using a pasta fork or tongs, twist spaghetti noodles in such a way that they all will be submerged in water.
- For a minute, stir pasta with a fork, so it will help you to prevent spaghetti from sticking. You can cover the pot with a lid to get water boiling again. When it starts boiling with spaghetti, open the lid. Do not cover the pot again while cooking pasta!
- To prevent pasta from sticking, stir spaghetti once or twice while cooking.
- As I have already mentioned, the best way to know whether pasta is ready or not is to try it. I can`t stress how important to rely on your taste than on what is written on the packaging.
- When you have spaghetti al dente, drain it into the colander. Do not forget to save a cup of cooking water from pasta for further use (it is a perfect remedy to loosen up the sauce if it turns out too thick).
- To get the pasta to taste better, add some olive oil or a tablespoon of butter and some freshly ground black pepper before serving!
Notes
If you want to recommend what I should make next, leave a comment below.
