Kitchen Tips How To How to Measure Spaghetti for Two Servings No gadgets or tools necessary. By Hayley Sugg Updated on June 25, 2023 It's easy to be overzealous when it comes to filling the pasta pot. Dump a whole box of spaghetti into your boiling water, and next thing you know, you've got enough noodles to feed an army. If you're trying to avoid a mountain of leftovers, learn our easy trick for measuring individual portions of spaghetti. How Much Spaghetti Per Person? The key to measuring spaghetti, or any other long pasta like linguine or fettuccine, is using your hand. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), two ounces of dry spaghetti is a single serving, and the diameter of this measurement is quite similar to a U.S. quarter. How to Measure Pasta Take your pointer finger and thumb and make a circle, then shrink it small enough that it's roughly the size of a quarter. Push the pasta in between your fingers, and whatever fits is a single serving. That's it! Now you can easily measure out pasta for one, two, or a whole crowd. If you've already cooked your spaghetti, and you're wondering how to dole out servings, one cup of cooked pasta is a serving. Pile up your plate, slather on some sauce, and get to slurping. Related Content: How to Make Homemade Pasta 15 Recipes That Start with a Box of Spaghetti The All-Purpose Ratio for One-Pot Pastas Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit