Single-Serving Pasta That Doesn't Feel Like a Punishment

75-80g of dried pasta is the right amount for one person as a main. Most people either massively over-estimate (ending up with a cereal bowl of beige noodles) or under-estimate (three forkfuls and it's gone). Get the weight right and everything else becomes easier.

The Portioning Problem

Pasta is deceptive. It looks like not enough in the packet and too much in the pot. The standard advice to use a pasta-measure hole in a spoon is mostly useless because different pasta shapes pack differently. A kitchen scale - even a cheap one - solves this permanently. 75g for a lighter meal, 90g if you're hungry, done.

For the sauce to pasta ratio to work, you also need the right pan. A 20cm frying pan or a 16cm saucepan is enough for one serving. Cooking a single portion in a huge pot means the sauce spreads too thin and the pasta cools down fast. Solo cooking rewards having the right size equipment - for a full breakdown, see the solo kitchen toolkit guide.

The Water Problem Nobody Talks About

When you're cooking 80g of pasta, you don't need 4 litres of water - but you do need enough. About 1.5 litres in a medium saucepan works well. Salt it properly: a full teaspoon of fine salt for this amount of water. Undersalted pasta is flat no matter how good the sauce is.

Don't drain the pasta completely. Save a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain - it's the difference between a sauce that clings and one that sits in a puddle at the bottom of the bowl. Even a splash makes a real difference.

Four Sauces That Work for One

Aglio e olio (10 minutes, pantry only)

This is the best argument for cooking for yourself. Three or four cloves of garlic, sliced thin, cooked slowly in olive oil until golden (not brown), a pinch of chilli flakes, the pasta, a splash of the cooking water, tossed hard until the oil emulsifies into a glossy coating. Parmesan on top. Around 450 kcal, 14g protein. It costs almost nothing and tastes like something you'd order in a restaurant.

Fast tomato sauce (15 minutes)

Two tablespoons of olive oil, one small tin of chopped tomatoes (or half a 400g tin - use the rest in soup or eggs the next day), a smashed garlic clove, a pinch of sugar, salt. Simmer 10 minutes while the pasta cooks. Add a few torn basil leaves if you have them. This freezes well too - make a double batch and freeze one portion in a small container. Around 480 kcal with 80g of spaghetti.

Cacio e pepe (10 minutes)

Technically a two-ingredient sauce: pecorino romano (or parmesan) and black pepper. The technique is the recipe. Toast a generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper in a dry pan for 30 seconds, add a ladle of pasta water, add the drained pasta, take the pan off the heat, add finely grated cheese, toss constantly. The residual heat melts the cheese into a cream. If it seizes up, more pasta water. Takes a few tries to get right, but once you have it it's the best 10-minute meal in the repertoire.

Butter and parmesan (5 minutes)

Not as boring as it sounds if you do it properly. Good butter - at least 15g - in a warm pan, not hot. Pasta goes in directly from the boiling water (use tongs, bring some water with it). Toss until the butter coats every strand. Grate parmesan generously. A squeeze of lemon. This is the meal for when you're exhausted and need something that tastes like food rather than a compromise.

Nutrition (per serving, approximately)

• Aglio e olio: ~450 kcal, 12g protein, 58g carbs, 18g fat
• Fast tomato sauce: ~480 kcal, 14g protein, 72g carbs, 14g fat
• Cacio e pepe: ~520 kcal, 18g protein, 62g carbs, 20g fat
• Butter and parmesan: ~490 kcal, 15g protein, 60g carbs, 20g fat

Meal Prep Notes

Cooked pasta doesn't store or reheat especially well - it absorbs sauce and turns gummy. Better to cook fresh each time, which for a single portion takes 12-15 minutes start to finish. What you can prep: the sauces. A batch of tomato sauce keeps in the fridge for 4 days or freezes for 3 months in a small pot. A jar of pesto (try this parsley and walnut pesto) keeps refrigerated for 5 days and turns pasta into a two-minute meal.

For a full plan of solo dinners that rotate efficiently through the week, see the complete cooking for one guide.