Cooking pasta al dente is pretty easy. In Italy, they do no different and every pasta or spaghetti is cooked al dente. The pasta is just cooked enough but still has a nice bite. With these simple tips, you can cook your pasta al dente without effort!
What is al dente?
To put it simply, al dente pasta is pasta that is almost cooked. The pasta has been cooked long enough to be soft and edible but still has a slight bite.
Cook the pasta just a little shorter than indicated on the package so that the pasta is al dente.
For example, if the package says 9 minutes cooking time, cook the pasta for 8 minutes. Pasta that is cooked al dente is called pasta al dente.
What does al dente mean?
Al dente is an Italian expression mainly used when cooking pasta.
As a pasta lover, you have surely heard that pasta must be cooked al dente. At least, that’s how it’s done in Italy.
But what exactly does al dente mean? It means literally translated, on the tooth. So the pasta is cooked al dente. Long enough to eat but the pasta still has a nice bite. This is called al dente.
How do you cook pasta al dente?
You cook pasta al dente by draining it just before the indicated cooking time (indicated on the package).
For each type of pasta you have a different cooking time so it can seem quite complicated. That’s why we made a list of cooking times so you can easily cook each pasta al dente.
Below is a list of cooking times in minutes:
Pasta al dente cooking time in minutes:
Al dente Spaghetti: 8 minutes
Al dente Penne: 7 minutes
Al dente Farfalle: 8 minutes
Al dente Fusilli: 8 minutes
Al dente Fettuccine: 4 minutes
Al dente Tagliatelle: 4 minutes
Al dente Pappardelle: 5 minutes
The cooking time of al dente pasta is simply put, the cooking time indicated on the package minus 1 minute. So always check the cooking time indicated on the package. In fact, this can vary from one brand of pasta to another.
Cooking pasta like an Italian
Cooking pasta like they do in Italy is, of course, the goal. Al dente, with a pinch of salt and without olive oil. Because we want to tell you everything about cooking pasta, we wrote a whole blog about it. Full of useful tips and facts. Read all about pasta cooking in our blog: Cooking pasta is how you do it.
What is also very handy when cooking al dente pasta is of course a pasta pan. Read all about this handy kitchen tool in our blog about: What is a good pasta pan?