Every cook has done it. You tip what looks like a sensible amount of pasta into the pot, and 12 minutes later you’ve made enough to feed a football team. Or, worse, not quite enough, and there’s a quiet negotiation over the last spoonful.
Here’s a cheat sheet of everyday cooking quantities, so you can get it roughly right the first time.
The cheat sheet (per adult, uncooked)
These are typical cooking quantities for a main meal, not dietary advice. Appetites vary, so adjust for your household.
| Food | Per adult (uncooked) | Handy measure |
|---|---|---|
| Dried pasta | 75–100 g | About a big handful |
| Rice | 60–75 g | About ⅓ cup |
| Couscous | 60–75 g | About ⅓ cup |
| Mince, diced meat or chicken | 100–150 g | Roughly the size of your palm |
| Fish fillet | 120–150 g | One fillet |
| Potatoes | 150–200 g | One or two medium |
| Noodles (dried) | 75–100 g | One nest or block |
| Lentils (dried) | 50–75 g | About ¼ cup |
For kids, start at roughly half an adult amount, and adjust for age and appetite (and for the teenager who seems to eat their own body weight in pasta).
[verify each figure before publishing]
Planning for leftovers
If you’re cooking once to eat twice (and you should), just double the amount for the people eating. Monday’s mince becomes Tuesday’s lunch, and your future self sends thanks.
Cooking for a crowd
I love feeding a crowd, and I’ve learnt to plan for the hungriest person at the table, not the average one. When the whole family’s coming, I make a little more than the cheat sheet says and plan the leftovers into the next day’s lunches, so nothing goes to waste. For a big roast, like my 13-hour lamb, I work out the serves first, then buy the cut that covers everyone with some to spare.
From “per person” to “what to buy”
Here’s where it gets fiddly. Say you’re cooking pasta for four adults on Monday and rice for four on Wednesday:
- Pasta: 4 × 100 g = 400 g, and packets come in 500 g, so one packet with a little spare
- Rice: 4 × 75 g = 300 g, and you might already have half a bag in the pantry
That’s the maths that turns a meal plan into a sensible shopping list. You don’t buy 400 g of pasta; you buy a 500 g packet and know there’s 100 g left for another night.
Where My Tomte helps
My Tomte does this maths for you. It works out what the week’s meals need for everyone eating, subtracts what’s already in your kitchen, and rounds the list up to pack sizes you can actually buy. So the list says “1 × 500 g pasta”, not “400 g pasta”, and the leftover 100 g is remembered for next time.
Quick answers
How much pasta per person?
Around 75–100 g of dried pasta per adult for a main meal.
How much rice per person?
Around 60–75 g of uncooked rice, or about ⅓ cup, per adult.
How much mince per person?
Around 100–150 g of raw mince per adult.