Why Does My Spagetti Turn Out Runny?

Question

What am I doing wrong? Everytime I make Spagetti, after putting on the sauce, I can literally drain water off the plate. I do let the pasta drain in a strainer for a few mintues and it seems dry.

Is there some trick to non runny spagetti? Am I not cooking the pasta enough. Is the sauce too hot?

Great Suggestions - Thanks everyone. I never thought about possibly over cooking, so I'll keep a closer watch on the time and I'll also try mixing pasta and sauce before putting it on the plate.

Answer 1

The trick to good spaghetti is not to overcook it. If you cook it just shy of "al dente", you are on the right path. Drain the pasta, then put it back in the pot, add the sauce, and cook on low heat. The pasta will absorb some more water from the sauce, and the heat will help evaporate some of the water in the sauce. The pasta will not be too soft, as there isn't a lot of water for it to absorb. This works well for all kinds of pasta. Also, do not add oil to the water - adding oil ensures that the sauce will not stick to the pasta, and not be able to absorb more water.

Answer 2

If you have drained the pasta well, the heat still in it ought to dry out any remaining moisture before you add the sauce. Makes me wonder if the problem is overcooking... where the pasta has become too mushy, and completely absorbed the water into it, in which case, no pun intended, you're sunk, lol
Italians cook pasta "al dente" meaning just to the point where you obviously don't break your teeth on it, but you can pick up a strand of it and it still holds its form and doesn't squish between your fingers. Another trick I've seen my Italian friends do is rinse the cooked pasta under cold running water for a few moments. Again there is still enough heat in the pasta for it to evaporate remaining moisture. You don't say how you are cooking it in the water. Some people get the idea that if you add a little oil to the cooking water, it'll keep the pasta from sticking to itself. In fact it's inclined to do the opposite. So no oil.
Only other thing I can think of is that your sauce is too thin. If none of these suggestions fixes the problem, ya got me beat LOL.

Answer 3

you're over-cooking your pasta. dont follow the directions on most packages;they advise too long cooking time. cook it about 2/3 of the recommended time. after rinsing and straining very thoroughly, spread the pasta out a bit to let it expose more surface area for evaporation. you can also heat the pasta in the empty pot for a few minutes on VERY LOW heat to evaporate even more water. dont use a sauce that is too watery--use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce (which is very watery). combine the sauce and pasta together and let it sit for a while before serving--the starch from the pasta will thicken the sauce as they sit. also if your using too much salt, this will draw moisture out of the pasta and make it pool in the bottom of the serving plate--use more herbs and spices and way less salt.

Answer 4

You can add some tomato paste to your sauce to thicken it. After draining your pasta and letting it cool, place it in your serving dish and add enough sauce to the pasta to coat it when tossed. Then serve and add the additional sauce as desired.

Answer 5

Drain the pasta well, and cook down your sauce more, let it reduce well. Somewhere there's too much water/liquid content.

Answer 6

If your making spaghetti from cans of tomatoes it needs to simmer for at least 2 hours with the lid off to vent off the extra water/steam. Tomato paste is the true thickener as well. You may need 2 of those little cans if your making a big batch.

Answer 7

maybe your sauce is too thin...what do you use? macaroni tends to hold more water than spaghetti so you really have to strain it well.