Don't Add Olive Oil To Your Pasta Water

You've probably heard at some point that you should add olive oil to your pasta water. I totally understand the logic: You don’t want your pasta to stick together, and oil is slippery. For some people, it’s become second nature, just as you would salt the pasta water or break the spaghetti in half. But here’s the thing: You definitely don’t need to add olive oil when cooking pasta.

Oil and Water Don’t Mix

Let’s go back to grade school chemistry, shall we. Oil and water don’t mix. This means the oil in a pot of boiling pasta water is going to float in globs on the surface as the pasta cooks. You can stand there forever stirring the water, trying to emulsify the oil into it, but it’s not gonna happen.

All you need to do is “agitate the pasta water,” says Robert Seixas, Delish’s Senior Food Director. Use a spoon or tongs to make circular or zig zag motions in the pot. “Agitation is important in the first minute or so, then every so often after that. It doesn't need to be constant,” Seixas says. “Spaghetti and other long shapes need more vigilance and more frequent agitation.”

If you’re cooking longer shapes like spaghetti or lasagna sheets, use a large, shallow pan and grab tongs to help you separate the pieces throughout the cooking process.

Please don’t do this.

Your Sauce Might Not Stick if You Use Oil

When both Lidia Bastianich and Missy Robbins tell you not to add oil to pasta water, you should listen. Olive oil doesn’t prevent sticking in the pot, and it also doesn’t disappear. When you drain water or remove the pasta with a slotted spoon, the oil will likely hitch a ride, coating the pieces of pasta. Some people say the sauce won’t cling as well if the noodles are oiled. If you’re using an oil-based sauce like aglio e olio or pesto, you may have a different experience.

Please Don’t Add Expensive Olive Oil to Your Pasta Water

In order for pasta to actually prevent itself from sticking “you would have to use several cups of oil, thereby bankrupting yourself,” says Seixas. Not only is that obscene, but it’s seriously not worth it. Wouldn’t you rather drizzle your finest olive oil over a plate of pasta?

Oil Prevents Water From Boiling Over, But Still…

There are videos on the internet showing people coating the inside of a pasta pot with an oiled paper towel. The only reason you’d really want to do this is to prevent the water from boiling over. Instead, fill your pot with just enough water.

“People often cook pasta with way too much water," Seixas says. If you have the right amount of water, "you will cut down the time it takes for water to boil, plus you will be left with a more concentrated, starchy, slightly salty pasta water, which is ideal for incorporating into your sauce.” Keep an eye on your pasta water and give it a stir occasionally. Also, the water doesn’t need to be rapidly boiling for the pasta to cook; a low simmer is fine.

Long story short, there is basically no benefit to adding oil to the pot when cooking pasta. It creates potential problems and it’s just a waste of ingredients.