How to Use Leftover Pasta Water

Co-authored by Sasha Reyes

If you're trying to conserve water, you may want to do something with leftover pasta water rather than pour it down the drain. Pasta water can be used as broth in soup or an ingredient in bread. You can also use pasta water to drink or water your plants. However, you can only reuse pasta water for so long before it becomes too starchy. Make sure to discard pasta water that is very cloudy.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Reusing Pasta Water for Cooking

1
Use pasta water for bread. As pasta water retains some starch and flavor from the pasta, it can be used in bread. If your bread recipe calls for water, save your pasta water in the fridge. Later, when you make bread, you can use the leftover pasta water instead of tap water.^{[1]
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Cook rice in leftover pasta water. Pasta water can add some flavor and richness to rice. Instead of boiling rice in tap water, use your leftover pasta water in rice.^{[2]
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- If you're making a big meal, it can be easy to simply transfer your pasta water to another pot when you're done cooking. You can then bring that water to a boil and use it to cook rice.
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3
Loosen thick sauce with pasta water. If you're making your own pasta sauce, you don't have to let your pasta water go to waste. If your sauce is a little too thick, throw in a splash of pasta water. This will lighten up your sauce, making it easier to spread, while adding some flavor from the noodles.^{[3]
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4
Use the water as broth in soups. Pasta water will have some starch and flavor from the pasta. If you also boiled some vegetables with the pasta, it will have that flavor as well. Therefore, it can be great to use as a broth in soups. Instead of using vegetable or chicken stock, substitute these ingredients with leftover pasta water.^{[4]
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- This is especially good if you're watching your sodium intake. Soup broths can be very high in sodium. Replacing them with leftover pasta water will greatly cut down on your sodium intake.^{[5]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Pasta Water for Other Means

1
Add the water to a compost bin. If you're composting already, a small amount of leftover pasta water can be added to your compost bin. You can simply drain your pasta over the compost bin, recycling the water and not creating excess waste.^{[6]
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2
Water your plants with pasta water. Remove pasta water and allow it to cool. Then, use it to water your plants. This prevents the water from going to waste.
- Wait until the water has cooled. Boiling water can kill plants.^{[7]
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- Some people notice pasta water has an adverse effect on their plans, so stop using pasta water if you notice your plants wilting.
3
Try drinking leftover pasta water. If you've also boiled vegetables with leftover pasta water, there may be trace amount of vitamins and minerals in the water. There may also be vitamins and minerals if you used something like enriched noodles. You can cool off pasta water and then drink it later on.^{[8]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Taking Precautions

1
Test the flavor before saving pasta water. Before adding pasta water to something like bread or soup, allow it to cool enough that you can taste it. You may find the flavor of the water would not go well with your recipe. In this case, try to use the pasta water for something other than cooking.^{[9]
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2
Avoid using pasta water for cleaning. Pasta water should not be used for cleaning purposes. It is very starchy and, if you boiled something like vegetables in the water, it may be discolored. This can stain surfaces, so do not use pasta water to clean.^{[10]
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3
Discard the water when it gets too cloudy. Pasta water can only be re-used so many times. If you cook pasta in the same water twice, it will become increasingly starchy as it draws more water from the pasta. Eventually, it will become too thick to use. If you reuse the same water to boil pasta over and over again, discard the water after it gets thick and cloudy.^{[11]
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Finished.