I would think it’s 1lb dried pasta.

Funny, just yesterday on another forum someone mentioned using 8oz of cooked pasta and when I asked for clarication on whether she meant 8oz cooked or 8oz dried, I was met with nasty replies.

Anyway in this case I’d agree with Colleen and assume dry.

And I’d say it would matter, as pasta more than doubles in weight when cooked.

Nasty replies? Why?

Isn't that what cooking boards are for? To ask questions?

Louise, I also agree on the one pound dry, since that's often the weight of one box. The right amount to fit your pan is another option, but then you might have to adjust the rest. I thought from the title that you were going to ask if you should cook it. :) Some recipes have you put it in dry and add liquid to cook it in to the casserole. For a more normal casserole, I usually use pasta that's a little undercooked so it can soak up the liquid that weeps from the ingredients when they get hot.

“someone mentioned using 8oz of cooked pasta”- if they said 8oz of cooked pasta, I would assume 8 oz of pasta weighed after cooking. If they meant 8oz of pasta, cooked, then I would assume the pasta is dried.

It’s like when the recipe says 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped, I measure 1/2 cup dried apricots then chop them. If it said 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, I would chop then measure.

How many people is it supposed to feed? I'd use that to determine whether they mean cooked or dry.

Islay’s on the right track. A pound of dry pasta would feed 6 people if it’s a pasta heavy thicker version.

It’s unlikely a recipe would stipulate cooked pasta for practical reasons. You wouldn’t know how much dry pasta to start with to produce a specific quantity of cooked. Plus the pasta is meant to cook in the stock and absorb the flavours.

“It’s like when the recipe says 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped…”

Exactly. In my case, the discussion was about how much sauce we like on our pasta. Someone said she put X amount of sauce on 8 oz of cooked pasta. So I asked. Shame on me.

But for all the reasons mentioned above, I’d assume dried pasta in any recipe, unless specified otherwise.

I have never ever seen a recipe that calls for a given weight of cooked pasta. I have seen recipes that call for a measure of cooked pasta, but never a weight, because pasta is sold by the pound not by the cup.

It’s unlikely a recipe would stipulate cooked pasta for practical reasons. You wouldn’t know how much dry pasta to start with to produce a specific quantity of cooked. Plus the pasta is meant to cook in the stock and absorb the flavours.

Ditto.

"It’s like when the recipe says 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped, I measure 1/2 cup dried apricots then chop them."

^Right. It's not infrequent that you see misuse of commas in recipes.

Louise, I agree with everyone else regarding using dry pasta. As plllog mentioned, I thought you were asking about cooking it first. I also undercook any pasta that's going to be baked.

Thanks all. i will finish it today. I made the sauce a little soupy so when its baked, its not dry.. I’ll cook the pound of penne el dente first, assemble the casserole and bake to finish.