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How to Dehydrate Pasta

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Dehydrate Pasta? It’s already dry, isn’t it? Dehydrating pasta is beneficial for those creating hiking/backpacking/camping meals, or creating truly ‘instant’ meals for the pantry. Give it a try!

A Dehydrated meal in a jar next to dehydrated pasta

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Much like dehydrating rice, it’s easy to create an ‘instant’ pasta by dehydrating.

Why Dehydrate Pasta?

Drying pasta does seem strange when most pasta is already dry when you purchase it. But there are a few reasons why dehydrating pasta may be a great idea for you!

  • Fresh Pasta – drying fresh pasta in the dehydrator takes less time than air drying on the counter. *
  • Hiking/Camping/Backpacking – already cooked and dried pasta requires less water to carry in or to source for meals. It can also be soaked without heat in order to create a meal.
  • Instant Meals – with meals in a jar or other ‘instant’ soup applications, having already dehydrated pasta makes the instant faster as well as reduces water needs. This is especially good for emergency meals.
  • Reduces starch – for any of these meals, cooking pasta from the original dried package can leave a lot of starch behind that you may not enjoy. Using dehydrated pasta reduces that starch greatly.
  • Living in hot climates where turning on a stove to boil water can be problematic. Prepare these ahead of time in cooler weather and use a tea kettle to get hot water to rehydrate pasta in instead of having to boil it for everyday use.

Pro Tip: For safe food handling, it is recommended to cook pasta that contains raw eggs before dehydrating

How to Dehydrate Pasta

  1. Cook pasta according to box directions. For truly instant pasta, you’ll want it fully cooked. If you are using homemade, cook it as well.
  2. Dunk into cold water or an ice bath to stop the cooking process, much like blanching.
  3. Place on dehydrator trays and dry at 135F / 57C and dry from 6 to 12 hours, depending on the density of the pasta
  4. Store in an airtight container

Yield:

1/2 Cup = 1/2 Cup. They don’t reduce in size the way fruit and vegetables do.

Before and after comparison of dehydrated pasta

Rehydrate:

1:1 parts water to pasta

Boiling water will yield quicker results, but even soaking in cold water will work, it will just take a little longer to do.

Store

Store in airtight containers just as you would regular pasta. It’s all that is needed.

Types of Pasta to Dry

You can dehydrate almost any type of pasta! Shaped pasta works better than long or thick pasta for drying and storage.

  • Elbow
  • Spaghetti
  • Orzo
  • Angel hair tip: Do this in nests to help with storage.
  • Rotini
  • Farfalle
  • Cous Cous
  • Penne

Types of Pasta to not use

You can do these pastas, but they may take longer to dry, be thicker to do an unless you are diligent, may not be fully dry inside, and may contain oils/fats that may not give you a long shelf-life, but might be fine for a short shelf-life.

  • Lasagna
  • Manicotti
  • Ravioli
  • Shells
  • Tortellini

Meal in a jar mix from dehydrated ingredients

How to use Dehydrated Pasta

You can use dehydrated pasta in almost any way you use cooked pasta

Meals in a jar – the recipes are endless and make perfect meals on the go, emergency meals, camping/hiking meals. They are also great for gift giving at the holiday season, as well as giving elderly folk who can’t do a lot of cooking any longer but would love a hot-cooked meal without all the work!

Other Grains that Can Be Dried

  • Brown Rice – Remember that the natural oils in brown rice don’t go away in the dehydration process, so they will not be good for long-term storage, nor does dehydrating extend their shelf-life significantly. It does, however, shorten the cooking time for rehydrating in quick meals or camping/hiking meals.
  • Oats – all varieties can be cooked and dehydrated in the same fashion.
  • Quinoa
  • Barley

Frequently Asked Questions about dehydrating pasta

Isn’t pasta already dried? What’s the point?

The point is to make pasta more friendly for low-water situations. Hiking/camping, emergency meals, on the road meals, etc. Less water is require to cook, less starch is released, and less energy is needed to prepare.

Will this work for homemade pasta?

Yes – cook it first, then dry it as per the instructions above. If they contain eggs, the safest way is to cook them first, then dry.

Is this good for long-term storage?

While dehydrating pasta is a great solution for making meals to fit emergency situations, or hiking and camping trips, or for meals in a jar, it is unnecessary for long-term storage. It isn’t going to make the pasta last longer, and you’re doing the work twice if you aren’t using it in one of the above situations.

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Before and after comparison of dehydrated pasta

Dehydrate Pasta for Meals in a Jar

Dehydrate pasta to make meals in a jar or hiking/camping recipes easier and quicker to prepare when there may be little water available.
5 from 1 vote
Print PIN THIS! Rate
Course: Main Course, Preserved Food
Cuisine: American, Italian
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Drying Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 1
Calories: 220kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • Pasta

Instructions

  • Prepare pasta per package directions
  • Dunk into cold water or an ice bath to stop the cooking process, much like blanching.
  • Place onto dehydrator sheets (not touching)
  • Dry at 135F / 57C for 6-12 hours until fully dry
  • Store in an airtight container for up to two years.

Rehydrating

  • Rehydrate with 1:1 hot water

Video

Darcy’s Tips

Rehydrating:
If using in a meal in a jar or a soup mix in a thermos, no additional rehdyration needs to happen, but you may need to add a little extra water.
If rehydrating on its own 1:1 hot water is best, but you may find adjustments need to be made if your pasta is still hard, it may need more time and a little extra water.
Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cup | Calories: 220kcal

Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.

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12 Comments

  1. Are there any differences for whole wheat pasta?

    1. I’ve never done it, but there shouldn’t be any – rehydrating will always be something that you have to adjust depending on the type of pasta and its thickness.

  2. Are there any differences for dehydrating whole wheat pasta?

  3. This would be great for a grid down situation where you need to ration water, etc. Boiling a cup of water is better than having to boil a whole pot full. So preparing it in advance to be ready for those situations is wise.

  4. Hi, thanks for the great idea. How long does it take to reconstitute the pasta?

    1. It will depend on your pasta and how hot the water is. No more than fifteen minutes in most cases.

      1. 5 stars
        Can we dry pasta with sauce?
        For example chicken, tomato…

      2. It’s best not to use proteins or fats, but yes. And if you use proteins or fats, store in the freezer for optimal storage, then remove for your hiking/backpacking trip.

  5. So, if we’re not using the pasta for hiking/camping/emergency use, you would advise to air dry homemade pasta, correct?

    1. No- feel free to use your dehydrator (cook it first if it contains eggs). What I don’t suggest is cooking then drying commercially purchased pasta simply for storage – it isn’t going to extend the shelf life.

  6. Why don’t you recommend dehydrating shells?

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