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Tip: Freezing unsauced pasta

Preparing pasta for freezingRegular readers may remember my post on freezing sauced spaghetti cups in individual servings for speedy packed lunches, but you can also freeze unsauced, cooked pasta for greater flexibility. Today I cooked and froze a batch of pasta (gemelli here) for speedy lunch prep. Just grab a pack from the freezer and use in dishes when texture is not at the forefront (i.e. sauced pasta salads, with tomato-based sauces, etc.). The important point here is to toss the hot, freshly cooked pasta in some butter, olive oil or vegetable oil right after draining to keep it from sticking, and to freeze it quickly after tossing with the oil. My Japanese books on freezing recommend cooking it al dente, and microwaving when you’re ready to eat for pasta in a hurry. For bento lunches, I like to pack a little extra sauce on the side and re-sauce it right before eating so that it’s not too dry. Edit: You can pull out the frozen pasta on busy mornings when nothing else is at hand, and make a quick pasta salad or combine it with some pasta sauce or leftover curry or stew for a quick meal like this leftover curry pasta lunch.

How to Freeze: You can use either freezer bags or plastic wrap to freeze. The advantage of a freezer bag is that you can shake out just as much pasta as you want toFreezing pasta use, and reseal the excess. If using freezer bags, be sure to press or suck out the excess air from the bag with a straw before sealing (picture a do-it-yourself FoodSaver vacuum sealer). This helps prevent freezer burn. If using plastic wrap, freeze little packages of individual servings on a metal tray to speed freezing, then put the packets inside of a larger freezer bag or airtight freezer container for longer-term storage. Frozen pasta will taste best when used within one month of freezing, but can technically be held indefinitely as long as the freezer temperature is below 0 degrees F (not Celsius!) and the pasta is well wrapped to prevent freezer burn.

Freezing pasta

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July 12th, 2007 | Categories: freezing, parenthacks, pasta or noodles, tips, tutorial or how to | Print This Post Print This Post | Email this post Email this post

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14 Responses to “Tip: Freezing unsauced pasta”

  1. polly jean Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 12:13 am

    Great idea! I wonder if this works for gluten-free pasta.

  2. Sithean Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 7:35 am

    Your posts are so awesome. I’m so glad I found this site. =)

  3. Biggie Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 8:11 am

    @1 from polly jean:
    Should do — I’ll try it out with some Tinkyada. I think the trick is going to be getting it al dente(not overcooked) as that was always more of an issue with GF pasta than regular gluten pasta.

  4. Biggie Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 8:12 am

    @2 from Sithean:
    Hey, thanks Sithean! :-)

  5. Jessica Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 9:48 am

    OK, you are welcome to call me stupid, but I don’t get it why you don’t freeze pasta with sauce in the first place. My experience with pasta sallad is that it holds well if you make it the night before and cool well the day after. If you want it really mixed in the morning you can do like an mise en place the night before with all ingredients chopped up and then just toss everything together in the morning. Takes just five or so minutes.
    I see the relevance with frozen rice far more than I see it with frozen pasta but then I have never been that much into pasta to be honest. I am more of a rice person (but then I store a 20 pound rice bag in the closet ;) and go through one of those bags every 2 months or so), and never put the rice cooker away.

  6. Biggie Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 10:45 am

    @5 from Jessica:
    Pasta salad does hold well, but sometimes I don’t have my act together enough to have prepared enough sauce, etc. to freeze pasta with the sauce (or in a salad). But as long as I’m boiling pasta for a meal anyway, I figure just boil some extra and tuck it away in the freezer for when I’m scrambling in the morning. Then I can throw together a quick pasta salad with vinaigrette or a sauced pasta and get it into the bento box fast.

  7. Jessica Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 11:10 am

    @ 6, Biggie,
    Ah, ok.
    Not having enough innovative brain function today ;).

  8. Jeri Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 3:55 pm

    Jessica…that’s why she’s Biggie and we’re not! Innovative brain funtion!

  9. Biggie Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    @8 from Jeri:
    Ha ha, thanks!

  10. Jessica Says:
    July 13th, 2007 at 11:23 pm

    @ 8-9 oh indeed :)
    Let us say that I wasn’t working at my fullest potential.
    The fruit “salad” with the curry meal looks absolutely delicious btw, Biggie! I adore figs!

  11. Corgi Says:
    July 18th, 2007 at 9:21 pm

    Biggie, can I toss the suggestion of Press ‘n’ Seal plastic wrap in here? Since it’ll stick to itself, it might be easier than regular cling wrap to press the air out of irregularly-shaped food packages.

    Also makes good emergency ‘gloves’, I found in an unpleasant cleaning situation. ;)

  12. Biggie Says:
    July 18th, 2007 at 9:45 pm

    @11 from Corgi:
    Hmm, I’m not sure I want to know about your ‘unpleasant cleaning situation’! :-) Press ‘n’ Seal sounds like a good option too — thanks for the suggestion!

  13. aJ Says:
    October 9th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

    i used my first batch of frozen pasta today!
    wow, that made it ez & fast ^^o
    thanx for the tips as aLways!

  14. Biggie Says:
    October 10th, 2007 at 12:45 am

    @13 from aJ: Glad to hear it worked for you, aJ!

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