Storing dry pasta is one of the best ways you can build out your emergency long term food storage supplies.
Not only is dried pasta cheap, readily available, and delicious but it can have a very long shelf life when stored properly.
Lets get into the nitty gritty details on how to store pasta long term. If you’re interested in how to store other foods like rice long term check our out post on the topic here.
What will cause your dried pasta to spoil?
You need to protect your long term food storage from the following. This applies to nearly all foods being stored long term.
Moisture
Oxygen
Pests
Sunlight
Extreme temperature fluctuations
The best method for long term storage of dry pasta is by using mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and food grade buckets. This method protects the pasta from moisture, oxygen, sunlight, and pests. You also have redundant seals with the bucket and each individual mylar bag. Check out our post on oxygen absorbers to learn more.
How long can I store dried pasta?
Without any special care, most pasta can last two years in the pantry.
Some gluten free pasta contains extra oils which will reduce it’s shelf life.
In ideal conditions, pasta can remain edible for up to thirty years. If you’re interested to learn how to maximize your pasta storage keep reading.
What kind of uncooked pasta should I choose for long term storage?
There are numerous varieties of pasta. Most will work well for long term storage.
I prefer smaller pasta shapes because they can be packed more tightly in mylar bags and food grade buckets.
Avoid pasta with sharp edges such as bowtie pasta. Sharp edges can puncture your mylar bags.
Consider cooking effort and time of the pasta you choose. Smaller, thinner pasta cooks faster than large thick pieces of pasta. Faster cooking will help you conserve fuel and save time.
Non-traditional kinds of pasta such as vegetable pasta, egg noodles, egg pasta, flax pasta, semolina pasta, whole grain pasta, and buckwheat noodles may have shorter shelf life than traditional wheat pasta due to the extra oils and ingredients that may be present.
How to store pasta long term
I will cover multiple methods to store your pasta starting with the most effective.
Vacuum sealing pasta is a fundamental step. Food stored using a vacuum sealing method will have a longer shelf life than if kept in the original package.
A food vacuum sealer will typically be able to seal mylar bags but you can also use a hot iron or clothes iron for sealing.
Food safe buckets combined with the mylar bag method will improve pasta shelf life dramatically.
Mylar vacuum bags with Oxygen absorbers inside food grade buckets
This is the best and most effective method to store pasta long term. It’s also the best method to store other dry foods.
Remove your pasta from it’s original package and place it within mylar bags
Choose an appropriate bag size. I like 1 gallon or half gallon bags most of the time. This keeps most of your food in sealed bags until you need it.
Place a oxygen absorbers in the mylar bags.
Make sure to choose the correct size oxygen absorbers for your bag size.
Half gallon bags need 200cc oxygen absorbers and 1 gallon bags need 400ccs.
Use a vacuum sealer to remove all the air from the bags and seal them.
Place the sealed mylar bags in food grade buckets with lids.
Since your food is already sealed in mylar bags you can also use normal buckets from the hardware store.
Seal the buckets with lids
I highly recommend Gamma lids. They are a screw-on lid that makes opening and closing buckets much easier than conventional bucket lids.
Canning jars with Oxygen absorbers
This is also a highly effective pasta storage method. Canning jars are an airtight container and they are very resistant to rodents and insects.
The downside to glass jars is they are fragile and don’t protect the pasta from light.
Remove your pasta from it’s original package and place it inside your jars.
Fill the jars to the top to remove as much air as possible.
Place oxygen absorbers inside the jars
Attach the lids
Place the jars in a safe place for storage
I like to keep multiple jars in buckets or cardboard boxes which helps protect them from damage and light.
Be sure to store everything in a cool, dry place for optimal shelf life.
Food grade buckets with oxygen absorbers
Long term storage of pasta can be done simply using food grade buckets.
I don’t like this method because if the bucket gets cracked or fails your entire 5 gallon supply of pasta may be destroyed. If your pasta is also sealed in mylar bags it will still be protected should the bucket seal fail.
Remove your pasta from it’s original package and place it inside your jars.
Fill the bucket to the top to remove as much air as possible.
Disperse oxygen absorbers throughout the bucket
A 5 gallon bucket will need 2000ccs of oxygen absorbers.
Using several smaller oxygen absorbers can be used to spread the coverage.
Seal the bucket using the lid.
Vacuum sealer bags
Basic food vacuum sealers and plastic vacuum sealer bags are a poor choice to store pasta long term. The plastic bags are not moisture resistant or airtight. Eventually air and moisture will permeate the bags and cause your pasta to spoil.
Plastic vacuum sealer bags are not really an improvement over the plastic bags your pasta was in when you bought it.
Shelf life of pasta stored this way will be a max of two years.
Pest Prevention
All preppers need to be mindful of common pests such as rodents and insects. Improperly stored pasta or other foods can easily be contaminated or destroyed if pests are able to get to them.
Ensure your storage containers are kept in a cool, dry place free of wild temperature changes.
Vacuum sealing your mylar bags properly will keep things airtight and prevent moisture and insects.
Using durable, pest-resistant containers like a food grade bucket, glass jars, or metal cans will protect your pasta stores from rodents.
If you’re worried about insect eggs you can freeze pasta to kill them. Also, if you’re using an oxygen absorber it will prevent insect eggs from surviving.
