How to freeze and store fresh pasta dough, whether it's formed into shapes, or just the dough itself, so that you can decide what kind you want to roll out later!
Whether you plan to freeze your pasta dough as it is before shaping it, or you already have the shapes or ribbons you desire, it's quite easy to freeze it.
Need a pasta dough recipe? Try my 3-ingredient basic Homemade Pasta Dough. It's perfect for any size, shape or length of pasta, and there's plenty of how-to's for shapes and sizes that don't require special cutters.
Freezing the whole dough ball
You can store pasta dough in the freezer for later use. This is great way to have quick access to fresh pasta, whether it be one batch, or several divided batches by doubling or tripling this recipe.
To do this, tuck the pasta dough into a neat ball, dust with a bit of flour, and wrap tightly in saran wrap.
You can freeze an entire portion of dough, for rolling out later, by dusting it lightly with flour and wrapping it in plastic and storing in a freezer bag.
If you are doubling or tripling the recipe, divide the dough into two or three balls first.
Store the plastic wrapped ball or balls in a freezer zip lock bag, or other air tight container for extra protection from freezer burn.
Frozen pasta dough will keep in the freezer for 3-6 months when wrapped well.
Freezing fresh pasta ribbons and shapes
You can also prepare your pasta into ribbons, ravioli, or any other pasta shape before freezing so that they are ready to cook straight out of the freezer.
Scatter and freeze them on a tray first, so that they freeze individually without sticking together. You don't need to cover them, because you'll place them into a bag once they've frozen solid.
If you've formed ribbons, gather them into baseball sized nests with room in between. Similarly, with ravioli or short cut pastas, scatter them on a baking sheet with room in between, so they may freeze solid without sticking together. Once frozen, place them into a freezer safe zipper bag, or container.
There is no need to thaw these frozen shapes before cooking. Just cook them as you would thawed with a minute or two of extra cooking time to account for the fact that they're frozen.
Alternatively, you can dry the pasta shapes, and store it in the pantry. Scroll below to the section on Drying Fresh Pasta for more information.
How to thaw frozen pasta dough
There's really only one good way to thaw pasta dough, and that is on the counter. It needs to remain in the wrapping, or placed in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. It can take up 3 hours to thaw completely, although smaller portions may only take one hour.
Wait until it is completely thawed before attempting to roll, cut and shape the pasta.
Drying fresh pasta
If you prefer to dry your pasta and store it in the pantry rather than the freezer, be aware that drying it at home is not always as guaranteed shelf-stable as the store bought dried pasta.
If you thoroughly dry your fresh pasta, you can likely store it in the pantry for up to 3 months, compared to store bought dried pasta which is good for years. Here is a helpful article on the stability of homemade dried pasta.
Use an air tight plastic bag or container. Pay attention to any leftover moisture on the container, or any mold on the pasta. If you see any mold, do not consume it.
Erin
This fresh pasta dough comes out perfect every time! I like to make a large batch and freeze some of it.