Can You Freeze Pasta Dough?

5 minutes

It’s pretty amazing how a few basic ingredients can come together to form a staple of a western diet. Where would we be without pasta, after all? But making fresh pasta dough isn’t something most of us will do every day. So, when you do, how do you store it?

How To Freeze Pasta Dough

The method to follow when it comes to freezing your freshly made pasta will come down to the form you wish to freeze it in. There are three options: Balls, sheets or shapes.

Don’t worry, we’ve covered each of the three options below:

How to Freeze Pasta Dough Balls

When it comes to freezing pasta dough in balls, you’ll want to do so in portions per person. Doing this will make it far easier to defrost the correct amount and avoid any unwanted waste.

Generally speaking, a portion of pasta dough is around 100g per person.

1. Portion Out: So, as stated above, the first step is to portion your pasta dough into 100g portions. Roll each portion into a small ball.
2. Wrap In Clingfilm: Lay each ball in the centre of a sheet of cling film and then wrap the cling film around the ball making sure there are no gaps where air can seep in.
3. Bag Up: Place each ball into one large freezer bag and then seal up, trying to remove as much air from the bag as possible. This bag will make sure you dough doesn’t get lost in the freezer whilst also giving it an extra layer out protection.
4. Freeze: Finally, place the bag in the freezer.

How to Freeze Pasta Sheets

Freezing pasta sheets is a really efficient way of storing your fresh pasta. It also means it’s ready-rolled for when you want to use it whether that be as sheets in a lasagne or cut down to form spaghetti, tagliatelle or pappardelle.

1. Cut to Length: Once you’ve rolled your pasta out, cut it into sheets around 25cm in length. Dust each side with a little flour and allow it to dry a little. You don’t want to place wet or sticky dough into the freezer.
2. Line a Container: Grab an air-tight container roughly the size of a sheet and line the base with baking paper.
3. Layer the Sheets; Place your first sheet of pasta dough into the container and then top with baking paper before repeating with all your pasta sheets. You should have a neat stack of pasta sheets separated by pieces of baking paper.
4. Seal and Freeze: Place the lid on the container and then place this into the freezer.

How to Freeze Shaped Pasta

Whether you’ve cut your pasta sheets into tagliatelle or shaped them into penne, this is the method you’ll want to follow for any pasta dough you have gone to the trouble of shaping or cutting:

1. Portion Out: If you have cut the pasta dough into strands such as spaghetti then portion it into 100g and then swirl into nests. If you have shaped the dough then portion it into 100g.
2. Bag Up: Scoop the 100g portions into freezer bags and then seal, removing as much air as possible.
3. Freeze: Place the bags into the freezer.

100g is enough for one person. If you know for a fact that you’ll always need 2 portions then adjust this accordingly.

3 Tips for Freezing Pasta Dough

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing pasta dough to have the best results:

Freeze In Portions
If you’re not going to freeze the pasta dough ready-shaped and are opting to freeze balls of dough then make sure you do so in portions of around 100g. This way you can grab a portion size at a time. 

Keep It Airtight
The last thing you want is for the dough to dry out in the freezer so use good-quality freezer bags or Tupperware containers to keep it airtight. 

Cook from Frozen
If you have frozen shapes then you don’t need to defrost them. Just pop the shapes into boiling water and cook as normal. It may take an extra 30 to 60 seconds to cook through to al dente. 

How Long Can You Freeze Pasta Dough?

The more the pasta dough is exposed to air, the quicker it loses its freshness. Storing it correctly is vital! If you have stored it using the methods outlined above then you should be fine to keep it frozen for around 3 months.

Beyond this, you’ll notice a rapid degradation in its texture.

When storing your pasta dough, as with anything you freeze, make sure you label it up with the date it needs to be consumed.

How Do You Defrost Pasta Dough?

The good news is that if you have frozen your pasta dough in strands of shapes then you probably don’t need to defrost it. Just tip a portion into salted boiling water and cook until al dente.

It might take a minute longer than usual but no waiting around for it to defrost.

The same applies to pasta sheets if you plan on using them as sheets in a lasagne for example. If you want to make a cannelloni with the sheets then just give them a few minutes out of the freezer to thaw a little so they become workable.

If you have pasta dough that needs thawing, then placing it in the fridge overnight to thaw slowly is the best approach to take.

Can You Refreeze Pasta Dough?

Unless you’re in a commercial kitchen and have liquid nitrogen or a blast freezer on hand to quickly refreeze the defrosted and used pasta dough, refreezing pasta dough should be avoided.

Slow-freezing converts the water in the pasta to crystals that, when big enough, spoil the integrity of the food structure. You’ll completely ruin the texture of the pasta were you to refreeze it.

Having said that, if you thaw the frozen dough, make a dish such as pasta bake which you then want to freeze, you’ll be fine to do so.

Does Pasta Dough Freeze Well?

Pasta dough does freeze well, especially when portioned correctly and stored airtight. The two core things to remember are that air is an enemy of pasta dough and will ruin the texture and refreezing pasta dough is a no go.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing pasta dough or pasta in general, then these may help: