Do You Need A Pasta Drying Rack? [Here are some alternatives]

You'd like to make a huge batch of homemade pasta, but do you need a pasta drying rack? You know that once made, fresh pasta needs to cook, freeze, or dry. We've done some investigating to find out what you need to know in terms of drying your delicious homemade pasta.

Pasta drying racks can be as fancy or as homespun as you need them to be, and you don't even need a proper rack to dry pasta. You can dry pasta by using:

• a pasta rack,
• a baking sheet,
• a laundry drying rack,
• coat hangers,
• clotheslines, or
• backs of Chairs

Let's take a look at some of these pasta drying hacks, so you can decide what works best for you. We'll also talk about how long it takes to dry pasta and the ways to store it once you've made it.

The Many Ways To Dry Pasta

Fresh pasta is easy to make with a few simple ingredients and maybe a great pasta machine (see our post here: 5 Best Pasta Machine Brands You Should be Looking Into). But once you've made it, you have a decision on your hands, whether to eat it, freeze it, or dry it for longer-term storage. If you want to dry your pasta, know that you'll need some time and the proper space to let the pasta dry.

Pasta Racks

The nice thing about commercially available pasta racks is the way they minimize the space needed for pasta drying. If you live in a small apartment or maybe have young children or pets, a pasta rack could be the right choice for you. Racks tend to sit on a countertop or table, have multiple arms for drying, and fold down for storage when not in use. Check out the rack featured below on Amazon.

This 10-armed rack will dry a wide variety of pasta. It folds down when not in use and is easy to put together. Click here for this rack on Amazon.

The unique design of this collapsible pasta rack enables it to hold up to 4.5 pounds of drying pasta. Its small footprint works in many kitchens. Rubber feet give it stability, and it's easy to clean by rubbing down with a damp cloth.

What If You Don't Have A Pasta Rack?

Suppose you don't have a pasta rack, no worries. There are many innovative and creative ways to dry your pasta. The main thing to remember is you need room for each strand and to have airflow. It's better to avoid pasta-drying on humid days if possible. So what are some household hacks for drying pasta?

A Simple Baking Sheet

You can always lie your pasta out on a baking sheet to dry. It might take a bit longer because it won't be exposed on both sides, but it will still get there eventually. Lying noodles flat is a basic old-school approach to drying pasta.

A Laundry Drying Rack

Do you remember these clothes drying racks? They fold up easily, are super cost-efficient, and surprisingly, they make excellent pasta drying racks. Seen here, lovely lengths of lasagna are drying on the rack.

You could dry a fair amount of pasta on a rack like this. Click here for this on Amazon.

Coat Hangers

How's this for the ultimate in pasta-drying creativity? Go to your closet and find a handful of plastic coat hangers, and pop them onto whatever hooks you can find. Voila, instant pasta drying racks!

Clotheslines

You might not want to hang your pasta outside where birds and bears can get to it, but a collapsible clothesline works just as well for pasta as it does for Tshirts. You don't even need clothespins.

A rack like this serves double-duty for laundry drying and pasta drying. Click here for this on Amazon.

Backs Of Chairs

If you want to do it just like your grandmother back in Sicily, then pull out those dining room chairs and put them to work. Pasta can dry just about anywhere it can drape. Use the back of chairs, bar stools, broom handles. Heck, you can even set up a fishing pole when you're out camping to make fresh pasta.

 

The main thing to remember is to give your pasta plenty of time to dry and room for air to circulate it during the drying process.

How Long Does It Take To Dry Pasta?

To thoroughly dry your pasta for storage, it can take as little as twelve hours to as long as twenty-four hours. You want to make sure the pasta snaps when you try to break it. If it bends, it's still too moist to store away in a pantry. Any moisture can potentially lead to mold or mildew in long-term storage pasta. If you're worried your pasta is not going to dry, you can always use a fan to blow on it to help keep the air circulating. If it doesn't dry, consider freezing it or cooking it.

Where Can You Store Dried Pasta?

Once you're sure that your pasta is bone dry and snaps when you break it, it's time for storage. You can store dried pasta in plastic baggies, cardboard boxes, paper bags, and even you're worried about critters, airtight plastic containers. Please see our post here for more info on great airtight containers.

Many Italians make theirs all in a single day, lie the noodles in the sun to dry, then store them in cardboard boxes in the same way the stores package them.

Cookie boxes like this would also make great storage for dried tagliatelle or angel hair. Click here for these on Amazon.

Use airtight containers like these to store spaghetti and fettuccini types of pasta. Click here for these on Amazon.

How Do You Make A Pasta Drying Rack?

We've talked about commercial pasta drying racks and alternatives to drying racks, but what about a DIY drying rack? We found this easy step-by-step pasta drying rack for you to make using readily available materials and tools.

To make this rack, you'll need:

• 12' of 1" x 2" wood of any species
• 10' of 3/8" dowel rod
• 3' of 5/8" dowel rod
• Sandpaper in 150 and 220 grit
• Masking tape
• Wood glue
• A miter box for straight cuts and a hand saw
• 3/8" and 5/8" drill or spade bits
• An electric or cordless drill

The steps are in the video, but we'll outline them here briefly.

1. Measure out two 24" pieces of the 1" x 2" wood and cut.
2. Measure out two 12" pieces of the 1" x 2" wood and cut.
3. Using the 5/8" dowel rod, measure and cut two pieces 12-14" each.
4. Using the 3/8" rod, measure 12 pieces 8-10" long and cut.
5. Sand down the round ends of all of the cut dowels to make smooth.
6. Following the video's instructions, mark the spots to be drilled at both 5/8" and 3/8."
7. Put the rack together affixing with wood glue.

Here is the video for more detailed instructions:

Enjoy Your Pasta

You should now be well-equipped with ideas and thoughts on storing and drying your homemade pasta. Whether you choose to buy a pre-made rack, make your own, or get creative with household objects, we hope you leave knowing there are many ways to dry pasta.

If you enjoyed this post here at KitchenSeer.com, we hope we'll check out a couple of others below that we think you'll enjoy:

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