Are you planning a backpacking trip and looking for ways to make your own meals? Dehydrating pasta is a good place to start with your dehydrating journey. Dehydrating pasta for backpacking is a simple way to create you rown meals for the backcountry.

Why would you dehydrate pasta? When you’re cooking in the backcountry, you want your meals to rehydrate quickly while being fuel-efficient. Pre-cooking and then dehydrating your pasta does that.

In this blog post, I will show you how to make dehydrated pasta that’s perfect for backpacking short trips. Let’s get into it!

Just a heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I could earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Complete Guide to Dehydrating Pasta for Backpacking

Dehydrating pasta on dehydrator trays

I’m a little biased, but all the most delicious meals have pasta. Beginning to create my own dehydrated foods has been one of my favorite things about fueling my backpacking journey.

I’m a little biased, but all the most delicious meals have pasta. Beginning to create my own dehydrated foods has been one of my favorite things about my backpacking journey. Pasta is easy to dehydrate, lightweight, and nutritious. If I am really trying to increase my protein and fiber while on the trail, I will use protein pasta, chickpea pasta, or lentil pasta.

Why dehydrate pasta for backpacking?

Dehydrating pasta is the process of removing all of the moisture from cooked pasta.

There are a few reasons why, as a backpacker, you would want to have dehydrated pasta with you. It is calorie-dense, creates a base for backpacking meals, offers quick rehydration, and is cheaper than store-bought backpacking meals.

Calorie Dense

Dehydrated pasta is calorie-dense, meaning there is more energy per serving. Carbohydrates are the main macromolecule food source that our bodies use to undergo cellular respiration, which produces energy (ATP) for our bodies.

As a calorie-dense food source, you will have sustained energy on the trail to fuel your adventures without taking up substantial space in your pack. When you’re creating your own backpacking meals, look for food with a high caloric density.

The type of pasta you choose to dehydrate can also change the caloric density.

Create Homemade Backpacking Meals

Dehydrated Vegetables

Dehydrated pasta provides you with a base ingredient for creating your own homemade backpacking meals. You can customize the rest of the ingredients and flavors to your individual taste to create delicious meals. This is an easy DIY project to help with your nutrition while backpacking, since you can control what goes into your own meals.

If you’re gluten-free, you can choose to use gluten-free pasta in your meals since gluten-free backpacking meals are hard to come by and expensive.

You can dehydrate pasta sauce for trail spaghetti, or you can simply add some butter powder and Parmesan cheese for some very classy butter noodles.

Faster Rehydrating Process

When you pre-dehydrate pasta, it rehydrates much faster than regular store-bought pasta. This means you will spend less time waiting for your food to cook and more time enjoying the great outdoors.

This also promotes more effective rehydration if you choose to cold-soak your meal. When you opt out of dehydrating your pasta, it can be a mixed bag of slightly crunchy or complete mush.

If you want to go the cold-soak route with your dehydrated pasta, the noodles will rehydrate much better than if you make your meals with pasta right from the grocery store. You cold-soak meals by putting your dehydrated food into a jar with cold water. People typically do this with instant ramen and mashed potatoes, but you can also do it with any backpacking meal.

Cheaper than Store-Bought Backpacking Meals

The primary reason I chose to start dehydrating pasta and creating my own backpacking meals is that it was cheaper to make my own than purchase store-bought backpacking meals. The food you dehydrate for backpacking does well in long-term storage when prepared appropriately. It is a great way to create bulk meals that you can use throughout the season.

Homemade backpacking meals also have portion control. Many backpacking meals you might purchase at a REI or guide shop will be portioned out into 2 meals, which leaves you the option of eating the whole thing with some leftover or splitting it with someone, which might not be quite enough.

How to Dehydrate Pasta for Backpacking

Here is a step-by-step guide for dehydrating pasta for backpacking!

Pouring pasta into a boiling pot of water
Pasta on dehydrator trays to make dehydrated pasta for backpacking meals
  1. Purchase a one-pound package of pasta. You can cook the whole thing at once.
  2. Add salt to a pot of water and wait to add the pasta until the water boils.
  3. Cook the pasta to al dente.
  4. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. 
  5. Spread the pasta onto the food dehydrator trays, ensuring it is in a thin layer.
  6. Set the dehydrator to 135°F and let the pasta dry for 6-12 hours, or until fully dry. 
  7. The pasta is fully dry when it easily snaps in half. 
  8. Once the pasta is dry and cool, place it in an airtight container, such as a mason jar, Mylar bag, or vacuum-sealed bag, to extend its shelf life. 
  9. If you’re using a plastic bag, remove as much air as possible before sealing it. 
  10. Store the pasta in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Rehydrating Dehydrated Pasta

When you get to the backcountry and want to eat your dehydrated pasta, here is how to rehydrate it perfectly.

At Home

Cooked pasta in a kitchen scale
dehydrated pasta on a dehydrator tray
  1. Before dehydrating your pasta, use a kitchen scale to record the mass in grams. 
  2. After dehydrating your pasta, record the mass again in grams. 
  3. The difference in mass is the amount of water you removed from the pasta, and the mL of water you will need to add back to rehydrate it. Example: 242 g different before and after dehydrating, add 242 mL of water to rehydrate.  
  4. Record the amount of water to add back to the pasta on the storage container label.

In the backcountry:

Female backpacker eating ramen out of a jetboil.
  1. Boil your pot of water.
  2. If you’re using a Mylar bag, you can add the boiling water directly into the bag. Otherwise, add the pasta to the boiling water.
  3. Stir your pasta and boiling water quickly. 
  4. Let the pasta and boiling water sit for 6 minutes, then stir again. 
  5. Rest for another six minutes, and your pasta will be perfectly rehydrated and warm. 
  6. Time may vary depending on the size of your pasta. Larger pasta will take longer to rehydrate. 

Simple Dehydrated Pasta Meals

In this section, I will cover some easy backpacking meals that you can use your dehydrated pasta with! There is an endless variety of one-pot meals you can make in the backcountry with dehydrated pasta, but here are some of my favorites.

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Spaghetti and meat sauce

This is a classic dish that is easy to make and perfect for backpacking. When making spaghetti and tomato sauce for backpacking, you can combine the components and then dehydrate them. Or add dehydrated ground beef and dehydrated pasta sauce to your already dehydrated pasta. 

Since pasta and spaghetti sauce are such simple recipes, you can use almost any spaghetti recipe as long as it doesn’t contain olive oil. Olive oil and other oils will be impossible to fully dehydrate for safe storage as well as choosing ground meat with a low fat percentage. 

Tip: Pack a little Parmesan cheese with you to add after you’ve rehydrated your spaghetti and meat sauce.

Pasta Primavera

Dehydrated pasta primavera is a great vegetarian recipe that can be packed with whatever vegetables you have around. Cook everything according to your liking and then dehydrate according to the specifications of your dehydrator. Store it for later use!

For best results, make sure to cut your vegetables into small pieces to decrease the time of the drying process.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup in a green pot

Chicken noodle soup is one of my favorite backpacking meals because it provides a taste of home after a long day on the trail. 

It is also a great recipe because you can regulate how much water you add, depending on how soupy you want your chicken noodle soup to be. Whereas when you rehydrate other backpacking meals, excess water takes away from the meal, which is not an issue with chicken noodle soup.

Get My Chicken Noodle Soup Backpacking Recipe Here

Storing Dehydrated Pasta

Dehydrating pasta in bulk and storing it for later use will make creating backpacking meals easier.

Here are some ways you can store dehydrated pasta (and other dehydrated ingredients).

Dehydrated Pasta in a mason jar
  1. Mason Jar: Mason jars provide an airtight container that keeps your food dry for a long time. Make sure when you’re storing food in mason jars, that there is no water content.
  2. Mylar Bags: Mylar bags are great for long-term storage as well as for cooking your meals. You can pack your meals into Mylar bags and then add boiling water directly to the bag. I use Wallaby Mylar bags for all of my backpacking meals. 
  3. Freezer Bag: Using freezer bags and vacuum-sealed bags will provide the longest storage for the freshness of your food.
  4. Plastic Bags: Ziploc bags are great for putting all of the different dehydrated ingredients together. When creating your dehydrated backpacking meal in a plastic bag, you will need to bring enough cooking equipment to rehydrate your meal in a pot or JetBoil. Using a small bag is another great way to save weight on the trail.

Types of Pasta to Use for Dehydrating

Dehydrating pasta for a backpacking meal

The best types of pasta to use for dehydrating pasta for backpacking depend greatly on personal preference. However, longer shapes and smaller shapes are great. The goal is to use pasta that will reheat quickly, so a long, thin pasta will reheat more quickly than a larger, thicker shape.

Long Shapes 

When using long shapes, consider angel hair pasta or spaghetti noodles. These will act as a quick-hydrating pasta. You will also likely want to break the pasta in half or thirds so it is easier to rehydrate and eat in the backcountry. 

Smaller Shapes 

Smaller shapes like elbow macaroni or orzo are great for dehydrating. The small shape with high surface area, will rehydrate quickly and be easy to eat and cook in the backcountry. 

Now that we know all of the basics, let’s learn how to dehydrate pasta for backpacking.

Read Next: Backcountry Burrito Recipe

Tips for Dehydrating Pasta at Home:

Here are some tips for dehydrating pasta at home. 

  • While some people suggest air drying to dry pasta, I would not recommend this. Bacteria can quickly grow during the air-drying process.
  • Consider storing your pasta based on serving size if you want to quickly create dehydrated meals.
  • If your dehydrator does not have a fine mesh screen for dehydrating pasta, you can always use parchment paper!
  • A higher temperature reduces dehydrating time, while a lower temperature increases it.
  • Dehydrate Vegetables at low temperatures to preserve their color and texture.

You might also be interested in…

Pack It Up

In this blog post, we covered the basics of dehydrating pasta for a simple backpacking meal. You are now equipped with the information you need to create your own pasta backpacking meals. 

Make sure you’re using smaller and thinner pasta shapes and that your pasta is completely dehydrated before storing it. 

I hope this helped and inspired you to begin the basics of dehydrating pasta for your future backpacking trips!

Your Guide to Dehydrating Pasta for Backpacking Meals Pinterest Pin
Save for later!
How to Dehydrate Pasta for Backpacking Meals Pinterest Pin
Save for Later!