20 Ways To Use Frozen Pasta And Save Money
This post about 20 Ways To Use Frozen Pasta And Save Money is true for every family with or without kids. I was talking to my daughter and she mentioned how expensive it is to feed her family these days. She is a single mom and works full-time with two children. We talked about her son who is in high school and is over 6 feet tall. He wears size 13 shoes. He is a big eater, as well as big in size. I did not have brothers or sons. I have learned that most boys eat way more than girls.
She also said that she will fix a full-size dinner and one hour later her son is ready for another “dinner”! I must mention he plays volleyball so yes he is an active athlete. My girls played piano…..just saying, they did not play competitive sports, other than our youngest who played tennis her senior year of high school. We discussed how we could maybe cut her grocery bill, and save her time in the kitchen too. So I told her to try freezing cooked pasta, whether it be whole wheat, egg noodle or whatever. The only thing you need to remember is to cook the pasta al dente (do not overcook).
I basically cook my pasta in plain boiling water, rinsed with cold water after cooking. I then drizzled olive oil over the cooked, cooled pasta to keep the pasta from sticking to each other. I placed the amounts of pasta I will use for certain meals, and then place the bags in the freezer. I would not store the pasta more than 3-4 weeks in the freezer. I like that I can add whatever leftovers I have to make a casserole or salad with any of the frozen pasta I have in the freezer.
I put the bag of pasta in the refrigerator the day before so it is thawed, or I bring it out of the freezer 5 minutes before I decide what sounds good for dinner at the moment. It just saves time because I do not have to wait for the water to come to a boil and then cook it the required amount of time depending on the pasta used. I freeze every kind of pasta, spaghetti, elbow, rigatoni, spiral, etc. Do not over boil or the recipes might turn out mushy. I can throw a small bag in chicken noodle soup, vegetable beef soup, casseroles. Here are just a few ways you can use your frozen/thawed pasta you make ahead of time and just add the other ingredients or sauces.
Frozen Pasta-Save Money:
1. Spaghetti sauce, fresh or bottled (Lauralee suggested cutting some of the spaghetti in 1″ pieces-great idea)
2. Mac and cheese sauce, make your own white sauce and add your own cheese
3. Pasta salad with onion, celery, dill, and mayonnaise
4. Alfredo sauce, using slow cooked thickened cream and butter
5. Chicken and pasta casserole using Cream of Chicken Soup
6. Butter and Parmesan cheese with salt and pepper to taste
7. PastFresh tomatoes, garlic and mozzarella cheese sliced on top
8. Tuna casserole, tuna (drained) and Cream of Mushroom Soup
9. Pasta with cooked hamburger, chopped onion, bell peppers with or without your favorite soup
10. Use it with cooked, canned or fresh shrimp, garlic, chopped onions and olive oil
11. Use it with bell peppers, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil, serve hot or cold
12. Use it with pepperoni bits, lettuce pieces, chopped onions, ranch dressing
13. Cooked sausage, bell peppers, cooked chopped onion and Marinara sauce of choice
14. Asparagus with Feta cheese and olive oil with your favorite spices
15. Add precooked meatballs with bottled spaghetti sauce you buy, bottle or make fresh
16. Add veggies from your garden like cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and your favorite salad dressing or vinaigrette dressing
17. Cooked and crumbled bacon, chopped onions, bell peppers, chopped pieces of lettuce and ranch dressing
18. Frozen peas, chopped onions, crumbled cooked bacon with mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste
19. Cooked and diced ham with chopped onions, bell peppers, frozen peas and ranch dressing or mayonnaise
20. Cooked green beans, chopped onions, cooked crumbled bacon and dressing of choice
My friend, Jasmin at Frugality Gal: Homemade Microwavable Lunches.
Survival food storage by Linda
Hey Linda Loo,
I never dreamed you could freeze pasta this way. What an awesome idea. I have only got one working large burner at the moment so this would be awesome for me. A great way to save room on the stove as well. Thanks for sharing. <3 Kim
Hi Kim, I was learned it quite by accident! I boiled too much spaghetti and it was so awesome to just pull out a small bag just the size Mark & I need for dinner. I started telling my daughters to do this to save time and money! Hugs! Linda
I actually do have some frozen pasta the shell looking ones, frozen in the freezer above the refrigerator and some spaghetti frozen in the big freezer in the garage. I was thinking about making some soups and adding them in towards the end just to warm through. I unthaw over night in the refrigerator like you do. I just cut spaghetti into 1 inch lengths if I’m going to add it into a soup. Though you could use the spaghetti noodles for fried spaghetti and shrimp. You use olive oil, garlic, onion, a bit of dried or fresh parsley and shrimp, then toss in the spaghetti noodles and heat the stuff up in a frying pan. I make that once and a while for my husband, as I can’t eat shell fish.
HI Lauralee, I am going to add the comment you made about cutting the spaghetti in 1″ lengths. Great idea! I love fried noodles so I am going to try that too! Thanks for the great ideas! Hugs! Linda
Thanks for these ideas. This will come in handy for me as I often make dinner for just myself. I grow basil and always have a jar of Pesto in the refrigerator so I could do a quick combo of pasta with the pesto. I make my own pasta/pizza sauce with fresh garlic, olive oil, one can of tomato sauce, one can of petite diced tomatoes, and other seasonings. Then I freeze it in mason jars for one serving of pasta or enough for a pizza. Easy to do right from the same things in my food storage pantry! I look for quick meals these days. It is possible because of keeping certain things prepped in the refrigerator. Often I prepare for making bread, cookies, or main dishes the night before by measuring dry ingredients and getting pantry items out on the counter. Then looking to see if the cheese is grated, enough eggs, nuts chopped, etc. and organize in the refrigerator.
Hi Carol, oh how I love a woman who preps in the kitchen! I never thought to freeze some pasta, pizza sauce. Great tip, I’m loving that one! This is so funny you mention about how you measure items for bread, cookies, etc. The other day I thought to myself I wonder how it would work if I measured all the dry ingredients for my chocolate Texas sheet cake and then just have to add water and eggs. I love your tips and ideas! Hugs, Linda