This is our step-by-step guide on how to dehydrate noodles. Dehydrating noodles is real easy to do and a great first dehydrator project.
Dehydrating noodles is a simple process that can help make your camping meals even more enjoyable. By removing the moisture from the cooked noodles, they become lighter, take up less space, and have a longer shelf life.
Even if you’ve never dehydrated anything before, don’t worry – it’s a simple process that anyone can do with just a few basic tools. And the payoff is worth it. With dehydrated noodles in your camping pantry, you’ll always have a primary Dehydrator Chef ingredient on hand.
So, whether you’re a seasoned backpacker or just looking to up your camping meal game or stock your preparedness pantry, read our comprehensive guide to dehydrating noodles.
So, let’s get started dehydrating noodles.
Table of Contents
- How to Dehydrate Noodles
- Supplies Needed for Dehydrating Noodles
- Step 1. Process the Noodles for Dehydration
- Step 2. Preparing the Dehydrator for Dehydrating Noodles
- Step 3. Dehydrating the Noodles
- Step 4. When is the Dehydrated Noodles Done
- Step 5. Equalizing and Conditioning of the Dehydrated Noodles
- Step 6. Storing Dehydrated Noodles
- Hydration
- Weights, Measures, and Serving Sizes
- Insider Tips
How to Dehydrate Noodles
There are many noodle options from which to choose—wide, whole grain, eggless, home style, and even gluten-free.
You need a good quality food dehydrator to dehydrate noodles. We use the Nesco FD-75A, and you can check out our food dehydrator guide here and why we think Nesco offers the best bang for the buck. We believe this is the best food dehydrator for our long-term food storage needs.
For planning purposes, the cooked noodles from a 12-ounce package will fill 2 to 3 of the Nesco FD-75A dehydrator trays.
You’ll also need the removable mesh screen inserts; one is needed for each tray.
Supplies Needed for Dehydrating Noodles
- A good quality mac and cheese product
- Food dehydrator, with removable mesh inserts for the dehydrator trays
- Wide-mouth canning funnel
- Canning jars
- Colander
Step 1. Process the Noodles for Dehydration
We are going to cook the noodles according to the preparation directions.
Generally, bring several quarts of water to a rapid boil in a saucepan. Optionally, add a bit of salt.
Then, stir in the pasta and boil for 6 to 8 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally.
Drain the pasta in a colander. Give it a couple of good shakes to help remove any remaining water.
Step 2. Preparing the Dehydrator for Dehydrating Noodles
Check out other Nesco food dehydrator products here.
Nesco Clean-A-Screens are removable and flexible mesh screen inserts that have both a distinct top and a bottom side. If you have a high-powered microscope, you would see the individual strands in mesh screens have a triangle shape. The bottom side of the screen feels smooth. The top point of the triangle feels rough as you rub your fingers across the mesh.
The noodles from a 12-ounce package will fill 6 of my Nesco FD-75A dehydrator trays. Let the cooked noodles cool a bit so you can easily handle them.
Working in small batches, create a single layer of noodles, taking the time to separate and pull them apart. The noodles will get somewhat gummy as they cool and want to stick together. Don’t overfill the drying trays.
Step 3. Dehydrating the Noodles
For these wide egg noodles, set the dehydrator temperature to 135 °F / 57 °C. I find that 8 to 10 hours is about the right amount of time for dehydrating noodles.
The cooked noodles have a lot of water content—about 3 times their dry weight. Of course, drying times are dependent on your food dehydrator, the ambient temperature and humidity, and how crowded you fill your trays. Remember to use drying times as a guide.
Step 4. When is the Dehydrated Noodles Done
After 8 to 10 hours, the noodles should be fully dehydrated. If not, let it go another 1 or 2 hours and check again.
Drying times will vary depending on your dehydrator. Refer to your dehydrator owner’s manual for recommended temperatures and times for dehydrating specific foods. Remember to use drying times as a guide.
Warm noodles still in the food dehydrator will feel somewhat tacky, and you may believe they need more drying time. Simply unplug the dehydrator and let everything cool down. Then check again to be sure. The noodles should easily break apart into individual pieces when done.
Step 5. Equalizing and Conditioning of the Dehydrated Noodles
We always recommend letting food items cool completely after they have finished dehydrating and before packing them into an airtight storage container for equalizing and conditioning. Warm food may cause sweating, which could provide enough moisture for mold to grow.
It does not take long for dehydrated food items to start hydrating from ambient household humidity. Do not leave dehydrated food items exposed to the elements any longer than necessary because of the increased risk of mold growth.
After a short cooling period, loosely pack the dehydrated noodles into a clean, dry, insect-proof, and air-tight storage container. We use the larger half-gallon size canning jars for conditioning noodles so as to not crowd the contents. Since the canning jars are clear, it’s easy to see what’s inside.
A quality stainless steel or plastic canning funnel makes the messy job of getting dehydrated foods off the dehydrator tray removable inserts and into the canning jars an easy task. Take a minute or two and check them out here on Amazon.
When the dehydrated noodles are removed from the dehydrator, the remaining moisture may not be distributed equally because of their location and position in the dehydrator. Equalizing and conditioning is a process for freshly dehydrated foods that ensures any residual moisture remaining in any piece is spread or equalized among all the other pieces in the batch. Let the dried noodles equalize and condition in the storage container for 7 to 10 days.
Every day, check the jar for moisture and roll the contents of the jar around looking for any clumping or sticking. If seen, put the contents back on the dehydrator for several more hours.
If you notice any mold at all, even the smallest bit, throw it all out. What you see are the mold spores finally blooming enough to make them visible. But there are more, even tinier mold spores in the rest of your jar that make your dehydrated food inedible. Toss it out and start another batch.
Step 6. Storing Dehydrated Noodles
We’ll use a food-safe desiccant packet for moisture control because we live in a fairly humid area. For our pint-size or quart-size mason jars, we’ll use a single food-safe 5-gram desiccant packet. The desiccant packets will absorb moisture and extend the shelf life of the noodles.
We use these inexpensive food-safe desiccant packets, which are available from Amazon. These 5-gram packets have over 5000 of mostly 4- and 5-star customer reviews, with an average of 4.7 stars out of 5. Our bag of 60 desiccant packets will last quite a while because they can be recharged and reused multiple times. Other food-safe sizes are available.
Lastly, I’ll attach or include a short note describing the jar contents and the date the product was dehydrated. The note also lets me know where to go in my dehydrator logbook if I want to make another note or two.
Hydration
Hydrate the dried noodles using a 1-to-1 ratio of dehydrated noodles to boiled water. Plan on at least 15 to 20 minutes to fully hydrate them. Drain the noodles after hydration.
If you’re supplementing store-bought freeze-dried meals as we often do, just add a bit more boiling water to the food pouch. Use the same 1-to-1 ratio of dehydrated noodles to water and account for the extra time. I find that most store-bought freeze-dried meals could use a little extra to bump up the calorie count.
Weights, Measures, and Serving Sizes
This information is from a recent entry from the notes we keep on most of our food dehydration efforts.
We picked up a 12-ounce package of wide egg noodles for this project. The 12-ounce package of cooked egg noodles filled up 6 Nesco FD-75A dehydrator trays.
The nutrition facts showed there were about 6 servings per package. Each serving is 1 cup dry (56 grams).
Our 12-ounce package of uncooked noodles weighed in at 338 grams on my inexpensive digital kitchen scale. Just 2 grams shy of the advertised package weight of 340 grams.
Cooked and drained, the noodles weighed 885 grams.
After dehydrating for 8 hours and then cooling for 20 minutes, the weight was 304 grams.
Wow, that’s interesting! The dehydrated noodles weigh less than what comes from the package.
So 1 serving of dehydrated noodles would be approximately 50 grams.
Insider Tips
Besides dehydrated meal recipes found here on this website, add dehydrated noodles to any of your favorite freeze-dried food pouches for a bit more bulk and calories. I don’t know about you, but with some of those store-bought freeze-dried meals, I am still hungry. I need a bit more to fill me up.
Just be sure to compensate by adding more boiled water in a 1-to-1 ratio to the freeze-dried meal and allow enough time for adequate hydration. Or just hydrate the dried noodles separately.
Dried noodles will easily hydrate with cold or warm water. It makes for a great pasta salad.
Practice at home making dehydrated camping meals using the very same gear you would use in the field. We practice reinforcing the skills we have learned. Practice makes perfect.