Exact Answer: 3-5 days
Ideally, pasta is Italian’s staple food. This type of food is made in various shapes or different sheets. It is an Italian type of food made from an unleavened dough of durum wheat flour mixed with either eggs or water.
It can either be cooked or baked. When commercially making pasta, instead of using wheat flour, one can in place use rice flour or legumes like lentils or beans so as to be gluten-free, giving it a different taste as well texture.
Cooked pasta is eaten alongside beef stew, chicken stew, beans stew, fish stew, or it can be eaten just like that.
How Long Does Cooked Pasta Last?
| Pasta Type | Lifespan |
| Cooked (Room Temperature) | 2 hours |
| Cooked (Refrigerator) | 3-5 days |
| Cooked (Freezer) | 1-2 months |
| Uncooked (Room Temperature) | 3 years |
| Uncooked (Refrigerator) | 4-5 days |
| Uncooked (Freezer) | 6-8 months |
Cooked pasta can either be refrigerated or frozen after two hours of its cooking. When it is refrigerated, it lasts up to 3-5 days without getting spoilt.
On the other hand, when storing cooked pasta in a freezer, it can last within 1-2 months. Thus, it’s more appropriate to store cooked pasta in a freezer because it will last longer compared to it being refrigerated.
Also, storing cooked pasta in plastic bags or shallow airtight containers can help maximize the shelf life to stay longer and safe for human consumption. Thus, protecting the cooked pasta from getting contaminated with bacteria.
At room temperature, cooked pasta can last after two hours. At temperatures between 40 0C and 140 0C, harmful bacteria can easily get in the cooked pasta, thus getting spoilt.
However, when well refrigerated or frozen, it will prevent bacteria from getting into the cooked pasta; hence, it can be able to last longer.
Lastly, when storing the cooked pasta in either the plastic bags or airtight containers, oils such as olive oil or butter should be added to the cooked.
Adding oil or butter will help the pasta not to stick together before refrigerating it; hence will have a long shelf life and retain its initial taste and texture.
Why Does Cooked Pasta Last That Long?
Firstly, when storing cooked pasta in either plastic bags or shallow airtight containers in refrigerators or freezers, it enables it to have a long shelf life.
Frozen or refrigerated pasta will make it also to last longer. Freezing cooked pasta is more convenient than refrigerating it in terms of making it last longer.
Cooked pasta that has been frozen can last within 1-2 months while cooked pasta, which has been refrigerated, can last within 3-5 days.
Freezing cooked pasta at a temperature of 0 0C will definitely keep it safe; thus, having a longer shelf life compared to when it is stored in very high temperatures.
Before refrigerating the pasta, one should make sure the cooked pasta has completely cooled off.
This is important because the moisture from the warm pasta creates a conducive environment for the growth of bacteria, which will entirely make it easy for it to spoil the pasta.
To this effect, when the pasta has totally cooled off and then refrigerated, it will have a long shelf life.