---
title: "Does Dried pasta expire? Indefinite if stored properly"
description: "Plain dried pasta keeps for years. Egg pasta is the exception and has a real date. What actually changes over time, whether it matters, and how to store it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/pasta/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does Dried pasta expire?

**Does Dried pasta expire?: Plain dried pasta keeps for years. Egg pasta is the exception and has a real date.**

Plain: 2-3 years or well beyond. Egg pasta: 1-2 years

Dried durum wheat pasta is flour and water taken down to around 12% moisture, which puts it out of reach of spoilage organisms; a packet two years past its date cooks the same as a fresh one, though it may be marginally more brittle. Pasta made with egg contains fat and keeps less well, and it carries a date that is worth respecting. Fresh refrigerated pasta is a completely different product with a use-by date and no flexibility at all. The usual reason to throw dried pasta away is pantry moths rather than age.

## How to store it

- Airtight, cool and dry.
- Decant from opened bags so moths cannot get in.

## How to tell it has gone

- Musty smell means damp. Webbing or larvae mean moths.

> "Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.

## Common questions

### Does Dried pasta expire?

Plain dried pasta keeps for years. Egg pasta is the exception and has a real date.

### How long does Dried pasta last?

Plain: 2-3 years or well beyond. Egg pasta: 1-2 years

## Related pages

- [Does Frozen food expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/frozen-food/)
- [Does Canned food expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/canned-food/)
- [Does Hard cheese expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/hard-cheese/)
- [Does White rice (uncooked) expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/white-rice/)
- [Does Spirits (whisky, vodka, gin, rum) expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/spirits/)
- [Does Motor oil expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/motor-oil/)
- [Does Dried beans and pulses expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/dried-beans/)
- [Does Soy sauce expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/soy-sauce/)
- [Does Honey expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/honey/)
- [Does Eggs expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/eggs/)
- [Does Medicines expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/medicines/)
- [Does Milk expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/milk/)
- [Does Sunscreen expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/sunscreen/)
- [Does Salt expire?](https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/salt/)

## Sources

- Food Safety and Inspection Service — US Department of Agriculture (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]