One of the versatile foods you can use for a lot of things is egg noodles. Egg noodles can be probably added to almost anything. They are pasta and they work just that way. They are an excellent tool whether you want to make homemade tuna casserole, chicken noodles, beef stroganoff, or other wonderful pasta dishes. Egg noodles usually possess more flavor as compared to the daily boxed pasta.
What this article is all about is if we can freeze our egg noodles. Egg noodles can be frozen whether cooked or yet to be cooked. They are best frozen when yet to be cooked. However, you can also freeze them cooked. In this article, we will show you everything you are supposed to know concerning how egg noodles should be frozen. We will check for both cooked and raw egg noodles. You are encouraged to continue reading to find out all you need to know.
Your Guide to Freezing your Egg Noodles
When you are working with egg noodles, just know that they are a versatile food item. There are various dishes egg noodles can be made with, check below for the popular dishes you can use egg noodles for:
- Skillet lasagna
- Noodles and stew
- A variety of casserole dishes
- Alfredo
- Chicken noodles
- Tuna casserole
- Taco noodle casserole meal
- Asian style noodle soup
- Stroganoff (beef, chicken, or other meat)
These are just a few, there are many more things you can use your egg noodles for, they can be added to almost anything to help enhance it. Also, you can use your egg noodles for almost any pasta meal instead of non-egg pasta. It is all about what you want, you are not limited only to the options mentioned above. Another wonderful thing about it is that they can be made at home easily. They can be made in a large batch and then stored uncooked for some time inside the freezer.
Regular Noodles vs. Egg Noodles: What’s the Difference?
If you want to choose between using egg noodles or regular noodles for your meal, they have some differences and it is all up to your choice. Egg noodles usually have a more developed flavor, they are considered to be hearty noodles. The unleavened dough is used to make egg noodles. The dough is first boiled inside water before cutting the noodles. Typically, the dough consists of a mixture of wheat and eggs or rice flour and eggs.
Before using egg noodles, they are needed to be passed through a period of drying, however, they can also be used when still fresh. Also, the unleavened dough is used to make regular noodles and the dough is also allowed to go through the process of boiling. The dough contains typically buckwheat or wheat. Eggs are not used for the dough used for making regular noodles. You could, however, add vegetables to it.
You can cut both of these noodles into a variety of sizes and shapes, it all depends on what you intend to use it for. You will find various types of these noodles at the grocery store and you can also buy them or just make yours at home. Though you can cut them in a variety of styles, you should always keep egg noodles flat when you cut. Unlike regular noodles that you will find bow-tie, there is nothing of such for egg noodles.
How Egg Noodles Are Made
This is just to get you familiar with what you are working with, it is quite important to check out how you can make egg noodles. They are a very simple meal to make but there could be a mess in the process when you are trying to get the flour and eggs out. You should try to make them in a large batch and keep them stored to be used later.
Check below for the steps needed to make a simple recipe for egg noodles. Don’t forget that recipes might vary in the process and this particular one is just for a reference that will give you a general idea of what the makeup of your egg noodles should be.
- The ingredients needed for this recipe include butter, salt, milk, eggs, and all-purpose regular flour.
- Begin the process by stirring salt and flour together inside a bowl.
- Add butter, beat eggs, and milk and take around 5 minutes to knead them together.
- Allow it to rest by covering for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- After it has rested, roll the dough out and cut it into the size and shape you want.
- Lay pasta on a cheesecloth or kitchen towels for it to be air-dried.
- You may then proceed to store or cook the egg noodles.
If you want to cook your egg noodles, boil them the same way you will do with regular pasta. The cooking time could be longer than the time regular pasta will use. It also depends on how thick the noodle is.
Freezing Cooked or Raw Egg Noodles
This is where we are going, the main purpose of this article. How to freeze egg noodles. The process is a very simple one and you only need to follow certain steps to do it properly, the process is not complicated at all. You need to first understand that freezing cooked egg noodles has been discovered not to be as excellent as freezing raw egg noodles. The advice is to freeze them raw if the plan is not to add them to any dish.
The good thing is also that if you wish to freeze a meal that contains egg noodles, you can freeze it. The only difference is that the dish will most likely keep the noodles moisturized thanks to the other juices in the dish. The problem with placing egg noodles that have been cooked without any additional juice inside the freezer is that they will become sticky. When you want to make use of them, they may sometimes become mushy instead of maintaining their first form. All you should be aware of is that it is either you freeze egg noodles raw or as a part of a whole dish to get the best outcome.
Freezing Raw Egg Noodles
Always remember to allow the egg noodles to properly get air-dried before you try freezing them. This is for you to have a better outcome. The process is a simple one apart from remembering this information. Check the instructions below:
- After you have air-dried them, put the noodles inside a freezer bag (heavy-duty) or an air-tight freezer-friendly container.
- You could layer the noodles on a freezer or parchment paper if you wish they are kept flat and get a lot of flat noodles layers prepared for storage.
- Allow about an inch of headspace with either of the storage methods.
- Put it inside the refrigerator for about 5 days.
- Put inside the freezer for about 12 months.
Freezing Cooked Egg Noodles
Even though a cooked egg noodle should be a part of an entire dish, it is still possible to freeze a cooked egg noodle. Check below for how you should go about it:
- You can also freeze your dish containing a cooked egg noodle with these instructions.
- Place them inside the freezer or fridge within two hours that they were cooked.
- Put them inside freezer bags (heavy-duty) or freezer-friendly containers.
- They can be stored inside the refrigerator for about 5 days.
- They can be stored inside the freezer for about 6 months still fresh.
You will notice that the processes to freeze them cooked or raw are different. Also, in case you have bought the noodles from your local grocery store, you could still follow these instructions above to freeze them. If you are trying to freeze egg noodles bought from the store, they could be stored for some time within the package they came with. You can leave dry noodles stored on the counter shelf for about one whole year.
Related Questions
Can Egg Noodles Go Bad?
Usually, egg noodles don’t get spoilt because of the overall creation process. They can last for a very long time if you properly store them. You can leave the package unopened if you have purchased your dry egg noodles from your local store and leave them on the counter shelf for about two years more than its best-by date. If you, however, made them fresh, you need to store them properly by freezing them. The only problem is that when you store egg noodles for so long, they are likely to lose their flavor or their consistency will be different during the process of cooking.
Are There Health Benefits to Egg Noodles?
As compared to regular noodles, egg noodles contain more nutritional value. The content of fiber is higher while the content of carbohydrate is lower. The content of cholesterol is, however, a bit higher because of the eggs. The overall thing you should know is they have high protein content and a lot of essentially healthy amino acids.
