5 Storage Ideas for Pasta

This week, as we're taking a look at Italian foods and meals, we thought we'd take the opportunity to show off some pasta storage ideas for the kitchen. Pasta comes in all shapes and sizes, sometimes making it a challenge when it comes to storage. Here are a few examples we really like:

• 1 Modular storage has a very streamlined look. As seen in the Apartment Therapy post, Look!: Harry's Open Shelving Storage Solution
• 2 A decorative glass canister shows off pretty bowtie pasta via YLiving. The jar shown is the Opus storage jar by Rosendahl. The detail we love on this jar is the lid: the glass is shaped into a beautiful handle that adds utility and visual interest.
• 3 A pretty, classic container for long pastas. This one's from the UK's Home Sense
• 4 An organized and beautiful pantry with shallow shelves for small spaces, via The Perfect Pantry. Shelving like this is perfect for glass jars of pasta.
• 5 Wall-mounted dispensers taking a cue from the bulk foods section of the grocer's. At Yanko Design via The Kitchn's Hot or Not? Wall-Mounted Food Dispensers.

(Images: as linked above)

Comments (11)

I'd add a sticker on each canister saying how long that pasta takes to cook.

We just keep the pasta in its box in the pantry, though the big stack of clear canisters sure looks nice.

Every time I see a fancy set up like that I just think who has all this money to blow? Those canisters are 15-20 bucks a pop and as nice as they look and functional as they are, I can never justify spending that. Lol Oxo needs to chill out and not make their stuff so overpriced.

I agree, jmorri26! I get some of my pasta from bulk bins, and that goes into my (saved & reused) glass jars. The rest...well I "store" it in the box it's ALREADY IN. :)

That second set of glass jars is gorgeous! You couldn't stack them...but still. And I NEED that wide funnel thing...sometimes bulk bins don't pair well with the openings on my old spaghetti-sauce jars! :)

I store small pastas in ricotta containers - they're free. I bought some of those name tags you wear at conventions, so I have containers that say: Hello, my name is Farfalle.

I need to be better about transferring my pastas to sealed containers and not being lazy! The first picture looks so lovely..

The canisters in the first pic are $6.99 for the largest, on sale at the Container Store
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/canisters?productId=10004052

I love how they maximize the space. I would love to replace my Ikea 365 pieces with something like this, but I would really<i/> love it if they were glass.

Yeah, pasta never hangs out at our house long enough to need special storage. The boxes it comes in serve the purpose just fine, especially since they stay in closed cabinets. Perhaps if they were open, it'd be a different story.

I use mason jars. I have some plastic storage but I'd like to replace it all for glass. You can get some decent sized jars at the dollar store, mason jars, or just shop yard sales and thrift shops for other containers. I often buy pasta in bulk so it doesn't come in a box for me to store it in.

I love the idea of storing pasta and other grains in glass jars but I don't know how to label them nicely with cooking instructions. Any ideas? I could just cut them out of the bag and stick them in with the stuff but that doesn't look so nice. Also, how do people manage when they buy pasta from different places - mix it all in together?

I have a shelf on the wall in the kitchen I've filled it different jars. There are a few mason jars, I save the decorative pasta sauce jars, and a few others I've collected at yard sales. I usually only put pasta in jars after its been opened. But I also put my beans, rice, flour, sugars and grains in them too. Everything else stays in the packages they came in, inside the pantry.

Ikea has lots of cheaper options

I have a ton of the Slom set. It has several sizes and the most expensive is 3.99. But they also have several other sets.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/15937?pageNumber=0

Oh and as for JMD's comment I am kind of cheesy with the labels. I cut the instructions out and hide them inside the jar. But that's if I don't know how to cook them. Most pastas I cook with out directions. As far as pasta from different places or shapes I keep them in separate containers once I use one I refill the jar with the next one. Basically when I open a bag or box of pasta and don't finish it that's when I put them in jars.