Making fresh pasta at home is an extremely rewarding (and delicious) process, but it does take some work—and some accessories. A pasta maker to roll, shape, and cut dough can be very helpful, but aspiring noodle producers might forget about another inexpensive but indispensable tool: the pasta drying rack.
Anyone who delves into homemade pasta—whether you’re using a machine or rolling and cutting by hand—quickly learns that the strands need to be separated as soon as they’re cut to avoid clumping and sticking. A great way to do this is with a drying rack, which helps to keep the noodles separate and reduce the moisture content so nothing dissolves into a gloppy mess as soon as it’s dropped into boiling water. It only takes a few minutes to prep fresh pasta for immediate cooking, but you can also dry the noodles longer, to preserve them for room-temperature storage over several hours.
While you can certainly improvise with clothes hangers, a laundry drying rack, or even a broom handle, a dedicated pasta drying rack is a more efficient, less messy, and more hygienic solution. We gathered the most popular options to test and found nine worthy of your fresh pasta.
Best Overall
Ourokhome Collapsible Pasta Drying Rack
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Ourokhome-Collapsible-Pasta-Drying-Rack-483c6c013aa54c77840e16e909d61d47.jpg)
- Inexpensive
- Stable legs
- Collapsible
- Cheap materials
When it comes to pasta drying racks, there’s not a heck of a lot of correlation between cost and quality. Case in point: this model, which was the second-cheapest we tested but nonetheless our favorite. It folds out from a compact cylinder into a tall rack with plenty of room to hold pasta. Its arms sit almost a foot above the counter if you need to accommodate extra-long noodles, and there are 10 of them arranged in a spoke shape that can hold a pretty huge batch.
We didn’t have any problems with noodles sticking, and cleaning the Ourokhome is as simple as a wipe with a cloth or sponge. But the best part is how stable it is. The extendable legs have suction cup-like caps on the ends that hold the rack firmly in place, even on a wet counter.
If we have any complaint about this rack, it’s that the plastic materials feel rather cheap. We didn’t have any trouble with parts coming apart or cracking in short-term testing, though some reviewers complain about the arms and legs failing to lock into place after multiple uses.
Dimensions (Expanded): 15.7 x 11.1 inches | Dimensions (Collapsed): 3.5 x 7.8 inches | Arms: 10 | Weight: 9.1 ounces
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-product-ourokhome-collapsible-pasta-drying-rack-14-rkilgore-0100-faa91c17af164bf39eae6d7fe5e77b57.jpeg)
Best Wooden
Sänger Wooden Pasta Dryer
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Sanger-Wooden-Pasta-Dryer-d4eff379091e490db1198859443ebce1.jpg)
- Large capacity
- Stable base
- Removable arms
- Expensive
- Large footprint
Racks made of plastic and wood worked equally well to hold and dry noodles in our testing, so the choice of material is more about aesthetics than anything else. Sänger’s beechwood rack has a lovely rustic look, but it also offers the advantage of a huge capacity. Its 16 arms wrap around the central post in a helix pattern that makes room for more pasta than any other model on this list. The base is a 7.5-inch square, which means that it’s tough to knock the rack over, even if you’re trying. The Sänger’s impressive capacity does take up a lot of counter space when fully assembled, however: The arms extend out almost a foot in either direction.
This dryer can be fully disassembled: All the arms pull out of the central post, and the post itself pulls out of the base. That lets you move pasta from rack to pot quickly and securely, and it shrinks the thing way down for storage—though you will have to keep track of all the separate pieces. We couldn’t find much to complain about with this rack, but it’s also one of the more expensive ones we tried. On the other hand, even a luxury pasta-drying rack isn’t a major investment.
Dimensions (Assembled): 19.7 x 23.6 inches | Dimensions (Base): 7.5 x 7.5 inches | Arms: 16 | Weight: 2.2 pounds
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-product-sanger-wooden-pasta-dryer-15-rkilgore-0108-7eba7a5a037f4234b7002b4b5d8667fc.jpeg)
Best for Short Pasta
Eppicotispai Beechwood Stackable Food Dryer
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/eppicotispai-beechwood-stackable-food-dryer-a52d0de52e5841559915eb6d0918f2b4.jpg)
- Multipurpose
- Stackable
- Easy to clean
- Expensive
- Assembly required
- Not ideal for long noodles
This Italian-made rack has a strikingly different design from any of the others we tested, and it’s the only one you can use for drying short, shaped, or filled pasta like gnocchi, macaroni, and ravioli. It’s also great for air-drying herbs, vegetables, or fruit, and you can buy more than one and stack them up if you need more room. (The link above is for a single rack, but you can buy a pair or four at a time and get a bulk discount.)
The beechwood frame of this rack holds a BPA-free, food-safe plastic mesh with gaps large enough to allow plenty of air circulation and easy cleaning.1 None of our test noodles stuck in the least, and a simple wipe with a dry cloth was enough to remove any flour or dough bits that were left behind.
The Eppicotispai rack can dry long pasta, too, though it’s more of a pain to lay out each noodle individually rather than set a handful at once on a “coat rack” style dryer. There’s also a limit on how long you can make your spaghetti and fettuccine; the rack is 19 inches across.
The rack’s legs are removable to save on storage space, though it’s not super-practical to assemble and disassemble every time you use it. It ships with the legs removed, and we had to use a rubber mallet to get them firmly in place in the pre-drilled holes, and then we had to do a little adjusting after that to get everything even and sitting perfectly flat. To get the legs back out again, you’ll probably need pliers and some arm strength—it’s honestly easier to just leave it assembled.
This thing is a pricey pasta-drying device, but it’s also a specialized tool made for someone pretty dedicated to homemade pasta in the first place. If your pasta maker stays on the countertop all the time, the Eppicotispai could be the accessory you need sitting right next to it.
Dimensions: 19 x 15.8 x 1 inches | Weight: 2.7 ounces
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-product-eppicotispai-beechwood-stackable-food-dryer-4-tier-7-rkilgore-0069-0eb36fe68cdc4b9b9a1a63cf5df5ca34.jpeg)
Best Compact
Kitchendao Collapsible Pasta Drying Rack
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/KITCHENDAOCollapsiblePastaDryingRack-3c6a1790cec54a11b61f0f7b2d48962d.jpeg)
- Compact and collapsible
- Arms can rotate
- Dishwasher-safe
- Expensive
- Somewhat unstable
- Small capacity
It’s honestly impressive how easy it is to set up this rack and then flip the arms and legs back into the tube that serves as central column and storage space. It’s kind of fun! The Kitchendao is a bit smaller in capacity than the others on this list, but we love that its eight arms can rotate. As each arm fills up, you can just give it a little nudge to spin an empty one into place, without having to change positions on your workspace.
This rack’s three small feet have rubber tips to help hold it in place, though they weren’t enough to completely prevent wobbling in testing. It never tipped over, but we did feel like we had to be especially careful not to knock the Kitchendao and to load noodles evenly from arm to arm so it didn’t get unbalanced. (Thankfully, the spinning arms make this easy.)
An added bonus: The arms detach and are machine-washable. It’s unlikely that any pasta drying rack will need much deep-cleaning, but if you manage to dirty this one, you can toss the pieces straight in the dishwasher.
Dimensions (Assembled): 16.5 x 16.5 inches | Dimensions (Collapsed): 16.5 x 2 inches | Arms: 8 | Weight: 1.1 pounds
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-product-kitchendao-collapsible-pasta-drying-rack-10-rkilgore-0086-88f67abee53f464886248deeac46a5f1.jpeg)
Best Ease of Use
CucinaPro Pasta Drying Rack
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/CucinaPro-Pasta-Drying-Rack-ccf39954082c459a818f3655cea0566b.jpg)
PHOTO: Amazon
- Removable dowels
- Secure construction
- Large capacity
- Assembly required
- Not collapsible for storage
It’s good to have a steady hand when loading and unloading a pasta drying rack: It’s easy to bump into an arm and watch several partially dried noodles crack and fall off. As seasoned culinary professionals, we’re ashamed to admit that this happened occasionally even in our Lab testing, but the CucinaPro had the least breakage of any model on this list.
That’s thanks to its clever design, with an extremely stable and heavy-duty rack topped by a dozen removable dowels. You can bring the dowel to you to put the noodles on, then place it back into its notch, and then do the reverse when drying is complete. If you’re a beginner—or you just don’t want to have to tiptoe around your pasta so much—it’s a good choice.
Part of the reason the CucinaPro is so stable is that it’s held together by eight screws, which you have to screw in yourself. The holes are pre-drilled, and it’s not a tough project, but you will need a Phillips-head screwdriver, which isn’t usually involved in putting together a pasta drying rack. The base also doesn’t shrink down or collapse in any way, which means it’s going to take up some space on a counter or in a cabinet.
Dimensions: 13.5 x 11.5 x 6.5 inches | Dowels: 12 | Weight: 1.4 pounds
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-product-cucinapro-515-pasta-drying-rack-6-rkilgore-0051-99c610a5196a41a694091139dcfee08b.jpeg)
Final Verdict
The Ourokhome Collapsible Pasta Drying Rack is our top choice. It’s a simple, stable, space-saving gadget with plenty of room for noodles at a very affordable price. For the more adventurous pasta-maker, the unique design of the Eppicotispai Beechwood Stackable Food Dryer can dry long, short, or filled pasta, as well as herbs, vegetables, and fruit.
How We Tested Pasta Drying Racks
After extensive online research, we chose a total of 14 pasta drying racks to purchase and test. We incorporated them into our testing of pasta makers, using each drying rack to hold and dry the spaghetti and other noodles the pasta makers cut. (We used the same egg-enriched dough recipe for all tests.)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-pasta-drying-racks-test-crate-barrel-acacia-rkilgore-0148-cb3698ece18f46158057cb669c16d0d1.jpeg)
We Observed
- How easy the racks were to assemble and set up: Following the included directions, we put together each rack, extended its legs, and set it on the table to prepare for the rest of testing. We noted any difficulties or complications we ran into.
- How easy they were to load: We laid a full batch of fresh spaghetti on the rack, spreading the noodles out across the arms as evenly as possible. We evaluated whether the layout of the arms made the process easier or harder, and if any rotating or folding arms made it easier to load pasta.
- How well they dried pasta: After setting out the noodles on each model, we let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours to dry fully. After that, we removed the noodles from the racks, noting whether any broke or stuck to the arms, and if they dried evenly.
We Rated
- Design: We considered the stability of each rack on the table and whether it felt wobbly if loaded unevenly. We also noted whether the arms were spaced apart in a way that made them all easy to access, and if any rotating or removable arms worked as expected.
- Performance: We took a close look at the texture of the dried pasta to see if it became brittle and crumbly or stayed smooth, and if any pieces broke during the drying period.
- Ease of cleaning: At the end of testing, we disassembled each rack and cleaned it according to the user manual. We noted how simple the cleaning process was, along with how much flour and dough stuck to the racks in the first place.
- Value: When all other tests we complete, we revealed the retail prices of each rack and considered its cost compared to its ratings in the other categories.
About Our Testers
- Our Lab team has spent collective decades working in professional kitchens, developing recipes, and testing kitchen gear.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-pasta-drying-racks-test-crate-barrel-acacia-rkilgore-0186-73edb4427c504a988984de604f4762cc.jpeg)
Others We Tested
- Marcato Atlas Tacapasta Pasta Drying Rack: This luxury drying rack is easy to assemble and adjust, with 16 rotating arms that can hold a lot of pasta. We didn’t love that its legs don’t lock in place, which makes moving it around awkward, but the big issue is its astronomical price.
- Bellemain Large Wood Pasta Drying Rack: With a very similar design to the Sänger above, this rack appeared in a previous version of this roundup. It’s quite inexpensive, but it also offers just eight arms and less space for pasta than its competitor.
- Navaris Beechwood Pasta Drying Rack: This folding rack offers lots of room to hang pasta, but it was pretty awkward to use in testing. The dowels aren’t removable, so it’s awkward to drape noodles over the middle sections and to remove them when they’re dry. The wood was also inconsistently sanded, and pasta stuck to the rough surface in places.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-pasta-drying-racks-test-navaris-beechwood-rkilgore-0652-17229a3aa0cb4aa0acba360787436c9f.jpeg)
What to Look for in a Pasta Drying Rack
Material
Most pasta drying racks are made of wood, plastic, metal, or some combination of the three. There’s not a heck of a lot of difference between them in terms of performance, but what matters most is the material of the arms that the pasta rests on: We found that it was easier to slide noodles off of a smooth plastic arm than rough, unfinished wood.
Material also makes some difference in terms of cleaning, as wooden racks generally can’t go in the dishwasher while some plastic ones can. On the other hand, we didn’t need much more than a dry cloth to wipe flour and dough residue off the racks we tested.
Design
Most pasta drying racks have a fairly similar design, with a series of arms over which you drape pasta. The height of the arms is one important thing to keep in mind. The dough should not touch the counter or tabletop as it dries, which means that taller arms can dry longer noodles. Some dryers have rotating or adjustable arms, which can make them easier to access. Another design consideration is the base of the rack. A larger base—or more legs—makes the whole thing more stable and less likely to tip over if you load pasta onto it unevenly.
With a flat rack like the Eppicotispai, you don’t have to worry about stability as much, but you do have to worry about size; more surface area means more space for noodles.
Capacity
If you’re going to make a batch of homemade pasta, you might as well make a big one—especially if you have a rack that can dry the noodles for future use. The amount of pasta a given rack can hold is largely based on the number of arms it has and their length: Each inch of arm can only hold so many noodles. With that said, even the smallest racks we tested were able to hold well more than two servings at a time—you might not need an enormous one unless you have a large household to feed (or if you’re running a fresh-pasta business out of your kitchen).
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/ses-primary-pasta-drying-racks-0128-e9476df0a7cc4f34b86580c59472bd6c.jpeg)
FAQs
How long should pasta dry on a rack?
For fresh noodles that you’re going to use within a week, you only need about 15 minutes of drying. This will prevent the pasta from sticking or squishing but keep it pliable. You can cook partially dried pasta immediately or store it in the fridge for up to a week.
Fully dried pasta takes several hours, but once all the moisture has evaporated, you can store it in a room-temperature pantry for months, just like store-bought dried pasta.
Is a pasta drying rack necessary?
Strictly speaking, no. You can cook pasta immediately after rolling and cutting it. However, a few minutes of drying will help sticky pasta hold its shape in the boiling water, and longer drying can preserve it for future use.
What else can you use as a pasta drying rack?
In theory, anything that will let noodles dangle in midair can be used to dry them: One traditional Italian method is to drape pasta across a broom handle suspended between two chairs. You can also lay the pasta on a floured towel or baking sheet, but you’ll need to turn it carefully and frequently to ensure even drying. A dedicated drying rack is more sanitary and can potentially hold bigger batches in a smaller space.
