How to Make Homemade Pasta - Full Recipe & Tips for Success (2024)

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If you’ve never made homemade pasta before, or you have and weren’t thrilled with the results, you’re in luck. This is in my top ten most viewed recipes and everyone agrees – this is the best homemade pasta recipe!

Read below to see step-by-step photos and a video detailing the ingredients and process. Whether you have a pasta maker or plan on rolling and cutting it by hand, you’ll get amazing results, with or without any special equipment.

Once you make this pasta, you can use the sheets of pasta for lasagna or homemade ravioli, or you can cut them into various thicknesses to make fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti.

Why I love this recipe

Homemade Pasta is something everyone should make at least once in their lifetime. I’m sure 99% of us cook the basic dried pasta that comes in a box. There’s no harm in that. I do it myself!

But this recipe is easy to follow; even for beginner cooks.

• Simple ingredients
• Perfect flavor and texture – The pasta not only tastes great, but the texture is absolutely perfect – soft with a “bite”.
• Recipe is easy to follow – I’ve taken many pasta-making classes and have taught many friends how to make my semolina pasta recipe as well. I have the technique down!

Ingredients needed to make homemade pasta

My pasta dough consists of olive oil, water, room temperature eggs, and equal parts all-purpose flour and semolina flour.

There are two parts to making homemade pasta – making the pasta dough and rolling it out. We’ll break the process down into two detailed sections.

How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough

Option 1: Pasta Dough by Hand

1. If mixing and kneading pasta dough by hand, you will start by combining the flour with the salt and placing them on a clean work surface.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Use your hands to incorporate the mixture and then work in the water. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle with a little bit of flour until it is no longer sticky.
3. Knead the dough by hand for at least 10 minutes to activate the gluten. This is hard work as the dough is quite firm.

Option 2: Pasta Dough With a Stand Mixer

1. If you have a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook, combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start mixing on low speed and add small amounts of flour until the dough forms a ball that is no longer sticking to the sides.
2. Knead the dough on medium speed for 10 minutes.

Option 3: Pasta Dough With a Food Processor

1. If you have a large heavy-duty food processor with a dough blade, you can use it to mix and knead the pasta dough.
2. Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine the ingredients. Add additional flour until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticking to the sides.
3. Knead the dough in the processor for ten minutes.

Pasta Dough Must Rest

Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap, place it in a plastic bag, or cover it with a kitchen towel.

Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before you begin to roll it out. This rest period allows the flour to absorb the liquid and hydrate. It also allows the gluten to relax.

How to Roll and Cut Fresh Pasta

You can definitely roll and cut fresh pasta by hand. Italians have been doing it that way since the beginning of time. But, if you have the KitchenAid attachment for pasta or an Atlas hand roller, it will make the process even easier.

Start by setting the homemade pasta dough on a cutting board covered with a bit of flour. Use a bench scraper to partition off a small amount of dough to work with.

For either method, as you continue to roll and cut the pasta, continue to add flour to prevent sticking.

Option 1: Roll and Cut by Hand

Using a rolling pin, flatten each small segment of dough to a long piece that is about 1/8″ thick.

Using a pizza cutter, a sharp knife, or a specialized pasta cutter hand tool, cut the pasta noodles to your desired thickness.

Any pieces around the outside that need to be re-cut can be added back to the rest of the dough before partitioning the next segment.

Option 2: Roll and Cut with a Pasta Roller

The same process works whether you use a hand roller or a pasta machine. If this is your first time making homemade pasta, it’s best to get someone to help you feed the pasta through the rollers.

Start with a small piece of dough and flatten it with the heel of your hand.

Send it through the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment or the pasta roller attachment on the widest setting. Next, fold dough into thirds and send it through again. Repeat the roll-and-fold one more time. This is done to give the sheet of pasta straight edges.

Next, you will continue to send the sheets of pasta through the roller, reducing the thickness with each pass. I usually go to setting 5, but you can make it thinner or thicker based on preference.

Finally, run the thin sheet of pasta through the cutting attachment.

What to Do with the Freshly Made Homemade Noodles

Ensure all sides of the cut pasta are heavily coated in flour. Place cut pasta in nests on a large baking sheet covered in flour.

You can also hang it on a pasta rack.

Once the pasta is rolled and cut, you then have three choices: cook it fresh, store it fresh, or dry it for longer storage.

How to Cook Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta cooks really quickly.

Simply bring a large pot of water with a tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil and add the pasta. It should only take a few minutes to cook. Once the pasta begins to float, you know it is done.

If you like your pasta cooked al dente, be sure to taste a couple of bites to ensure the pasta is cooked to your satisfaction before draining.

Pro tip: If you will be tossing the pasta in any kind of sauce, scoop out a cup of pasta water before draining it. This starchy salted pasta water can be used to thin sauces without changing the flavor. This works especially well with cream-based sauces used in recipes like Cajun shrimp pasta or blackened chicken alfredo.

Best Way to Dry Fresh Pasta

You can dry fresh homemade pasta two ways. Either hang it on a pasta drying rack or allow the nests of heavily floured pasta to have enough air and time to completely dry.

Pasta left on a drying rack will be fully dry within about 12 hours.

Storage recommendations

How you store homemade pasta will depend on whether it is fresh or dried.

How to Store Fresh Pasta

If you don’t plan on eating all of the fresh pasta when made, you can store it for later.

Gently transfer the pasta from the rack or the nests that have been arranged in a single layer on the large baking sheet to an airtight container. Store the pasta in the refrigerator or the freezer.

Ensure the pasta is heavily floured so that it does not stick together.

It will taste best if its used within 3-5 days.

How to Store Homemade Dried Pasta

Pasta that has been completely dried can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste best if used within a month.

Recipe Tips for Best Results

• Elasticity and gluten development – To ensure your pasta dough has been kneaded enough, stick your knuckle into the dough. It should slowly push back. If you create an indentation and the dough just stays, you need to continue kneading. You know the dough is ready when there is elasticity.
• Use quality ingredients – Farm fresh large eggs, fresh flour, and high-quality extra virgin olive oil should be used. The higher the quality, the better the pasta will taste.
• Utilize flour while rolling and cutting – To prevent sticking, you will need to use a lot of flour. Any excess flour will come off when you boil it. You can use either all-purpose, semolina, or a combination of both.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

• Flour – I’ve made pasta using only all-purpose flour before and thought it was too doughy. It will work, however. The semolina gives the pasta more bite. It adds to the taste and the texture. You can, of course, only use semolina, but I find that the combination of the two flours yields a dough that is easy to work with and tastes great. I have not attempted to make a gluten-free pasta or use any other types of flour with this recipe.
• Fresh herbs – minced herbs can be worked into the dough.

What to Serve With Homemade Pasta

Once you decide to cook your pasta, you can either smother it in your favorite sauce, or you can use the fresh pasta dough in a delicious recipe.

Favorite Pasta Sauce Recipes

• garlic infused homemade Alfredo sauce
• easy bolognese sauce
• authentic Italian beef ragu

Favorite Pasta Recipes

• Fettuccine-based recipes – My favorites include Fettuccine Alfredo, Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo, Asparagus Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo, Fettuccine with Salmon Dill Cream Sauce, and Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Shrimp Pasta.
• Lasagna – If making lasagna with fresh pasta, cut the sheets to the exact size you need, bring a heavily salted pot of water to a rolling boil, and cook the pasta just for a couple of minutes. Use these par-boiled pasta sheets to make classic lasagna with sausage, roasted vegetable lasagna, butternut squash lasagna, green chile chicken lasagna, or even some slow cooker lasagna soup.
• Ravioli – I’ve made three different kinds of ravioli with this fresh pasta. Recipes include four cheese ravioli, meat and cheese ravioli, or butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce
• Think about how delicious some basil meatballs with a rich homemade pasta sauce would taste on top of this pasta?
• Fettucine Alfredo made with homemade pasta and a rich garlic infused homemade Alfredo sauce. Yes please.

Common FAQs

This post was originally created in February 2018 and has been updated with process photos, helpful information, and cooking tips. Don’t worry – I didn’t change the recipe!