How to Make Homemade Pasta (2024)

This easy homemade pasta recipe only requires 30 minutes and 4 simple ingredients. You’ll never buy store-bought again!

Homemade pasta was one of my biggest achievements as a home cook. I had so much hesitation to make it the first time, but once I tried it I realized just how easy it is. You soon will too!

In this recipe, you’ll learn all the techniques you need to know to make pasta completely by hand, or with the help of a pasta cutter or stand mixer. You’ll also learn some helpful tips on how to refrigerate or freeze it for later use.

Let’s get to it!

How to Make Easy Pasta Dough

Making pasta dough is super simple. Whether you’re doing it by hand or using a stand mixer, find a brief overview of the technique below.

• Make the Pasta Dough: In a large glass mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour and salt. Add whisked egg and olive oil and mix to combine.
• Knead the Pasta Dough: By hand or with a stand mixer, knead the dough until it is elastic and no longer sticky.
• Refrigerate the Pasta Dough: Cut dough into three even pieces and roll each into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Roll the Pasta Dough Out: Using a rolling pin, pasta cutter, or stand mixer pasta roller attachment, roll the dough pieces out into thin layers. Allow layers to dry for 15-20 minutes (floured surface or pasta rack).
• Cut the Pasta Dough: Using a sharp knife, pasta cutter, or pasta cutter stand mixer attachment, slice the dough to your preference (fettuccine, lasagna, angel hair, etc). Cook, refrigerate, or freeze!

What type of flour should I use? For this recipe, standard all-purpose flour works great. You could also use 00 flour for more delicate pasta or half 00 flour and half semolina flour for heartier pasta.

How to Shape Homemade Pasta

There’s three ways you can shape homemade pasta – by hand, using a pasta cutter, or with a stand mixer pasta attachment. Below, find a quick rundown for each:

• By Hand (No Special Equipment): After you’ve rolled the dough out with a rolling pin on a floured work surface and the pasta has dried for 15-20 minutes, use a sharp knife or pasta cutter to slice noodles of your desired width. The shape will likely be rustic due to hand jitters, but the taste will still be on point!
• Pasta Cutter: Feed the dough trough the pasta maker on the widest setting. Fold the sheet into thirds. Feel it through the rollers a couple more times. Next, continue to feed the pasta through the rollers, reducing the setting each time until the pasta reaches your desired thickness (if the dough gets sticky at any point, simply coat it in some flour; if it gets too long, simply cut it down to a workable size with a knife). Once you reach desired thickness, flour the dough sheet once more and allow it to dry for 15-20 minutes. Once dry, feed through the pasta cutter setting of your choice. Repeat until you run out of dough.
• Kitchen Aid Pasta Attachment: Connect the pasta roller attachment to your stand mixer and set the knob to the widest setting. Follow the same process as above, lightly flouring the pasta as you go until it reaches your desired thickness. Allow dough to dry for 15-20 minutes. Remove the roller attachment and connect your preferred cutter attachment. Feed the dough through the cutter. Repeat until you run out of dough.

Tips for Making the Best Homemade Pasta

Below, find a handful of tips and tricks to make the best homemade pasta.

• Use high quality flour. No matter which flour you use, make sure it’s high-quality.
• Allow the pasta to dry before cutting it. Giving the pasta 15-20 minutes to dry before cutting and shaping it will make handling the dough so much easier.
• Flour the dough if it gets sticky. No matter which method you use, don’t be afraid to flour the dough if it becomes sticky or tough to handle during the rolling or cutting process.
• Remember fresh pasta cooks much faster. Whether you cook it right after shaping, refrigerating, or freezing, fresh pasta cooks much quicker than dried pasta. It can range from as short as 90 seconds for raw and up to four minutes for frozen in boiling salt water. Test it as you go and pull it out once it’s al dente.

Storing Homemade Pasta

Storing homemade pasta for later use is super simple. If you aren’t going to cook it fresh (after a quick 15-20 minute dry), you’ll need to let it dry for up to two hours before storing it.

• Refrigerator: Twirl small bunches of pasts into “nests”. Allow them to dry on a floured surface for two hours. Place the nests in a single layer in an airtight container. Place in the refrigerator and use within 3 days.
• Freezer: Twirl bunches of pasta into nests just like above and allow them to dry for 2 hours. Transfer nests to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place baking sheet into the freezer. Once nests are frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. Use within two weeks.

FAQ

Serve Your Homemade Pasta With:

• Creamy One-Pot Pasta – Sausage and zucchini pasta
• One-Pot Beef Stroganoff Recipe – Creamy sour cream sauce and tender beef pasta
• The Easiest Shrimp Linguine – Light and flavorful, a seafood classic
• Lemon Chicken Pasta – Chicken and pasta tossed in a simple garlic lemon butter sauce.
• Broccoli Mushroom Alfredo Pasta – Light and delicious
• Pasta Bolognese (One-Pan) – Chunky beef sauce

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