Learn how to make pasta at home! This 4-ingredient homemade pasta recipe is easy to make, and it yields chewy, delicious noodles every time.
This homemade pasta recipe is our new favorite cooking project! Lately, Jack and I have been spending even more time than usual in the kitchen, experimenting with bread, baked goods, and even okonomiyaki. But we keep coming back to homemade pasta. It’s super fun to make together, and it only requires a handful of basic ingredients. Of course, the fact that it’s absolutely delicious doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
My homemade pasta recipe refers to the pasta maker attachment for the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, which is how we roll out our fresh pasta at home. If you don’t have a KitchenAid, don’t worry! You could also roll out this pasta dough according to the instructions on a regular pasta maker. However you make it, I hope you try this recipe. It’s an easy, fun way to spend an hour in the kitchen with someone you love, and at the end, you get to eat a big plate of chewy noodles with a perfect al dente bite.
Homemade Pasta Recipe Ingredients
You only need 4 ingredients to make delicious fresh pasta at home, and there’s a good chance you have all of them on hand already:
- All-purpose flour – In the past, I thought you needed 00 flour or semolina flour to make great fresh pasta, but this homemade pasta recipe proved me wrong. In it, regular all-purpose flour yields chewy, bouncy noodles every time.
- Eggs – The key ingredient for adding richness and moisture to the dough!
- Olive oil – Along with the eggs, a splash of olive oil moistens the dough and helps it come together.
- Salt – Add it to the dough and the pasta water for the best flavor.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pasta
Ready to learn how to make pasta? Check out this step-by-step guide first, and then find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
First, make a nest with the flour on a clean work surface. Add the remaining ingredients to the center and use a fork to gently break up the eggs. Try to keep the flour walls intact as best as you can!
Next, use your hands to gently mix in the flour. Continue working the dough to bring it together into a shaggy ball.
Then, knead! At the beginning, the dough should feel pretty dry, but stick with it! It might not feel like it’s going to come together, but after 8-10 minutes of kneading, it should become cohesive and smooth:
If the dough still seems too dry, sprinkle your fingers with water and continue kneading to incorporate it into the dough. If the dough becomes too sticky, dust more flour onto your work surface.
When the dough comes together, shape it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After the dough rests, slice it into 4 pieces.
Use a rolling pin or your hands to gently flatten one into an oval disk.
Then, run it through the widest setting of your pasta maker (level 1 on the KitchenAid attachment). I run the dough through the pasta maker 3 times on this setting before proceeding to the next step. If you don’t have the KitchenAid attachment, roll out the dough according to your pasta maker’s instructions.
Next, fold the dough… if you want to. This step is somewhat optional, but it will make your final pasta sheet more rectangular, which will yield more long strands of pasta. Plus, it’s super simple! Just lay the dough flat and fold both short ends in to meet in the center.
Then, fold it in half lengthwise to form a rectangle.
Once you’ve folded the dough, roll it out to your desired thickness. On my KitchenAid attachment, I run it through the pasta roller three times on level 2, three times on level 3, and one time each on levels 4, 5, and 6.
Repeat these steps with the remaining dough pieces. Each time you finish with a piece of dough, lay one half of it on a lightly floured baking sheet. Sprinkle the dough with flour, and fold the other half on top. Sprinkle the top with flour, too!
Finally, cut and cook the pasta. Run the pasta sheets through your desired pasta cutter attachment. Cook the noodles in a pot of boiling salted water for 1 minute, and enjoy!
Homemade Pasta Serving Suggestions
If you’ve never had fresh pasta before, you’re in for a treat! Its chewy, bouncy texture and rich flavor make it so much better than the dried pasta at the store. In fact, these noodles are so good that we usually serve them really simply. They’re fantastic with marinara sauce, pesto, homemade Alfredo sauce, or olive oil and vegan Parmesan or Parmesan cheese.
Of course, they’re delicious in larger pasta dishes, too. Use them instead of dried pasta in any of these recipes:
- Tagliatelle with Asparagus & Peas
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Easy Pesto Pasta
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
- Linguine with Lemon and Tomatoes
- Garlic Herb Mushroom Pasta
Find more of my favorite pasta recipes here!
Homemade Pasta
Equipment
- KitchenAid Mixer (the stand mixer to use the pasta attachment)
- Pasta Attachment (my favorite KitchenAid attachment!)
- Baking Sheets (I use these nonstick ones from Nordic Ware)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place the flour on a clean work surface and make a nest. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt to the center and use a fork to gently break up the eggs, keeping the flour walls intact as best as you can. Use your hands to gently bring the flour inward to incorporate. Continue working the dough with your hands to bring it together into a shaggy ball.
- Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. At the beginning, the dough should feel pretty dry, but stick with it! It might not feel like it’s going to come together, but after 8-10 minutes of kneading, it should become cohesive and smooth. If the dough still seems too dry, sprinkle your fingers with a tiny bit of water to incorporate. If it’s too sticky, dust more flour onto your work surface. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Dust 2 large baking sheets with flour and set aside.
- Slice the dough into four pieces. Gently flatten one into an oval disk. Run the dough through the Pasta Roller Attachment or a pasta maker three times on level 1 (the widest setting).
- Set the dough piece onto a countertop or work surface. Fold both short ends in to meet in the center, then fold the dough in half to form a rectangle (see photo above).
- Run the dough through the pasta roller three times on level 2, three times on level 3, and one time each on levels 4, 5, and 6.
- Lay half of the pasta sheet onto the floured baking sheet and sprinkle with flour before folding the other half on top. Sprinkle more flour on top of the second half. Every side should be floured so that your final pasta noodles won't stick together.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Run the pasta sheets through the Pasta Cutter Attachment (pictured is the fettuccine cutter). Repeat with remaining dough. Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes.
Notes
adapted from Serious Eats
Hi, easy recipe. Had to add a little water to dough -high altitude with no humidity in NM. Pasta tasted good but clumpy when in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Cooked for a few minutes but some clumps unable to separate.
Any tips please?
Thanks
Amazing recipe
Hi Amanda, so glad you loved it!
My comment is more of a question. I’m looking to make different colors and flavors of pasta and was wondering if I could use beet juice and pureed beets or reconstituted sundried tomatoes for a red pasta and basil and cilantro for a green pasta? Thanks for any info
Thanks for the tip on the Kitchenaid attachment. I had been considering a pasta machine and never thought about my mixer! Purchased an Antree pasta attachment and it works great. Just had fresh fettuccine with garlic for lunch. Great, easy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the pasta!
Great pasta recipe. Starts dry, but go with it: the final product is great. Kept the leftovers wrapped in the fridge and even better the next day. Delicious…😋
Hi Kat, I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this according to the recipe only I used Caputo’s Gluten free flour and it turned out perfectly. Make a flour nest add your wet ingredients in the middle and knead properly. One thing people often do not realize is that technique (especially when working with dough) is just as important as following the ingredients part of the recipe. If your dough is too dry you either did not measure your flour correctly (spoon and leveling is very important to ensuring the correct amount) or you did not knead it long enough.
I’m so glad it worked well with the GF flour!
OH MY GOSH! I’ve never made home made noodles before, and I’ve seen so many comments about how it’s dry, but i didn’t find that, maybe that’s just cause I’ve only made them once now, but I thought it was PERFECT! But I did ACCIDENTALLY cook them for 10 minutes instead of 1-2, but I did accidentally also make them a little to thick cause I hand cut them, but they ended up good!
I’m so glad your noodles turned out well! Yes, since they’re not dried, they cook for much less time.
I usually never post but I’ve seen some comments about the dryness. I made this recipe as described above two times and though it turned out okay, I knew the dough was dryer than it was supposed to be. I’ve made a few tweaks that helped me get that soft dough and maybe could help some of you!
1 – Make sure your eggs are room temperature. Cold eggs will make the dough seize up, making it harder to knead.
2 – I used 2 full eggs, 1 egg yolk, and 2 tbsp of water in addition to the olive oil and salt. It may be because I’m using AP flour but I needed that extra moisture.
3 – Add all of the ingredients to a food processor to fully incorporate, then pour the dough out on the table and knead. I got this tip from watching cooking shows. I know it’s not the traditional way of incorporating wet and dry ingredients for pasta but it made the kneading process so much easier. It’s also easier to add more flour/water this way prior to kneading.
Either way, great starter recipe! Hope all this helps!
I forgot to add that more precise measurements results in a softer dough so I used a scale to measure out 200 grams of AP flour exactly for this recipe. 1 cup of flour is about 120 grams, so my alterations actually call for less flour.
Robin. You needed to kneed for 8 to 10 mins not just mix is
Superb
This is an EXCELLENT recipe. Those who are saying the dough was too dry must not have followed the instructions when it said to add a touch of water. The dough will seem extremely dry and crumbly to begin with, but if you just keep kneading it it will all come together. I think most people get scared when they see it kind of dry and crumbly at the beginning and think that they did it wrong, so they freak out and add a ton of water which makes it super sticky then they add too much flour and it just becomes a whole thing.
I will definitely make this recipe again. I made spaghetti tonight and will use this recipe to make ravioli in the future
I’m so glad your pasta came out perfectly!
I followed this recipe to make pasta for my very first time ever and it was amazing. I read through the comments and made sure that I needed the dough for a long time. At least 10 minutes. I also chose to use pasta flour instead of all purpose, flour. Did that make a difference, I have no idea? But I will make this again.
Hi Stephen, I’m so glad your pasta turned out well!
Worked perfectly for me. Kneading is key. I let it rest while setting up the KitchAid. Ran through on speed 2 on each thickness level, then upped speed to 7 for fettuccine. Easy peasy and delicious!
I’m glad your pasta was perfect!
Love this recipe, have made it numerous times. Great project, have made it with all three of my teenage grandaughters. Definitely worth the time. I have a few suggestions: make the inside of your nest large enough to hold the eggs and oil,
Patience is a virtue when you start to incorporate the flour
flour, and I always have a spatula ready as I do this on my marble island and use the spatula to scrape the counter to get it the mixture all together as I’m kneading.
Have fun, you will never want to buy boxed pasta again.
In all my decades of cooking, this was the first time I prepared homemade pasta. Perfection!
(I replaced the APF with semolina flour.)
I’m glad your pasta turned out perfectly!
What about freezing it to keep longer? ANy suggestions or luck?
I rarely leave a comment, but this pasta was perfection! I made the dough in the KitchenAid. No extra water was needed, but be paitent it takes a bit of time for the dough to come together. I finished kneading on the counter for a minute. Will make again and again.
Hi Karen, I’m so glad your pasta came out perfectly!
Absolutely delish and so fun to make! I bought a pasta maker on a whim at lidl. Best decision! Like she said in the blog, initially the dough is really crumbly… I added tiny bits of water to help me knead but after 8-9 mins it did turn in a smooth ball. I will definitely make this again and again.
Hi Jen, I’m so glad your pasta turned out so well!
Could I use whole wheat flour for this? And if I don’t have any pasta tools is it still possible to make by kneading by hand, rolling with rolling pin and cutting with pizza slicer?
Hi Holly, I haven’t had success with all whole wheat flour, it’s more dry, so you’ll need more water and maybe a different egg ratio.
I made by hand (though I have a kitchenaid and attachment). It turned out just fine. I rolled and rolled until I could see the printed lines beneath the dough (on my pastry mat). Then I hand cut noodles. Cooked 2 portions and dried the other two in the dehydrator for a few hours – so they will last longer without molding so quickly.
Cooked for 3 minutes as likely a little thicker than machine cutting.
Used this recipe for my first time making pasta and it turned out wonderful. I didn’t have a machine so I did it all by hand but it wasn’t hard… just took some extra work. Used homemade alfredo sauce with chicken and can’t wait to make it again!
OMGOODNESS! My grandson and I made this recipe and everything turned out perfect!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!