How To Make Fresh Pasta From Scratch
Have you ever made fresh pasta before? Well, I love making it, so I’m sharing pictures today with step-by-step instructions for you to see and use. I’m a visual person so I’m hoping these pictures show you how easy it is to make.
There is something so wonderful about a pot of soup simmering on the stove or in a slow cooker. You may have grown up watching your grandma make noodles, am I right?
After you see how I made this easy recipe you may ask yourself, “Why haven’t I made fresh pasta before now.”
Step 1 Grab a Bowl
Grab a large bowl and make a mound with the flour and salt.
Step 2 Make a Well
Create a well in the flour/salt mixture and place the eggs with the olive oil in the middle of the well.
Step 3 Start to Whisk
Using a fork, gradually and gently whisk the eggs, eventually incorporating your flour until all ingredients are stiff but still moist and a dough is formed. Knead until smooth, but not sticky or tacky (about 10 min), and then cover with a damp cloth or put in plastic wrap to rest for 20 minutes.
Step 4 Sprinkle Flour
Sprinkle flour on the countertop or another workspace where you plan on cutting the fresh pasta. Grab a rolling pin and sprinkle flour on it. Roll out to desired thickness. I prefer my noodles to be 1/8-inch thick and 3/8-inch wide (approximately).
Step 5 Cut the Dough
I use a pizza cutter to cut them and a ruler to keep my noodles somewhat straight. Oh my gosh, it’s so fun to make them, you will love making fresh pasta! Here’s a great Pizza Cutter if you don’t have one.
Step 6 Ready to Cook
Now, you can cook the noodles right away or dry them to cook later. You may want to use a Pasta Hanger or you can hang them over anything that you have in the kitchen.
Step 7 Six Qts Water to One Pound Pasta
Just a note: You need 6 quarts of salted water for every pound of fresh pasta you want to boil. It will cook faster than store-bought pasta.
It will cook in 1-3 minutes depending on how thick you cut the pasta. I do the taste test to see if it’s tender after cooking for 1-3 minutes. Drain, and serve with your favorite topping.
Step 8 Let it Dry
Let it dry to cook it later.
Step 9 Let it Dry After Cooking
Let it dry for at least 30 minutes before packaging it up to store in the refrigerator or the freezer.
How Can I Use Freshly Cooked Pasta?
- Serve with Homemade Pesto Sauce
- Spaghetti sauce
- Alfredo sauce
- Add to Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
How Do I Store The Fresh Pasta?
After letting the homemade pasta dry, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to three days in an airtight container.
Can I Freeze My Fresh Pasta?
After letting the homemade pasta dry, you can freeze them in freezer bags or in airtight containers. They will store safely in the freezer for about 8 months. When cooking the frozen pasta, allow a few more minutes to cook it until done.
Homemade Fresh Pasta
- 1-1/4 cup flour (I use bread flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 eggs
-
Place the flour and salt in a mound in a large bowl. Create a well in the middle with your finger. Place eggs and olive oil in the middle of your well. Using a fork, gradually and gently whisk the eggs, eventually incorporating your flour until all ingredients are stiff but still moist and a dough is formed. Knead until smooth, but not sticky or tacky (about 10 min), and then cover with a damp cloth or put in plastic wrap to rest for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle flour on the workspace or area where you will roll out the dough. Place the dough on the workspace and cut into sections to roll out as needed. Use a pizza cutter or knife to make your noodles. This recipe works great in pasta machines as well.
Once the noodles are cut, sprinkle them with a little flour to keep them from sticking. You can cook them right away (that’s what I do) or hang them to dry and use them at a later time.
Grab a large pot and boil the water with salt added to cook the pasta. You need 6 quarts of water to every pound of pasta you make. Homemade pasta cooks faster than the dried pasta you buy in the store. It cooks in 1-3 minutes depending on how thick you roll it out.
Final Word
Please let me know if you make your own pasta. I buy Grandma’s Frozen Pasta to keep in the freezer in case of an emergency, but my favorite noodles are the fresh pasta ones I make.
Let me know if you try making them for yourself or teach others to make them. It’s all about being able to be prepared for the unexpected. If you don’t eat carbs, that’s okay.
Please teach your kids and grandkids to make fresh pasta. It may save their life. They will never go hungry if they know how to make pasta. May God bless this world, Linda
Is there away to just let pasta dry, can in a jar or it some other way and put on the shelf for later use.
Hi Sheryl, it has to be refrigerated or frozen because it has raw eggs and no preservatives. This is great for making fresh pasta but not for the long term. It’s so fun to make, Linda
Wonderful article as aways Linda!!! I surely have been making and selling artisan pasta for many years, which means I am expert at drying pasta and storing it, like people have been doing for many, many years. Store bought pasta is dried by a standardized process and very carefully regulated. Milk and egg products, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices are routinely added to make some really great products.
I use 10 Excaliber dehydrators (own Harvest Right Freeze Dryer but do not FD pasta except when already cooked into recipes for MRE making) and I dehydrate everything from nests to more exotic and useful shapes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew-3-8itpjc . I do fortify according to standards ……….Learning how industry dries pasta is useful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJeZSmIV8jo I dehydrate at 90F from 3 to 10 hours and USDA/FDA is happy with that. We aim for around 12% moisture content….but if it is brittle with no moisture apparent in middle…you’ve got it!
The big thing is storing this. Moisture is the key thing for decreasing risk of food Borne illness….that is why if you find a soggy box of macaroni in the on sale section….pass it up…..I live in the fingerlakes area in upstate NY where we have a hefty humidity most of the time. I store dehydrated pasta in vacuated mylar, canning jars, and then the commercial packaging. For home and longer term storage I make my own moisture absorption packets from folding and stapling coffee filters with 100% silica kitty litter inside…non scented….
Coloring pasta is fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtoqR4Omr4M but I dont use artificial colors. I extract and then dehydrate juiced vegetables and fruits for colorants.
I dont dehydrate raviolis- These are frozen at very low temps in my Freeze Dryer to -30F and then put in large freezers for transport to stores. I sell them in flat gift boxes with really nice waxed colored design paper.
Hi Kathleen, your comment is a cartwheel moment for me!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I’m going to go watch these YouTubes!!! This is so helpful to me and my readers! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! Linda
Linda, thank you for this post, I learned some added ideas for our pasta making. And I agree it’s so easy!!
My recipe is very similar to yours. We experimented with all whole wheat flour and did not like the taste results. But we all agreed that 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and the remaining measure in white flour (we use unbleached flour) worked for us.
Hi Janet, thank for letting me know about trying all whole wheat. I need to try using 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole wheat. I love homemade pasta! Linda
I love making this pasta recipe and have for years by hand. It’s a family favorite and always requested when I visit!!
Hi Sheree, oh my gosh, I love hearing this!!!! Thank you!! Linda
I love homemade pasta. I have never used a recipe – mom (and I suppose grandma) just dumped a bunch of flour, a bit of salt, an egg or two depending on how much we were making and a little water to get it to the right consistency. We never used oil in ours.
A couple of notes on using homemade pasta that I learned from mom – 1) When making soup that you want to use your noodle for, take out the amount of soup you want to serve, add as many noodles as needed. The reason for this is that if you then have leftover soup with noodles, the noodles tend to thicken the soup and get soggy! 2) you can cut your pasta into short (2 inch) “blocks” and pinch in the middle for butterfly noodles; thick noodles (1/2 inch) can be cut very short for sort of a gnocchi; 3) cut wide noodles for lasagna.
The possibilities are nearly endless. If you have a pasta machine with different plates, you can also make macaroni and spaghetti. I don’t have one though!!
I have actually cooked noodles in salted water and then dried them. Those you can keep on the shelf in a container because they are cooked. Then when using, they cook pretty fast. I have also frozen cooked noodles after draining well. When I used those, I simply rinsed them with very hot water and drained before topping with pasta sauce.
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh, I love your comment! Now I need to make the noodles with the pinch in the middle like bow-tie pasta!! Linda
I love to make homemade noodles. I let my noodles dry overnight and they work great. The
way I usually fix them is to boil a whole chicken or parts, take the chicken out of the water and
let it cool. I add the noodles into the chicken broth and let cook. I shred the chicken and add to the
broth. To add more flavor I add a bouillon cube to the broth. Cook and enjoy. A friend of mine
loves my Chicken and noodles so I have a reason to make it more and more. My recipe for noodles
is a little different but still easy to make.
Hi June, oh my gosh, it’s so fun to make pasta! I love hearing how everyone cooks theirs!! Life is so good! Linda
I have been looking for an east recipe to make homemade pasta. Yum! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hi Janell, it’s so easy to make!! Fresh is so yummy! Linda
Hi Linda
I was wondering if I can substitute Almond or Coconut flour for white flour?
Hi Judy, that’s a very good question. I really do not know, but it’s worth trying it for sure. I think with a little experimenting it may be fine. Linda