How to Make Homemade Pasta

There’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh, homemade pasta. Whether you’re craving silky fettuccine or rustic tagliatelle, this simple dough recipe brings the magic of Italy right into your kitchen! Believe it or not, one of my good friends is from sicily and even they buy barilla, but I promise you this is resturant quality!

It only takes a few ingredients to make something truly special. Once you try it, boxed pasta just won’t compare. Let’s make fresh pasta from scratch!

Making Homemade Pasta Dough

Image: theslowtable.com / Photograph by Alyssa

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or 00 flour (for a silky texture)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, for a smoother dough)
• 1–2 tablespoons water (only if needed)

Instructions

1. Make a Flour Well
   On a clean surface, mound the flour and create a well in the center.
2. Add Eggs & Mix
   Crack the eggs into the well, add salt, and slowly incorporate the flour using a fork until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Knead
   Knead the dough for 8–10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Add a little water if the dough is dry or dust with flour if too sticky.
4. Rest
   Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This helps develop the gluten for a better texture.
5. Roll & Cut
   Roll the rested dough out thinly and cut into your favorite pasta shapes like fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle.
6. Cook
   Boil in salted water for 2–3 minutes until tender. Drain and toss with your favorite sauce.

How to Make Homemade Pasta

Recipe by The Slow Table TeamCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

3

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

2

minutes

Calories

220

kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or 00 flour (for a silky texture)

• 2 large eggs

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, for a smoother dough)

• 1–2 tablespoons water (only if needed)

Directions

• Make a Flour Well – On a clean surface, mound the flour and create a well in the center.
• Add Eggs & Mix – Crack the eggs into the well, add salt, and slowly incorporate the flour using a fork until a shaggy dough forms.
• Knead – Knead the dough for 8–10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Add a little water if the dough is dry or dust with flour if too sticky.
• Rest – Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This helps develop the gluten for a better texture.
• Roll & Cut – Roll the rested dough out thinly and cut into your favorite pasta shapes like fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle.
• Cook – Boil in salted water for 2–3 minutes until tender. Drain and toss with your favorite sauce.

Notes

• Kneading Options: If you are lazy, like us! You can throw all the ingredients in your kitchenaid artisan mixer and knead using a dough hook. I specifically bought the artisian series as its best for working with dough. There will still be some manual effort required as this is a thick dough, but much easier then kneading by hand for 8+ minutes.
• Adding Water: Sometimes the dough can be very dry, that is usually a result of not being fully kneaded or moisture levels. Add as much water as you need to get the dough like our picture. It should be smooth and glossy.
• Shaping the pasta: Make sure you don’t roll your pasta dough to be too thick. You can use a kitchenaid mixer pasta attachement to get the right thickness, but if you are rolling the dough out by hand, you want the dough to be thin and ALMOST, but not translusent.
• Pasta Sauce: Feel free to also check out our homemade tomato sauce recipe.

Why You’ll Love It

This recipe is simple, authentic, and versatile. Customize it with herbs or spices, roll it thick or paper-thin, and pair it with everything from hearty ragù to a light drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan. Once you try homemade pasta, there’s no going back!

Let me know if you’d like a version of this for spinach pasta, gluten-free, or flavored variations!