Easy Homemade Pasta Without a Machine

I’ve always wanted to make homemade pasta by hand. There’s something so wonderful and rustic about making it completely from scratch. And I love the idea of it being something I can whip up no matter what equipment I have on hand. Then, last summer I decided to just go for it and make homemade pasta without a machine. Was it as aesthetically pleasing as the recipes I had seen online? No. But did it taste amazing and have its own rustic charm? Heck yes. I enjoyed my meal immensely that day.

As an Italian American, Sunday pasta was a big deal in my family. Still is. My mom always makes her own tomato sauce (none of the stuff in the jar – she’s made it from canned tomatoes, and even fresh tomatoes during the summer). We love all different kinds of pastas, with my favorite being bow ties (farfalle), my dad’s rigatoni. I would always tell them one day I’d like to try making pasta from scratch, but it never materialized until recent. And I’m so glad it did. Now, I can make it whenever I have some extra time.

I think we’ve kind of fallen out of touch with doing things ourselves, by hand. Either we’re too strapped for time, intimidated by it, don’t have the money, or are just too lazy. I will say, this is a recipe you need time for. But it is very budget friendly and accessible, seeing as you don’t need a machine to do it – just your hands and a few simple ingredients. Back in the day, this was the only way to do things – by hand – and it was inherently sustainable. Taking time to slow down and hand craft something often is. So, if you’re looking for a zero waste pasta recipe, this is it!

Easy Homemade Pasta Without a Machine

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

Note: To keep things as sustainable and low waste as possible, try to get these ingredients organic, at the farmers market (for the eggs) and in bulk. If you don’t have access to a bulk food store/refillery, olive oil, salt and flour are relatively easy to find in glass and paper packaging. You can easily recycle these, or even compost paper packaging.

Directions:

1. First and foremost, make sure your hands are washed and that you’ve sanitized your work surface. Then, dump the flour onto your clean working space and create a little well in the center (you can also use a big bowl, if you prefer). Crack in three eggs, olive oil, and salt.
2. Using a fork, whisk the eggs together and slowly begin to incorporate the flour from the sides of the well. Continue doing this until the dough is put together enough to be worked by hand. Use your hands to form a shaggy ball – if it’s too dry, add a touch of water. Too wet? Add in a bit more flour.
3. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. It will look smooth and taut when it’s done – you can test it by pushing a finger into the dough and the dough springs back.
4. Wrap your dough in beeswax wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Then, cut it in half so the portions are more manageable to work with.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out your pasta dough. Then, you have to fold it into thirds three times and roll it out. From there, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. If it shrinks back, leave it for a few minutes to let the gluten relax, then go back in.
6. Try to get it thin enough to see the colors of your fingers through it. Now, you can cut the pasta dough into whatever shape you like – I went for something simple (tagliatelle-style pasta). To make that, you just lightly flour the dough, fold it into a rectangle, and gently slice it into strips. Then just toss it in a dusting of flour to stop it from sticking to itself. And then you’re done!

Note: It’s okay if it doesn’t look perfectly thin or super aesthetically pleasing! The pictures are from my first batch ever made. And while it wasn’t super pretty, it sure as heck was tasty and rewarding!

Using, storing and saving homemade pasta

I used this pasta right away – just so you know, fresh pasta cooks very quickly (about 2-3 minutes in salted, boiling water), so keep that in mind.

But you can also wrap it and freeze it for later! You can also refrigerate it. It should last a few days in the fridge, but for best results, you’ll want to use it a few days after making it.

You can combine it with olive oil, salt and pepper for an easy, light dish. Adding chopped cherry tomatoes from the farmers market to this is delicious and one of my favorite summer dishes.

Or, you can go full Sunday pasta mode and pair it with tomato sauce. Yes, you can make tomato sauce from scratch too. Here’s my recipe for zero waste tomato sauce I made and canned with my family several summers ago. There’s a funny video at the end of it too!

For those who prefer visuals…

This was the video I watched to make my homemade pasta, and I followed it pretty much step for step. I hope it helps you too! It’s good to refer to when you’re getting stuck at a step that may confuse you to read.

So, would you give this homemade pasta recipe a try? Let me know in the comments below!

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