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Love homemade pasta but don’t want to mix and knead it by hand? No problem. With 4 simple ingredients that you probably have on hand, you can make Food Processor Pasta Dough in 5 minutes flat.
Food processors are the most versatile of kitchen appliances. From making muffin batter to homemade gyro meat, there are literally endless uses for it. You might not know, though, that you can use yours to mix and knead homemade Italian pasta dough, saving you lots of time and keeping your pasta-making endeavors nearly mess-free.
“I’ve made this twice now and it is so easy. I’ve always wanted to make homemade pasta and never knew how to do it. It will be my go to pasta recipe.”
Sandy
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Food Processor Pasta Dough
- Flour: All-purpose flour. (see FAQ)
- Salt: Kosher salt or half the amount of fine sea salt.
- Eggs: Large eggs
- Olive Oil: Ideally good, extra-virgin olive oil
Once you have your homemade pasta, the rest is easy and fast. Where dried pasta typically takes 10 minutes or more to boil, fresh pasta cooks in 2-3 minutes. And layered into lasagna, there’s no need to pre-boil the noodles at all (as in my favorite Lasagna with Cottage Cheese recipe).
How to Make Food Processor Pasta Dough
Step 1: Pulse flour and salt together in food processor bowl.
Step 2: Add egg and oil and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. Then process until the dough forms a ball and breaks apart a total of 3 times (about 1 minute). This will both make and knead the dough.Shape dough into a smooth ball; cover and let stand at room temperature 30-60 minutes before rolling and cutting.
How to Freeze Fresh Pasta
Spread freshly cut pasta onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper that you’ve dusted with flour. Freeze for 15-30 minutes to dry out the noodles so they won’t stick together. Transfer to freezer-safe storage bags or containers and enjoy within 1 month. Cook fresh pasta in 2-3 minutes, frozen pasta (no need to thaw first) for 3-5 minutes.
You can also freeze a ball of fresh pasta dough for 1 month. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and cutting it.
How to Dry Fresh Pasta
Toss fresh noodles with a little flour and arrange in a single layer on a lightly floured surface or clean kitchen towel. Alternatively, you can hang noodles on a drying rack. Let stand at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature of your kitchen. (A fan set to low speed directed at the noodles will speed this process.) You know your pasta is properly dried when it breaks when twisted. If it bends, it needs to continue drying. Dried fresh pasta will last 2 months or more when stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Troubleshooting Fresh Pasta Dough
- Dough is too dry and crumbly: Moisture is a delicate balance when you’re making fresh pasta dough and egg size and flour absorbency can vary enough to throw it off. Add an extra yolk or a teaspoon of water at a time, processing briefly until the dough comes together into a smooth ball.
- Dough is too wet and sticky: Again, moisture level is the trickiest part of the recipe. If the dough is too sticky, add flour, one tablespoon at a time, processing briefly until the dough forms a ball.
- Dough won’t form a ball: Keep processing. It should gather into a ball, break apart, and come together again 2-3 times total. If it stays in fragments after a full minute of processing, it needs more moisture.
- Dough is tough to roll out: Make sure you’re letting it rest for the full 30-60 minutes. This helps the gluten relax and makes rolling much easier.
FAQ
Most food processors come with a plastic ‘dough blade’. Despite the name, it does not work as well for dough making as the standard metal blade, also called the ‘S blade’.
Yes. You can refrigerate fresh pasta dough for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 1 month.
Yes, and I recommend that you do. Many pasta recipes call for semolina flour, but all-purpose flour creates a more pleasing texture and offers a more reliable result. I find that semolina flour, though popular, can make sticky, gummy pasta dough.
Yes. A little bit of olive oil along with the eggs gives fresh pasta a silky texture.
When you realize freshly made pasta dough is just 5 minutes away, I hope your mind starts to rush to all of the ways you’d love to use it. Together with a manual pasta machine (here is the one I use), you can make delicate fresh pasta sheets that you can cut into any shape you like. Make pastas like spaghetti and linguine with the machine’s cutting attachments or cut homemade lasagna noodles or wide noodles like pappardelle by hand. Or, for a more rustic feel, roll and cut your dough completely by hand. Your options are limitless.
Use With
Reader Comment
“Stuck in house due to snow! Decided to try your pasta made in the food processor. I will never make it any other way!“
~Kathleen
Food Processor Pasta Dough
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Add flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor; pulse a few times to combine.
- In a medium bowl, mix eggs and olive oil with a fork until just combined. Pour over flour mixture in food processor. Pulse several times until no dry flour remains. Process for about 1 minute, or until dough has gathered into a rough ball then broken into small, bead-like fragments and gathered into a ball once or twice more. (This will both mix and knead the pasta dough.) If the dough gets stuck at any time, turn off the food processor and nudge the dough slightly and continue to process.
- Remove the pasta dough from the food processor and shape with your hands into a smooth ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature. Roll out immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day (recipe note).
Notes
- Plan to use your fresh pasta dough within 1 day as the eggs will begin to oxidize and change color if refrigerated for longer. The same goes for fresh pasta noodles – you’ll want to use or freeze within 1 day and use within 1 month.
- I recommend a medium-sized food processor for this recipe, 10 to 13 cup. The one pictured is an 11-cup processor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this dough, came together exactly as posted, will made pasta tomorrow to go with mny bolognase sauce i made.
That’s great, Don! So glad the dough came together well for you. Fresh pasta with homemade bolognese sounds amazing – enjoy!
Stuck in house due to snow! Decided to try your pasta made in the food processor. I will never make it any other way!
Thanks so much, Kathleen! I love that you turned a snow day into pasta-making – what a perfect way to spend the time. And thank you for sending the photo! I’ve included it just above the recipe card in this post so everyone can enjoy it. So glad the food processor method won you over!
It’s about time I got around to telling you how great this recipe is! It is my go to for pasta for lasagna or spaghetti! Thanks!
That is wonderful to hear, Debbie!! I’m so glad you’re putting this recipe to such good use!
This is basically a dump recipe, it’s not by any means difficult. My dough was dry and crumbly and never turned into a ball. I had to add an extra egg and knead my hand.
Hi Angela. I understand how frustrating it is when a recipe doesn’t work as expected. I want to be clear that I test every recipe until it’s right before posting because it’s important to me not to waste my readers’ time or money. That’s also why I include video and process shots – to show exactly how the recipe should come together. By my experience and the feedback from other readers, this recipe does work.
That said, there are factors in individual kitchens I can’t control – equipment, ingredients, and climate (temperature, altitude, humidity) all play a role. Recipes like pasta dough are particularly sensitive to these variables.
It sounds like your dough was too dry. The most common causes are differences in egg size, flour brand and absorbency, or even how flour is measured (scooping vs. weighing or spooning into the cup). Any of these can affect moisture balance. The dough should form a smooth ball after processing. If it stays crumbly, it needs more moisture – add an extra yolk or a teaspoon of water at a time until it comes together.
Hope this helps if you try it again!
Excellent recipe. Very easy to make It turned out perfect!
That’s fantastic, Sandy! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Which food processor do you recommend?
Hi Douglas! I use a Cuisinart 11-cup food processor – it’s one kitchen appliance that I consider essential.
I’ve made this twice now and it is so easy. I’ve always wanted to make homemade pasta and never knew how to do it. It will be my go to pasta recipe.
I love to hear this, Sandy! Thank you for letting me know.
I wish I was one of reviewers raving about soft silky lasagne sheets but this was a bit of a fail. DOUGH TEXTURE: The dough was sticky so it wasn’t “hard/too firm”(previous mistake!). INGREDIENTS: 00 flour. Extra virgin olive oil. Measured flour by weight. My eggs were not “large” so I added another egg. METHOD: I rolled until transparent. I cooked lasagne sheets in water 1 min and it was inflexible and chewy as soon as it hit the water and didn’t soften. Used those sheets in a layered lasagne, it is in the oven now. Hoping the sauce and a little added water will soften the lasagne sheets in the oven (mine is spinach and ricotta, not a meat sauce, so added a little water as it is drier than a meat ragu). I cooked some in strips longer (3mins or a little longer) to see how it would go as a pasta. Again chewy despite a longer cooking time. SOLUTION???? Add water instead of one egg? Mayday! SOS
Hi there. Sorry the pasta didn’t turn out as expected – I know that’s frustrating! Based on your description, it sounds like the dough was too dry. Since your eggs were smaller than large, that definitely affected the hydration – egg size really matters for getting the right liquid balance.
For next time, if you only have smaller eggs, add an extra yolk to compensate. The dough should form a smooth ball after processing, not stay sticky. Also, make sure you’re letting the dough rest for 30-60 minutes – this helps the gluten relax and makes rolling much easier.
Hope your lasagna turns out great! Thanks for the detailed feedback.
Amazing simple pasta recipe! Went to dinner in the night before for our anniversary. The spaghetti meatballs and sausage with mediocre at best. Made this pasta with olive oil, butter, red pepper, sliced garlic, anchovy paste, and Parmesan cheese. Mmhmm, simple pasta dish and homemade garlic bread.
That’s fantastic, Keith! I’m so glad it was a hit (and your dish sounds amazing!)