Description
Making Fresh Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta is easier than you think! These ‘Easy Noodles’ require just 4 main ingredients and come together in minutes using a food processor. The result is tender, chewy fresh pasta that holds its shape beautifully and tastes infinitely better than the dried boxed variety. Perfect for fettuccine, tagliatelle, or lasagna sheets.
Ingredients
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (Caputo Fioreglut or Cup4Cup recommended for elasticity)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already has it, but adding extra helps fresh pasta stretch)
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil
1–2 tablespoons water (only if needed to bind the dough)
Rice flour or cornstarch (for dusting the counter/rolling)
Instructions
1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, and salt a few times to combine.
2. Add Wet Ingredients: Add the eggs and olive oil. Pulse until the mixture looks like coarse, wet sand and starts to clump together.
3. Check Consistency: Pinch a piece of dough. It should stick together easily without being sticky. If it’s too dry/crumbly, add water 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing in between.
4. Knead: Turn the dough onto a clean surface. Knead by hand for 3–5 minutes. Unlike wheat dough, you can’t ‘overwork’ it, but kneading helps hydrate the flour and activate the xanthan gum for a smooth texture.
5. Rest (Crucial Step): Wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This allows the moisture to distribute evenly so the pasta doesn’t crack when rolling.
6. Roll Out: Cut the dough into 4 sections. Keep the others covered while working with one. Dust your counter and rolling pin generously with rice flour.
7. Method A (Pasta Machine): Flatten the dough slightly. Feed it through the widest setting. Fold it in thirds and feed it through again. Repeat, gradually narrowing the setting until you reach your desired thinness (usually setting 5 or 6).
8. Method B (Hand Rolled): Use a rolling pin to roll the dough as thin as possible (about 1-2mm). It should be translucent enough to see your hand shadow through it.
9. Cut: Use the cutter attachment on your machine for fettuccine/spaghetti, or use a pizza cutter/knife to slice noodles by hand.
10. Cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the fresh noodles in and cook for only 2–3 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried! They are done when they float to the top and are al dente.
11. Drain & Serve: Drain gently and toss immediately with your favorite sauce.
Notes
Flour Choice: For the absolute best texture, ‘Caputo Fioreglut’ (gluten-free wheat starch) is the gold standard for Italian pasta. If you have a wheat allergy, Cup4Cup or King Arthur Measure for Measure are excellent alternatives.
Drying: You can cook the noodles immediately, or let them dry on a baking sheet dusted with rice flour for 30 minutes. This helps them hold their shape better in the boiling water.
Storage: Fresh pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days, or frozen in nests for up to a month. Cook from frozen (add 1 minute to cooking time).
Stickiness: If the dough is sticking to your machine, dust it with more rice flour. If it’s cracking at the edges, it needs a tiny bit more water or oil.
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 3
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 300
- Fat: 7
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 42
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 8
- Cholesterol: 140