All the equipment you need to make fresh pasta at home

A lot of people turn away from making fresh pasta at home because they think it involves expensive pasta making equipment and lots of fiddly baking techniques. But the truth is, it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Of course, it takes a bit of time and effort compared to buying shop-bought pasta, but don’t all things worth doing take a bit of time? While it’s easy to pick up a cheap packet of pasta from the shop, in the long run, it’s cheaper, healthier and a lot more rewarding to make your own pasta at home – you can even freeze the excess pasta dough to avoid wasting a grain of flour.

How to make fresh pasta

There aren’t many delicious foods that require only three ingredients, but – yes, you guessed it – pasta is one of them. All you need to get cracking is eggs, flour and olive oil, which most people already have lying around the kitchen, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to make a special trip to the shop to start making pasta from scratch.

Simply process the ingredients in a food processor for two to four minutes, place the mixture on a lightly floured work surface and knead for one minute. Once kneaded, wrap it in cling film and leave to rest for one hour. Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each one to a 5mm thickness. Set your pasta machine to its widest setting, fold one of the pieces in half and pass it through the pasta maker. Do this seven times and then repeat the process with the other piece of rolled pasta.

For a more in-depth method with exact quantities, see our Basic Pasta Recipe.

Once you’ve got your pasta sheets ready, it’s really up to you what you do with them next. From lasagne and spaghetti, to cannelloni, tagliatelle and ravioli, we’ve got all the pasta making tools you’ll need to start your journey to making the perfect pasta.

3 pieces of equipment you need to make pasta

It seems that three is the magic number when it comes to making pasta from scratch. We’ve discussed the three ingredients you need to make your own pasta, now let’s take a look at the three pieces of pasta making equipment you’ll need to get started.

Pasta maker

Before pasta makers, chefs would have to spend time rolling out pasta dough, before chopping it into individual strands of tagliatelle, spaghetti or fettucine – but it was impossible to get consistent pasta pieces. That’s where the pasta maker comes in. An essential piece of equipment for making pasta, it’s designed to help make the pasta-making process quicker and easier, but most importantly, it helps to turn out consistently made pasta every single time.

If you’re a beginner to making pasta, and you’re looking for an easy and cost-efficient way to kick off your pasta journey, the Lakeland Pasta Machine is a great place to start. With eight thickness settings and two gears to make sure your pasta passes through smoothly, there’s plenty of scope for experimenting with different pasta shapes and sizes.

But maybe you’re after something a bit more advanced and with a few more cutting options? The Macro Atlas 150 Pasta Maker Machine is a bit more expensive than the Lakeland machine, but has 10 thickness settings instead of eight, and comes with a guide book and cutting rollers for fettucine and tagliolini.

Drying rack

Now, fresh pasta tastes best, but if you want to make it in bulk and save some for a later date, you’re going to have to dry it out – luckily, we’ve got just the thing. Our Collapsible Pasta Drying Rack lets you dry up to one square metre of spaghetti, tagliatelle or fettuccine, so you don’t have to go through the mixing and kneading process every time you want home-made pasta for dinner.

Extras and accessories

We’ve talked a lot about stringy pasta so far, but if you’re a fan of tasty pasta pockets, stuffed with a filling of your choice – we’re talking about ravioli, of course – then our Ravioli Maker Stamp Press Set is by far the easiest way to do it. All you have to do is sandwich small balls of your chosen filling between two thin sheets of pasta dough and then use the stamps to cut around the balls of filling to press out and seal your shapes, ready for cooking and devouring – delizioso!

Once you’ve made the perfect pasta, if you want to serve it like a pro – it’d be a shame to fall at the last hurdle – KitchenAid’s Premium Pasta Serving Spoon has claw-like tines for grabbing your pasta from the pan and slots to drain the cooking water – because no one likes being served puddles of water with their tagliatelle…

Taking your pasta up a gear

So, you’ve got the basics down to a tee, now it’s time to get experimental. You’ll find plenty of inspiration online and on social media, but we think the best place to start is with The Ultimate Pasta Machine Cookbook Recipe Book. With over 100 fresh pasta recipes, along with some inspirational photography and expert tips and tricks, this book is bound to cure those carb cravings for beginners and pros alike.

Bored of basic pasta? 4 types for you to try out next

Ravioli

If you want to add a bit more taste to your pasta, try your hand at making ravioli. Traditionally served in a tasty sauce, ravioli are square envelopes of pasta with sharp-angled edges, filled with ricotta cheese and spinach – but we don’t see why you can’t fill yours with whatever takes your fancy.  

Tortellini

Much like ravioli, tortellini is another stuffed pasta – usually a mixture of meat and cheese – although unlike ravioli, tortellini are round, and have the appearance of mini sailor’s hats.

Fusilli

You might not know it by name, but you’ll definitely recognise the iconic shape of fusilli. With a corkscrew appearance, these inch-long pieces are a classic type of pasta that you’ll want to have in your repertoire if you’re looking to impress your dinner guests.

Lasagne

Finally, a favourite among many and really easy to make, lasagne is another classic pasta shape that’s sure to please a hungry crowd. And the best bit is, you don’t even have to go to the effort of cutting up your pasta dough – a few folds and rolls until it’s thin enough to cook and you’re good to go.

The world is your pasta

Now you’ve read and understood the basics, it’s time to get making. Although making it yourself might not seem like a cost-effective way to eat pasta to begin with, given the cost of a packet of pasta, it’s definitely worth it in the long run when you consider how far a bag of flour goes. And it’s not just the cost that comes into play – making your own pasta is fun; it’s rewarding; it’s healthier (because you can control exactly what goes into it); it’s tastier; and it’s definitely more rewarding than opening a packet and throwing it into a pan. Head over to our website, where you can find a wide range of pasta making equipment.

So, good luck on your pasta-making adventures, and remember, the pasta possibilities are endless; you just need a little bit of vision, inspiration and creativity – oh, and eggs, flour and olive oil.