Sharing is caring!

This recipe for homemade pasta noodles uses only 3 ingredients! Read on to learn my secrets for perfect extruded pasta noodles every time.

Over the Christmas holiday, my family gifted me with a Kitchenaid Pasta Press attachment — the one that makes cute little noodle shapes like fusilli, rigatoni, and elbow macaroni. This is not the pasta machine that makes spaghetti and fettuccini noodles. There are two different pasta attachments for the KitchenAid mixer.

Many people have been as frustrated as I have because the recipe in the booklet doesn't always give you the best results for making the noodles.

Finding the right dough recipe for making homemade pasta noodles can be difficult, but I have you covered.

I have finally found the perfect recipe so today I am going to share my tips and tricks with you!

A Foolproof Recipe for Making Homemade Pasta Noodles

Using my pasta press for the first time was exciting. The recipe in the book was disappointing at best. So, I kept going until I found one that worked.

The dough in the original recipe sticks to the inside and won't come out of the press.

Then I tried another dough, and it wound up being too dry. I had no clue what I was going to do. I was at the point where I was ready to pack up my pasta press and send it back to Amazon where it came from. 

Then I came upon another recipe that said you could add extra eggs and olive oil to the dough and it would make all the difference in the world. And you know what? It did! So basically, add the flour to your work surface, make a well in the center, and add the eggs to the center of the flour. Mix a little at a time until the dough comes together and now you are ready to add it to the pasta press.

Last night we successfully made over a pound of pasta dough with this easy recipe that uses simple ingredients. You can use this pasta in my Southern Cream Cheese noodles recipe. This dough is much different from the sheet of pasta I use for my homemade lasagna noodles.

Let me take a moment to explain what extruded pasta is and how it’s different from other pasta. Extruded pasta is made by forcing dry flour and egg dough through a die.

Spaghetti, rotini, fusilli, penne, bucatini, macaroni, and rigatoni are all examples of extruded store-bought pasta. Freshly extruded pasta is rare, but most of the dried pasta sold at the grocery store is extruded.

Rolled pasta, like spaghetti and fettucini, on the other hand, is made by rolling out a flour-and-egg dough using your pasta roller attachment set on the widest setting and dough hook. Then roll the pasta sheet up and cut it into strips with a pizza cutter or bench scraper to the desired width.

Examples of rolled cut pasta include lasagna, linguini, fettuccini, tagliatelle, and pappardelle. When pasta is made at home, it’s usually the rolled type of pasta. 

Also, another thing to keep in mind: it can go bad and there are a few ways to notice it's off.

How to Make the Best Fresh Pasta Dough for Extruding Pasta

So — are you wondering what my recipe is? Here's the secret —

You need to use 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and 5 large eggs to get your dough going. I used whole eggs for this recipe instead of pasta made with just egg yolk. Don't skip this. The whole egg is important.

Instead of using water to make it come together, use olive oil! I use all-purpose for this recipe so do not use semolina flour, which is what most people use for pasta recipes.

The olive oil will help the dough stay dry enough to come together and will keep the dough from sticking to the inside of the attachment. This means your noodles will come out perfect and easily every single time.

Now – the amount of olive oil that you use will determine the area where you live. Start with two tablespoons and move on from there. It took me about 3 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of water to make my dough come together. 

It turned out beautiful and cooked up even better!

To get the dough ball pliable like you want, use a rolling pin to roll it out on a clean surface and then mold it back up. Cover it in plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature on the counter for a bit.

When you are ready to make the pasta, attach the pasta maker to the KitchenAid Mixer. Fresh homemade pasta is the best.

Start by creating a clean work-floured surface. I use a baking sheet that I sprinkle flour on for the pasta to rest on.

Cut off sections of the dough ball and feed it into the extruder. As the pasta comes out, it should fall perfectly onto the baking tray. Cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap until ready to use.

You will also need a sharp knife just in case you need to cut the pasta, but the machine should do all the work.

Cook the pasta for about 2 to 3 minutes until al dente and then serve it with your favorite sauce. My favorite is my homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes.

How to Store Homemade Pasta Dough

You can let the homemade noodles air dry and then store it in packages, or you can freeze the fresh pasta in an airtight container and pull it out when you are ready to use it. I like doing it this way because it takes less time to cook it. Once you dry the pasta out, it takes a lot longer to cook it.

Check Out These Other KitchenAid recipes

• How to make homemade butter
• Cinnamon Swirl Bread
• Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting
• Southern Cream Cheese Noodles