This homemade whole grain pasta, aka whole wheat egg noodles are easy to make. The egg dough yields a tender, chewy texture pasta that holds together well. It is great for spaghetti, fettuccine and more.
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Homemade whole grain pasta is something that is relatively new to us, but it’s something we knew we had to have in our whole grain recipe catalog along with whole grain bread, breadsticks, biscuits, rustic whole wheat bread and more. We will say we were hooked the first time we tried it. We have made it what seems like a bajillion times since then lol.
Making you own whole wheat pasta is actually fairly easy, and very forgiving. In all our testing we never had a batch that was a failure. Sometimes you're like ok, this dough is a little dry or wet but it always turns out good.
After a few tries you’ll get the hang of how the dough should feel to make pasta that you love.
What's Cool About This Recipe
- 100% Whole Grain: This homemade pasta recipe is made for 100% whole grain wheat flour.
- Easy to make: This recipe is easy to make, we had our 14 year old brother make it and it turned out fantastic.
- Holds together: This whole wheat pasta holds together really well, as long as it’s not overcooked.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Whole wheat flour: Our favorite flour to use is milled from durum wheat (sometimes called semolina flour), but this recipe also works with khorasan/kamut, hard white wheat, hard red wheat and spelt.
- Salt: We use sea salt.
- Eggs: Adding eggs to the pasta dough keeps the pasta tenter and gives it a smoother texture.
- Water: Gives the dough moisture and helps activate the gluten in the flour, which helps the dough stay together and gives the pasta its chewy texture.
- Oil: We use a little bit of oil to give the pasta a little more tender bite.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instruction Photos
Overview of instructions with photos. See recipe card for quantities and full instructions.
Step 1: Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, water and oil together.
Step 3: Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the liquid ingredients.
Step 4: Using a fork, stir the mixture, starting in the center and slowly moving outward until all the flour is moistened.
Step 5: Dump the mixture out onto a clean and dry surface. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until the dough is smooth. If the dough seems too dry add water. If it feels too wet add a dusting of flour. The dough should be easy to knead, but not stick to the counter or your hands.
Step 6: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Step 7: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 4 pieces. Keep the pieces covered until ready to use.
Step 8: Working with 1 piece at a time, press the piece of dough into a rectangle shape and run it through your pasta roller on the widest setting.
Step 9: Fold the dough in thirds and run it through again with the folded ends on the sides.
Step 10: Continue running it through, decreasing the width after each pass until you reach your desired thickness. Dust the dough with flour as needed to avoid sticking. We like to go to number 8 for fettuccine and number 6 for spaghetti on our pasta rollers.
Step 11: Cut the pasta sheets to the length you want before cutting into your desired type of noodle.
Place the cut pasta onto a tray dusted with flour, sprinkle a little flour over the pasta and toss it around to keep it from sticking together.
Step 12: Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Some of our favorite uses for homemade whole wheat pasta are:
- Spaghetti with homemade marinara and meatballs
- Carbonara (spaghetti)
- Stroganoff (fettuccine)
- Ravioli
Storage
You can store the pasta dough wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Store uncooked pasta in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. We recommend storing the pasta uncooked vs cooked because it tends to get overcooked when you reheat it.
How to Freeze
To freeze pasta: After you cut the pasta into spaghetti or fettuccine, make nest shapes on a tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 1-2 hours or until firm. Transfer the pasta to a resealable bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can cook directly from frozen. Just drop the frozen pasta into boiling water and cook for 2-4 minutes or until it reaches your desired doneness.
Tips From Our Kitchen
We like to crack the eggs into a bowl, add the oil and then add enough water to equal 168 grams. We’ve found that 168 grams of liquid works well for 280 grams of flour.
If the dough is sticking to your hands and the cupboard while you’re kneading it, add a little flour, if the dough is so dry that it has a hard time incorporating into itself when kneading add a little bit of water.
If you are using pre milled flour you may need a little more water/liquid then if you’re using fresh milled flour.
We recommend using freshly ground flour or making sure you buy a high quality flour. Some that have worked great for us are Janie’s Mill and Azure Market.
FAQ
Yes, all wheat, even whole wheat contains gluten. Some people with gluten sensitivities find they can tolerate the gluten in whole wheat flour, especially if it is fresh milled. If you have true celiac disease, you must avoid all gluten.
Pasta made with whole grain flour is much better for you than pasta made with regular enriched white flour. It is higher in fiber, and many nutrients that are naturally occurring in wheat. Although enriched pasta may be higher in some nutrients they are synthetic and not easily absorbed by the body.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Homemade Whole Grain Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) durum wheat flour semolina flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large (100 g) eggs
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) water
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) olive oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl stir 2 cups (280 g) durum wheat flour and ½ teaspoon sea salt together.
- In a small bowl combine 2 large (100 g) eggs, 4 tablespoons (60 g) water and 2 teaspoons (8 g) olive oil.
- Make a well in the flour and add the liquid. Using a fork, start stirring in the center and slowly move outwards to incorporate more flour, stir until no liquid remains visible.
- Dump the mixture onto a clean and dry surface, knead until the dough comes together. If it feels really dry add a few drops of water and if it is too wet dust it with flour.
- Knead the dough for 4-6 minutes or until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Shape the dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 4 equal pieces. Keep the pieces covered until you’re ready to roll them.
- Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, press into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick.
- For a pasta roller: Open your pasta roller to the widest setting and run the dough through. Fold the dough in thirds to create straight sides. Run through the roller again. Tighten the roller 1 setting after each pass until you reach your desired thickness (dust with flour as needed).
- Rolling by hand: on a floured surface using a rolling pin (a heavy duty one makes the process easier), start rolling the dough out into a longer, wider rectangle, pick the dough up, turn it over and re-flour the surface several times to keep it from sticking to the surface. Roll until it reaches your desired thickness.
- Cut into desired type: Use the pasta sheets as is for lasagna, ravioli, etc or cut into desired length before cutting into spaghetti, fettuccine, or pappardelle.
Notes
Nutrition
We calculate these nutritional facts using an estimate and they can vary drastically between ingredients used and measuring technique. So, they are not intended for medical use.
Did you make this recipe? We would love to hear from you!