Learn how to make fresh spinach pasta dough at home. It is incredibly simple to prepare but results in a beautiful bright green dough that's ready to pair with your favorite sauces.
I love making fresh pasta at home. It takes very few ingredients that most people have on hand, but it changes a dish to a completely different flavor than that of dry pasta (which I also love!). Adding fresh spinach to the dough adds a fun color and of course lots of nutrients!
This fresh spinach pasta dough recipe is similar to this classic homemade pasta dough-- just with the addition of baby spinach.
This recipe is made using a Kitchenaid stand mixer, pasta attachment, and a food processor. However all of those are just helpful tools, and this recipe can be made completely by hand if needed.
Ingredients
- fresh baby spinach leaves
- olive oil
- type 00 flour or all purpose flour
- eggs
How to make spinach pasta dough
Combine fresh spinach, olive oil, and eggs in a food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth. (You can go as smooth as you would like, I like leaving it a little coarser so that you can see the spinach more obviously in the pasta). You can also chop the spinach by hand, using a sharp knife and chopping it finely before adding it to a bowl with the other 2 ingredients.
In a kitchen-aid or bowl, add flour and spinach mixture. Use the dough hook attachment or hands to begin mixing the dough. You may have to add a little water or flour depending on the tackiness of the dough.
Once the dough comes together, knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes until very smooth. OR place dough on counter and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Once the dough has rested, it is time to roll it out into noodles. Begin by cutting the dough into quarters.
Take one fourth of the dough and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand and sprinkle flour generously over the whole of it to coat. Begin feeding the dough through the pasta attachment on your Kitchenaid. I begin with the widest setting and gradually work my way to about a 5 on the attachment. You can also use a well-floured rolling pin to roll dough out thinly.
Once the dough is in long sheets, coat with more flour (stickiness is the enemy when feeding through the pasta attachment). Cut dough sheets in half so that the noodles won't be two feet long.
Feed the pasta sheet through the noodle attachment of your choice or use a sharp knife to cut into noodle strips. Allow to dry by hanging (a clothes drying rack works great!). Or lay in floured nests on a baking sheet and cook immediately in boiling water for 3 minutes.
Tips for making spinach pasta
- Baby spinach is more delicate than full grown so I prefer it for this recipe.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can definitely still make this! Just chop your spinach up as finely as you can with a sharp knife, or try a blender!
- Whether you use a food processor and how small you process your spinach will affect the final look of the dough. If you are able to get the spinach very fine, the pasta will be colored green more uniformly. If the pieces of spinach are bigger, then it will have a more marbled effect throughout. Both work fine, as long as the spinach is small enough that it doesn’t affect the integrity of the pasta. Too big, and the long noodles won’t stay together.
- make sure you have extra flour on hand to sprinkle liberally over the dough when shaping with a pasta machine or by hand. This will help prevent sticking.
How to serve
Scratch made spinach noodles pair well with all of your favorite pasta dishes.
Top this delicious pasta with a rich meaty sauce, like this slow cooker beef ragu or keep it meatless with this spicy vodka sauce recipe.
Recipe FAQs
No, a pasta maker attachment is not necessary to make this. A rolling pin and a sharp knife can do the job, as well.
Lots of flour. Flour the pasta dough at each step to help prevent the noodles from sticking together.
No, you don't. Some recipes call for the spinach to be blanched or sauteed first, but I find this to be an unnecessary extra step. Blanching may help the noodles be even more bright green, if you are looking for that.
Yes, you can. Thaw it first and remove much of the liquid that you can by placing the spinach in a kitchen towel squeezing out the excess water. This will help keep the ingredient measurement accurate and keep the dough from being too sticky.
Homemade Spinach Pasta Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves packed
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cups flour plus more for sprinkling
- 2 eggs
- water as needed
Instructions
- Combine fresh spinach, olive oil, and eggs in a food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth. (You can go as smooth as you would like, I like leaving it a little coarser so that you can see the spinach more obviously in the pasta). You can also chop the spinach by hand, using a sharp knife and chopping it finely before adding it to a bowl with the other 2 ingredients.
- In a kitchen-aid or bowl, add flour and spinach mixture. Use the dough hook attachment or hands to begin mixing the dough. You may have to add a little water or flour depending on the tackiness of the dough.
- Once the dough comes together, knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes until very smooth. OR place dough on counter and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested, it is time to roll it out into noodles. Begin by cutting the dough into quarters.
- Take one fourth of the dough and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand and sprinkle flour generously over the whole of it to coat. Begin feeding the dough through the pasta attachment on your Kitchenaid. I begin with the widest setting and gradually work my way to about a 5 on the attachment. You can also use a well-floured rolling pin to roll dough out thinly.
- Once the dough is in long sheets, coat with more flour (stickiness is the enemy when feeding through the pasta attachment). Cut dough sheets in half so that the noodles won't be two feet long.
- Feed the pasta sheet through the noodle attachment of your choice or use a sharp knife to cut into noodle strips. Allow to dry by hanging (a clothes drying rack works great!). Or lay in floured nests on a baking sheet and cook immediately in boiling water for 3 minutes.
TRINITY
I am so wishing i could grab this pasta through the computer! It looks so so good!
Sarah
Thank you! I love pasta like this. It's so fresh!