Homemade Gluten Free Pasta Recipe

4.99 from 154 votes

Making fresh gluten free pasta at home is a labor of love, but it's a simple process with the right guidance. Find out how!

Prep Time45

Cook Time5

Course: Dinner, Dough

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: egg yolks, eggs, fresh gluten free pasta, gluten free flour, gluten free pasta recipe, homemade gluten free pasta, olive oil, tapioca starch, xanthan gum

Servings: pounds fresh pasta

Author: Nicole Hunn

Equipment

Food processor, fitted with the steel blade

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (I like Better Batter here; click through for details on appropriate blends) plus more for dusting
1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
5 tablespoons Expandex modified tapioca starch (or replace with an equal amount of tapioca starch) (See Recipe Notes)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs at room temperature, beaten
2 egg yolks at room temperature, beaten
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup warm water plus more, as necessary

Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making the dough with a food processor.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, place the flour, xanthan gum, Expandex (or tapioca starch), salt, olive oil, eggs and egg yolks, and pulse until combined.
Add 1/3 cup water to the mixture in the food processor, and process until the dough is moistened.
Turn on the food processor on low speed, remove the hopper and add more water very slowly until the dough clumps to one side of the food processor.

Making the dough without a food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, Expandex (or tapioca starch), and salt. Whisk to combine well.
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the oil, eggs and egg yolks. Mix to combine.
Add 1/3 cup water to the mixture, and mix until fully moistened.
Add water about 1 teaspoonful at a time, mixing constantly until the dough holds together well. If the dough feels stiff, add more water until pliable but stop before the dough becomes very sticky.

Shaping the dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 4 parts. Work with one part at a time and cover the others with plastic wrap to prevent the remaining pieces from losing moisture.
With clean hands, knead the dough until smooth and roll into a rectangle. Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
Trim the edges or the rectangle with a pastry wheel or sharp knife.
Dust the rolled-out dough lightly with flour, and feed each piece through a pasta machine, if using. I don’t like to roll the dough any thinner than the “5” setting on my machine, or it begins to tear.
If you're not using a pasta machine, simply roll each piece as close to 1/8-inch thick as possible, as evenly as possible. Dust the pasta lightly with more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the surface and to the rolling pin.
Cut into shapes using the pasta machine or a sharp knife.
Allow the fresh pasta to sit out to dry, briefly, while you boil water to cook it. If you've cut your pasta into long noodles, twist it gently into nests to dry so that the noodles are less fragile during cooking.

Cooking the pasta.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
Place the fresh pasta in the water and cook, stirring to prevent the dough from clumping, for about 2 minutes or until it reaches an al-dente texture.
Toss with sauce and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

About Expandex modified tapioca starch.

For information on where to find Expandex, please see the Resources page.

For information on how to replace Expandex with Ultratex 3, readily available in most countries outside the United States, in the gluten free bread recipes in GFOAS Bakes Bread, scroll to #6 in Resources.

I have not yet tested Ultratex 3 in this recipe, but I would recommend trying 15 grams Ultratex 3 in place of Expandex, and adding another 30 grams of Better Batter to the recipe. Ultratex 3 is at least 3 times as strong as Expandex.

Although Expandex is a modified tapioca starch and is not equivalent to regular tapioca starch, in this recipe they can be used interchangeably. You will likely need more additional water in your homemade pasta if you are using Expandex, and less if you are using tapioca starch.

This recipe was originally posted on the blog in 2009. In 2016, recipe tweaked, photos and video all new. In 2022, text resources added.

Nutrition information.

Nutrition information is per pound assuming 1.5 pounds in the whole recipe, and assumes that tapioca starch, not Expandex modified tapioca starch, is used in the recipe. It is an estimate provided as a courtesy and should not be relied upon.

Nutrition