How to make Spinach Pasta Dough from scratch. This recipe is super easy and uses just 2 ingredients (flour and spinach) to make bright green and delicious homemade spinach pasta dough. Make into lasagne sheets, tagliatelle or any shape you like!
There's something so special about homemade pasta, it can take a lot of effort (depending on the shape) but the reward is 100% worth it every time!
Spinach pasta dough is REALLY easy to make and because of the excess moisture in the spinach, it's enough to create a delicious bright green dough without any eggs.
This recipe is super simple and is made using a food processor. It makes the most delicious tagliatelle with pesto or make it into lasagne sheets to make a classic Lasagne alla Bolognese.
Get creative and create whatever shape you like, see the full recipe tutorial below including our top tips, step by step photos and video, enjoy!
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Ingredients - what you need
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make spinach pasta dough plus some top tips on ingredients!
- Spinach - make sure your spinach is washed and dried, it should not be wet or your pasta dough will be too soft. Use baby spinach if possible or cut off thick stalks on larger spinach leaves.
- Flour - as with basic egg pasta dough Italian 00 Flour is the best flour for making homemade pasta. If you don't have this you can use all-purpose flour but it will affect the texture slightly.
Make sure you are using washed and ready to eat baby spinach. If you are using mature spinach leaves you'll need to cut off any large stalks.
Put the flour in a food processor then add the spinach. Blitz the flour and spinach for a few minutes, you'll notice it turns powdery then starts to come together more (photos 1 & 2).
Stop the food processor and feel the dough, if it feels soft and sticks together it's ready but if it's too dry add a little more spinach and blitz again (photo 3).
Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and bring it together. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes it may feel quite stiff at first but it will turn smooth and elastic the more you knead it (photos 4 & 5).
Cover it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is a really important step and allows the gluten to relax making your dough more pliable and easier to work with.
Once ready, cut the dough in half and squash it to fit into the widest setting of your pasta machine. Make sure to dust in semola or flour so it doesn't stick (photo 6).
Pass it through the widest setting once then fold one edge to the middle and the second edge over that so it overlaps. Pass it through the widest setting then repeat the process 4 times (photos 7-10).
You can now pass it through 1 higher setting at a time and create whatever pasta shape you'd like. For tagliatelle, I tend to stop at number 5 on my Marcato Atlas machine but do what you prefer (photos 11 & 12).
If making tagliatelle cut your pasta sheets in half and pass through a tagliatelle attachment on your pasta machine (photos 12-16).
Alternatively, you can cut tagliatelle, pappardelle, fettuccine etc by hand using a knife. Roll the pasta sheet up and cut at your desired width.
Want to try making other colours too? Check out our Beetroot Pasta Dough (beautiful pink colour) and our basic egg pasta dough recipes.
Top tips and recipe FAQs
- Make sure your spinach is dry - it's really important to use washed and dried spinach. You can either buy pre-washed ready to eat spinach or wash and dry it yourself using a salad spinner.
- If using cups - I've made this recipe many, many times and the amount of spinach can vary as much as 1 cup depending on how much you pack it and how much natural water is held in the spinach. It's much safer to start with 2 packed cups then add more if it's too dry and the dough doesn't come together.
- Resting the dough - resting the dough is important as it gives the gluten a chance to relax. You'll notice the dough is easier to work will after at least 30 minutes resting. You don't need to refrigerate it unless you are not using it on the same day.
I prefer to use baby spinach for both colour and texture. If you use mature spinach you'll need to cut off the thicker stalks before using.
The dough will feel a little stiff to start with but should feel softer and elastic as you knead it. If that doesn't happen, break the dough up into small pieces and add it back to the food processor with a little more spinach to soften it.
The kneading process is really important as it develops the gluten in the pasta giving it structure and texture. Your pasta should feel smooth and elastic by the end of kneading.
Yes, you can prepare the dough in advance and store it in the fridge for 1-2 days covered in plastic wrap.
Sauces to serve with your pasta
- Pesto alla Trapanese (Sicilian Pesto)
- How To Make Basil Pesto
- Authentic Bolognese Sauce (Ragu alla Bolongese)
- Ricotta Pasta Sauce: 2 Ways
- Walnut Sauce - Salsa di Noci
- Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce - Quick, Easy & Delicious
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📖 Full Recipe
Spinach Pasta Dough
Ingredients
- 3 packed cups baby spinach (100g) washed and dried
- 1.5 cups Italian 00 Flour (200g)
- extra flour or semola rimacinata for dusitng
Equipment
- Food processor
Instructions
- Make sure you are using washed and ready to eat baby spinach. If you are using mature spinach leaves you'll need to cut off any large stalks.
- Put the flour in a food processor then add the spinach Blitz the flour and spinach for a few minutes, you'll notice it turns powdery then starts to come together more. It'll take a couple of minutes.
- Stop the food processor and feel the dough, if it feels soft and sticks together it's ready but if it's too dry add a little more spinach and blitz again.
- Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and bring together. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes it may feel quite stiff at first but it will turn smooth and elastic the more you knead it.
- Cover it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is a really important step and allows the gluten to relax making your dough more pliable and easier to work with.
- Once ready, cut the dough in half and squash it to fit into the widest setting of your pasta machine. Make sure to dust in semola or flour so it doesn't stick.
- Pass it through the widest setting once then fold one edge to the middle and the second edge over that so it overlaps. Pass it through the widest setting then repeat the process 4 times.
- You can now pass it through 1 higher setting at a time and create whatever pasta shape you'd like. For tagliatelle I tend to stop at number 5 on my Marcato Atlas machine but do what you prefer.
Notes
- Make sure your spinach is dry - it's really important to use washed and dried spinach. You can either buy pre-washed ready to eat spinach or wash and dry it yourself using a salad spinner.
- If using cups - I've made this recipe many, many times and the amount of spinach can vary as much as 1 cup depending on how much you pack it and how much natural water is held in the spinach. It's much safer to start with 2 packed cups then add more if it's too dry and the dough doesn't come together.
- Resting the dough - resting the dough is important as it gives the gluten a chance to relax. You'll notice the dough is easier to work will after at least 30 minutes of resting. You don't need to refrigerate it unless you are not using it on the same day.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Josi
Emily
Looks great! Why did you leave out the egg?
Emily
Hi Josi, just for ease, the spinach has a lot of moisture so although you can add egg to the dough it can make the dough really soft and harder to work with. If you add egg just make sure to add more flour 🙂
Patti
This looks great, can't wait to try it...is it possible to make it without a pasta machine?
Emily
Yes, you can roll pasta dough out by hand using a rolling pin...just takes a bit of elbow grease!
Zoe
Can’t wait to try this! Curious, is it possible to make this with whole wheat flour?
Emily
Hi Zoe, no unfortunately whole wheat doesn’t have the right gluten content. You could try half 00 flour and half whole wheat instead.