Tagliatelle Pasta
This homemade Tagliatelle Pasta recipe is super-easy to make! It is a traditional Italian egg pasta that is worlds away from the stuff you buy in packages from the supermarket.
With my tagliatelle recipe and simple step-by-step photos, you can be a pasta professional instantly!
Homemade pasta is, and has been, part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have very fond memories of watching my mother and, later, my father make Tagliatelle Pasta by hand. As I grew older, it was something I enjoyed helping with.
After my mother passed away, Dad took over the job of cooking, and little did I know how good he was at making pasta! He would use his fingertips to blend the egg slowly with the flour until the egg was no longer runny, then he would scoop in the flour and mix it all together, kneading until smooth.
We used a hand-cranked pasta machine to roll out the pasta, and my dad would tell me to turn my “manine” (little hands) over so that my warmer palms faced down and I could catch it with the cooler tops of my hands. Learning by watching, helping, and living the recipe is a gift from my Italian family.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Versatile – Tagliatelle Pasta is easy to make and so versatile! So much so that I’m sure you’ll find an excuse to make tagliatelle as part of your usual meal rotation. Using this exact recipe, you can also make many different Italian pasta shapes, filled pasta, and lasagne.
- Variable -This is the traditional pasta for the tagliatelle bolognese – the rich, meaty sauce clings to the tagliatelle strands as you twist, twirl, and scoop it into your mouth. However, it’s so versatile that you can pair it with almost anything, including my nut-free pesto or tasty garlic butter sauce. For convenience, I like to make a big batch of my authentic bolognese sauce to store in the freezer, which is so tasty with these tagliatelle!
- Adaptable – This pasta dough is perfect for any filled pasta recipes like these fagottini or my spinach ricotta ravioli. Fagottini are little pasta parcels filled with delicate ricotta and look absolutely amazing!!
Ingredients
My easy tagliatelle pasta recipe only needs two ingredients:
- Eggs – free range is best in this recipe.
- Flour – look for 00 pasta flour, but if you can’t find it or don’t have it, you can use any plain/all-purpose flour.
Instructions
First, crack the eggs into a well in the flour. Use a fork or your fingertips to slowly mix the eggs, gradually incorporating the flour.
Knead the dough for 8 – 10 minutes (it’s a great arm workout!) until it is smooth.
Form the pasta dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap while you allow it time to rest, at least 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours.
Cut off a small piece of dough, keeping the larger amount covered until you’re ready to use it. Pass it through the widest setting on your pasta machine 6 – 8 times, folding it into thirds after each pass.
Start to reduce the roller settings on your pasta machine as you stretch out the dough until it is thin enough to be somewhat transparent. Use a rolling pin if you don’t have a pasta machine.
Cut the pasta into tagliatelle using the cutting attachment on your pasta machine. Alternatively, you can cut by hand using a sharp knife. Lay the tagliatelle pasta out on a floured tablecloth to dry.
Marcellina’s Hint: Don’t skimp when kneading the dough. You’ll know you’ve kneaded long enough when it is smooth and supple. Also, if you cut the ball of dough in half, you’ll see the little air bubbles. That’s an indication of well-kneaded dough.
Equipment
When I was getting married, my mother-in-law gave me my first pasta machine—an Imperia. I used it for years before upgrading to a KitchenAid. A pasta machine, whether hand-cranked or electric, makes the job so much quicker and easier than rolling by hand.
I prefer a hand-cranked machine and use it often, especially for tagliatelle pasta (which I make all the time!). It’s been a worthwhile investment. But you don’t need a machine to get started. All you really need is a rolling pin and a bit of patience. Just like the sfogline—the Italian women who’ve been rolling pasta by hand for generations—you can roll out the dough until it’s silky and smooth. In Italy, this is considered an art form, with the pasta sheet (sfoglia) stretched beautifully using a mattarello.
If you do decide to buy a machine, choose a good-quality one. Some have gaps near the rollers that catch the dough and make rolling frustrating.
Top Tips
- Be sure to measure ingredients correctly. But if you find that the dough is too dry, add teaspoonfuls of water, kneading well until it is pliable and smooth. Conversely, if the dough is too wet, add a little extra flour.
- Secondly, rest the tagliatelle pasta dough for at least 15 minutes or – ideally – up to 1 hour. I prefer not to make it the day before, but resting is important to produce delicate pasta.
- The next most important step when rolling pasta is to “laminate” the dough. By this I mean that you pass the slightly flattened dough through the widest setting on the pasta machine and then fold it into three as shown in the photo below, and pass it again through the same widest setting. Continue to do this 6-8 times until the pasta is smooth before reducing the width of the pasta rollers.
- Be sure to partially dry the pasta before cutting it by hand with a sharp knife or passing it through the cutting attachment on the pasta machine, as you can see in the photo above. Dry the tagliatelle pasta on a lightly floured tablecloth. It will take around 15-20 minutes. However, that time will depend on how dry or humid your environment is.
FAQ
I know you’d expect me to talk about the flour, or using whole eggs compared to egg yolks. However, while the type of flour may make a small difference, and extra egg yolks add richness, this tagliatelle pasta recipe is the one I grew up on. My family didn’t have access to special flour – we just used ordinary plain or all-purpose flour. And the eggs from our chickens were rich and yellow. Naturally, the better your ingredients, the better the result. See the notes section in the recipe for further tips.
Homemade tagliatelle pasta will take just 1 to 3 minutes in salted boiling water. Taste a strand to check if it’s done.
No… and yes! The two types of pasta are very similar, but there are some distinctions. Firstly, tagliatelle pasta is slightly narrower and often thinner (ie, flatter) than fettuccini.
Secondly, tagliatelle pasta is more common in Northern Italy (in and around the Emilia-Romagna region, which includes the region’s capital, Bologna and the Marche region. Fettuccini, on the other hand, is more commonly used in Rome in central Italy.
Fun fact: Did you know that the Bologna Chamber of Commerce holds a solid gold piece of tagliatelle pasta that is supposed to demonstrate the exact dimensions? It is 1mm in thickness and 6mm wide. I am not as pedantic as that, so however you cut your tagliatelle is just fine by me!
Serving Suggestions
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese is one of the best pasta dishes in the world, in my opinion! However, Tagliatelle Pasta can also be served with many different sauces. Some pairings are traditional, though you can try it with any pasta sauce that you love.
You can enjoy fresh Tagliatelle Pasta made with your own hands today! It’s really not hard and is so delicious, you will want to make it again and again. You may even want to try some more adventurous recipes like tonnarelli or Busiate.
MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS
I find making homemade Tagliatelle Pasta to be very rewarding. I enjoy knowing exactly what’s in the food I’m eating and feeding to my family, and to know that it’s fresh. If you’ve enjoyed making my Tagliatelle Pasta recipe, are you ready to try some other styles of Italian pasta? Check out:
Homemade Orecchiette with Broccoli and Bacon
Garganelli Pasta
Rigatoni Arrabbiata
Cavatelli Pasta
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Tagliatelle Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- Pasta machine
Ingredients
- 5 extra large eggs at room temperature
- 4 cups 00 flour (or 17½ ounces/500 grams) See Notes 1 & 2
Instructions
- Set aside ½ cup of the flour. Tip the remaining flour onto work surface and make a well in the middle leaving some flour at the bottom of the well.
- Crack eggs into the well of the flour.
- Using a fork (or fingertips) whisk and mix the eggs dragging in a little bit of flour from around the edges.
- Keep working with your fork (or fingertips) incorporating a little of the flour as you go. Be careful not to break the edge of the well or the egg will escape. The egg should be almost pudding-like or custardy.
- Continue to bring in the flour bit by bit until the egg has enough flour to no longer be runny. At the point you can use both hands (with the help of a dough scraper) to bring in the rest of the flour. It will be a shaggy dough.
- With two hands, knead and bring the dough together. Add the reserved flour if needed. The dough should not be sticky. If you are rolling by hand do not add too much flour. A little water can be added if the dough is very dry.
- Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until it is smooth and you feel the change in the dough. Don't omit this kneading.
- Put an upturned bowl over the dough or wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 minutes or so.
Hand rolled pasta
- Divide the dough into about 8 smaller portions. Take one portion and keep the remaining dough covered.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Form the dough into a rough rectangle.
- Roll, lightly flouring as necessary into a long thin strip of pasta dough, stretching and pressing as you go. I like to continue in a long, wide strip. The aim is to have an even thickness. You should be able to see the colour of your hand through the dough.
- Set aside on a lightly floured tablecloth to dry for about 20 minutes while you roll out the remaining dough. Turn the sheets over to assist drying.
Using a pasta machine to roll
- Cut off a small piece of dough and keep the remaining dough covered.
- Lightly flour the machine rollers and the work surface. Set the pasta machine rollers at the widest setting.
- Press the portion of dough flat into a thick rectangle and guide through the rollers.
- Fold into thirds and pass again through the widest setting. Repeat this 6 to 8 times until the dough is smooth. You may need to flour lightly to stop sticking and tearing.
- Don’t worry if the dough does tear. Just keep folding and passing through the rollers.
- Only when the dough is smooth, start to reduce the settings of the rollers. Reduce just one setting at a time, until you have reach the desired thickness.
- Set aside on floured tablecloth to dry for about 20 minutes while you roll out the remaining dough. Turn the sheets over to assist drying.
How to make tagliatelle
- When the dough is partially dry but still flexible, roll up into a flat roll and cut into strips about ⅓ inch (or 8 mm). Separate strips and allow to dry before cooking.
- If you have the cutting attachment for the pasta machine, pass the semi dried pasta sheets through to cut into tagliatelle. Allow tagliatelle to dry before cooking.
Cooking the pasta
- Bring to boil a large pot of well salted water. Drop in the dried tagliatelle, give it a quick stir to make sure all the strands are separated.
- Cook for 1 to 3 minutes. Taste to test for doneness.
- Drain well in colander reserving a little pasta cooking water. Toss to remove excess liquid. Don't ever rinse the pasta.
- Combine with sauce of your choice adding pasta cooking water as needed..
Notes
- For greater accuracy, weigh the flour. However if using measuring cups stir the flour to fluff it and then spoon into the cup without packing the flour.
- Pasta can be made with all purpose (plain) flour but I prefer 00 which is a fine Italian flour perfect for pasta. I also like to use a 50/50 combination of 00 flour and fine semolina flour. But don’t let the flour get in your way of making and enjoying your own pasta. My family only ever used all purpose (plain) flour.
- Use a little bit of flour or better still, if you have it, fine semolina, to dust the tagliatelle lightly so it doesn’t stick together.
- Spread it out on a tablecloth and let it dry, checking periodically that it’s not sticking.
- It should dry quite quickly (in less than an hour, a lot less if the climate is dry).
- Then pack it into airtight containers and store in the freezer.
- If it’s cool and dry, the tagliatelle will keep for a short time at room temperature.
- Once the dough has rested, it will feel softer but should be perfectly fine to roll. That’s normal. If you have used my preference of a 50/50 combination of 00 flour and fine semolina flour, the dough will be much firmer.
- If the dough is too dry, knead in a little water. If the dough is too wet, knead in a little flour.
- Please never add olive oil or other oil to the cooking water. This just makes the pasta slippery, and the sauce won’t stick.
- Once drained, I like to return the pasta to the cooking pot along with the sauce to be combined well. Then transfer into the serving bowl.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
I’m going to make this today and I wondered what the measuring cup amount would be for one batch? What does 17 1/2 ounces of flour equal in cups? Thank you, Pat.
That’s 4 cups, Pat. I’ll add it to the recipe.
So good! I’ve made pasta before but my last recipe wasn’t that great. This one was definitely better! We did this as an at home date night (last week was gnocchi). Made a lovely chicken and mushroom sauce to go with the pasta and topped with fresh Parmesan. So good! Thankyou
I’m thrilled that you loved our family pasta recipe, Kelsie. It means a lot to me xx
made this today, 1/2 recipe for pasta e ceci! it was fabulous! I handroolled and cut it! a worthwhile workout! thank you
You’re welcome, Anna! Pasta e ceci – YUM!
Used 00 flour and fresh eggs and the dough was SO STIFF. Kneaded until smooth and rolled as thin as possible but was more like a dumpling than a noodle. Not sure what went wrong.
Hi Nysha, I’m sorry this happened to you. The ratio in the dough was off for some reason but all is not lost. There are ways around this. Did you remember to use extra large eggs? Did you weigh the flour or use measuring cups? If you used measuring cups it’s easy to pack too much flour into the cup and therefore end up with too much flour. I recommend stirring the flour to lighten then spoon the flour into the measuring cups before levelling off with the blade of a knife. If you did all of these things correctly, it is possible that the weather has affected your dough. If the weather is particularly dry, pasta dough will be dry. All of these factors can be solved by just adding a little bit of water, a teaspoonful at a time and kneading until the dough is smooth and pliable. It will still work and taste delicious!
I made this pasta to serve with a bolognese sauce I made. Wow, homemade pasta is the best!
Sure is!
It was delicious! Everyone of my family loved this.
Such an easy to follow recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! It turned out so good!
This looks so good. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
This is such a delicious homemade pasta! Came out perfectly tender.
So glad you enjoyed these tagliatelle, Amanda!
Never thought I could do this but I could! Thanks!
Do you have a ricotta cavatelli recipe? I would be using it with the cavatelli machine.
Would the recipe be the same if making them on a board instead of a machine?
Thank you
Hello Jan, no I don’t have a ricotta cavatelli recipe on the blog. With the machine, I think you just might have to be careful with the consistency of the dough – if it’s too sticky you’ll have trouble. So add a little extra flour, in that case. Try 1lb (450g) ricotta, 1lb (450g) flour with one egg and 3-4 tablespoons water and a good pinch of salt. Add the water carefully just in case it gets too sticky. Otherwise add a little extra flour. Let me know how they go!
this is a great post Marcellina!!! i love the step by step shots, i’ve always been afraid to make my own pasta but this is really helpful!
Georgie, you should definitely not be afraid to make your own pasta. Try it! Let me know how you go and if you have any questions, get back to me. xx
Great photos. A wonderful tutorial!
Thank you Mimi! I hope to inspire everyone to make their own pasta!
Great post! My pasta making machine has been tucked away in the spare room for years- I’m going to get it out soon!
Definitely do that, Fran!I’d love to see your pasta making photos!
Love this! May fresh pasta be available to all!! xx
Viva Pasta!!
Thanks Marcellina for the great pasta recipe. It’s good to know I don’t need to always use 00 flour whenever I get the urge to make homemade pasta. Pinned for later reference x
Yes, it’s true. In fact my Italian mother in law to this day has never made pasta with any other flour other than plain (all purpose). We live in a regional area and for a long time specialty flours were not available. Thanks for your comments! x
Wonderful tutorial!
Thank you Ronit! I love making (and eating!) pasta. Hope I never need to reduce the carbs in my diet!
Love your pasta photos