These homemade lasagna noodles are perfect for my favorite lasagna recipe: Italian lasagna with bechamel. Homemade pasta uses only three ingredients: flour, eggs, and a pinch of salt. These fresh pasta sheets are made easily with a pasta machine in only about 50 minutes.
I recommend making these homemade noodles using a pasta machine or pasta roller attachment with a standing mixer. A rolling pin may be difficult to form thin, even sheets.
What I Love About This Recipe
These fresh lasagna noodles are perfect for little helpers. Aside from the sheer satisfaction of making my lasagna noodles from scratch, this recipe is fun for the whole family! This might be the second-best kid recipe, the first being chocolate chip cookies.
Pasta Dough Notes
There are two main pasta doughs: egg pasta dough and durum wheat dough. This egg pasta dough is also a general pasta noodle dough. Use the pasta attachment on the pasta machine to make spaghetti noodles or fettuccini noodles. Do not dry the egg pasta dough because it contains eggs.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: The best flour is 00 flour or pizza flour. All-purpose flour works too.
- Whole eggs: Use free-range eggs with dark orange yolks for the best-tasting lasagna sheets. Orange egg yolks also color the pasta a beautiful hue.
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
How To Make Homemade Lasagna Noodles
Make a well with the flour.
Crack the eggs into the center of the flour.
Using a fork, break up the egg yolks. Mix the flour gradually into the eggs.
Flour a work surface and roll the dough with your hands until smooth (about 10 minutes).
Pro Tip: Fresh pasta dough may be difficult to knead, especially using all-purpose flour. If the dough feels dry, dip your hands in cool water and continue kneading.
The pasta dough should feel pillowy and soft, not sticky. Wrap the pasta dough in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes before running it through the pasta machine.
Remove the plastic wrap. Divide the dough into six equal portions. Grab a little helper to turn the crank on the pasta machine!
Run the dough through the pasta machine on level 0 (the widest setting).
Fold the dough over and run it through level 0 a couple more times.
There is a knob on the left side of the pasta machine. Pull it out and turn to level 1.
Run the dough once through levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Stop at level 5. Dust the lasagna sheet with flour. Set it on a baking sheet or countertop surface.
The pasta machine will make long sheets of lasagna noodles. Cut the sheets to the side of your baking dish.
How to Boil Homemade Lasagna Noodles
Boil noodles until al dente (about 1 to 2 minutes) in a large pot of salted water. Remove the noodles from the boiling water. Set them aside to dry.
When assembling the lasagna, sandwich the lasagna noodles with pasta sauce. The noodles may not be symmetrical. Just try not to overlap them too much.
Layering goes like this: bolognese sauce, lasagne sheets, bolognese sauce, creamy sauce, finely grated parmesan, then repeat until you have five layers of noodles.
For more detailed instructions, check out this classic lasagna recipe with bechamel sauce.
Tips and Tricks
- These fresh noodles are best made on the same day.
- Gradually mix the flour into the eggs. Be careful not to let the egg mixture flow over the flour wall.
- Tender homemade pasta sheets soak in the meaty lasagna sauce and bechamel sauce from the lasagna.
Variations and Substitutions
- Instead of hand kneading the dough, use a standing mixer.
- Use 00 flour if possible. All-purpose flour works too.
- Want to skip the homemade noodles? The closest substitute is boiling oven-ready noodles.
Equipment
Make homemade pasta using a Marcato pasta machine. Alternatively, use a pasta attachment with a standing mixer.
Storage
Since this pasta dough contains egg, I do not recommend drying it on a drying rack. Instead, place the sheets on a flat tray in a single layer and freeze. Once the sheets freeze, place them into a freezer-friendly container. When ready to use, place the frozen pasta sheets directly in boiling water.
FAQs
Yes, you can substitute all-purpose flour for 00 flour, but it will make the dough chewier. 00 flour is ultra fine flour used in pizza dough and homemade pasta.
Italian lasagna is made with parmesan cheese, a ground beef tomato sauce (or ragu meat sauce), lasagna sheets, and a creamy bechamel with ground nutmeg.
Bring water to a boil in a large stovetop pot. Add some salt. You can also add a little bit of olive oil. Place two to three lasagna sheets in the boiling water. Using tongs, remove the pasta sheets after they cook for one to two minutes (until al dente). The lasagna sheets will continue cooking in the oven, so don't overboil the sheets.
Italian Recipes
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📋 Recipe
Homemade Lasagna Noodles
Ingredients
- 600 grams of flour 3 and ¾ cups
- 6 eggs
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Weigh out the flour using a kitchen scale. Add the flour to a working area. Make a well in the middle. Crack the whole eggs into the well. Using a fork, break up the eggs and slowly mix in flour.
- Continue to add flour to the eggs gradually. Once the dough starts to form, begin kneading it with your hands. Continue kneading the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is pillowy and soft. The dough should not be sticky. If the dough is dry, wet your hands with water and continue kneading the dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into six equal sections.
- Roll the pasta dough through the widest setting in the pasta machine. Do this 4 or 5 times, folding the dough over.
- Adjust the setting from 0 to 1 on the pasta machine. Roll the dough through the setting. Then adjust the setting to 2. Go all the way up to 5 on the pasta machine. This will result in a very thin and long lasagna noodle. Dust the lasagna sheet with flour and place it on a flat surface.
- Cut the lasagna noodle to the length of the lasagna baking dish.
- Boil lasagna noodles in a large stovetop pot with salted water. Place two or three sheets at a time into the boiling water. Cook the lasagna sheet for about one to two minutes. Remove the sheets from the boiling water. Set them aside to dry. Once all of the pasta sheets are pre-boiled, assemble the lasagna. Make sure to layer the pasta sauce on top and bottom of the lasagna noodles to keep the noodles tender.
Equipment
Notes
- Use 00 flour preferably. Substitute equal weight of all-purpose flour. Weigh out the flour using a kitchen scale.
- Depending on the size of your lasagna dish, you might have some extra pasta sheets left over. Freeze the pasta sheets in a single layer, then add them to an airtight container once they are frozen. When ready to use, just drop the frozen lasagna sheets into boiling water.
Lindsey
Used the same machine but with the electric crank- fun for my friends and I to make pasta together on a dinner gathering. The noodles were tender and tasted great. We made Alfredo sauce to go with it and some grilled shrimp on the side. Thanks!
Lily
Thanks Lindsey, that sounds yummy!