Spinach Pasta Noodles (made from scratch at home)

The easiest fresh pasta you can make which comes together with a few pantry ingredients. With a little effort this meal can be made for lunch or dinner easily during the week and happens to be vegetarian.

Growing up I wasn’t a fan of school, my mum would find ways to bribe me to go. There were two types of noodles she would buy, spinach and tomato. They used to come in packets dried, back then there was no concept of pasta sauce etc. So mum would boil the noodles in water, toss it in butter, salt, pepper, add maul cheese on top and drizzle ketchup. It was the best thing ever. Since then I have search for those noodles but have not been lucky enough to find it. Hence I decided to make it.

These spinach noodles will blow your mind. You do not need any fancy equipment to make fresh pasta and before you come for me and say I have used a pasta machine, you do not need to use one. You can just as well roll out the dough by hand, it does take a little but of elbow grease but it is a yummy arm workout, thank me later. But also you don’t need to slave over the stove to make the noodles or an elaborate sauce etc. The sauce is cooke together until the spinach is soft and the mixture is blended with the pasta water. So if you do not want to make the noodles from scratch use dried spaghetti and make this spinach sauce with it. So let us get to it.

How to make the fresh spinach pasta?

To make the pasta dough we need to sauté the baby spinach on high heat until soft. You can chop it finely or transfer it to the food processor and blend until its coarse. Add the eggs and blend again. Add the flour, salt and blend until the mixture forms a dough. We rather have the dough a little damp than dry but it should form a ball easily. Wrap it in cling wrap or a zip lock bag and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes if not 1 hours. Once rested, divide the dough into 3 parts. Starting with the widest setting on your pasta roller (0 no), run each piece of dough through the roller. Fold the dough in half and then in half again and run it through the roller again. Repeat this process 3 more times until the dough is smooth. If the dough is sticky or starts to rip, sprinkle generously with flour. Move the roller to the next setting and run the pasta sheet through once to thin it out. Continue to do this one at a time until the desired thickness. (I recommend a 3 or 4 for noodles.) Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, letting the sheets dry out for 30 minutes before cutting. You can do this with a rolling pin as well however this will take more effort and time – definitely doable though.

What ingredients do you need to make this spinach pasta?

To make the fresh pasta dough we need baby spinach, eggs, pasta flour. To make the sauce we need the pasta water, butter, pepper, dried oregano, baby spinach, garlic, crushed black pepper, parmesan cheese. If you do not have access for pasta flour you can make it with all purpose flour and a fine semolina flour. This is what I would use before I could get pasta flour and it has worked perfectly.

What equipment do you need to make this spinach pasta?

To make this pasta we need a food processor, knife, pasta machine or rolling pin. The pasta is cooked in a stock pot and a sauté pan to make the pasta with the sauce. I have used a pair of tongs to transfer the pasta from the stock pot to the sauté pan, you can use a strainer as well. We would need a blender to make the pasta sauce as well.

What if I don’t have a food processor?

You can easily make this pasta dough by hand by kneading the ingredients together. It does take a few minutes longer but it is not difficult to knead together. I have made this dough by hand before and it was perfect. Just chop the spinach finely to ensure you can knead it into the dough easily.

What if I don’t have a pasta machine?

All you need is a rolling pin or bottle to help roll out the dough, it is a little tough but you can do it. Most people in Italy do not own a pasta machine hence they all make pasta by hand. You would need a little effort to make this pasta by hand and roll it out – don’t say I didn’t warn you.

How to make this spinach pasta noodles?

Cook your fresh noodles for 3-5 minutes or until al dente. To make the spinach sauce we need to sauté baby spinach in butter with garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Once soft, blend it with parmesan cheese and the pasta cooking liquid until smooth. Pour it back into the saute pan and using a pair of tongs transfer the cooked noodles to the pan, toss together, taste and season as needed. Serve it hot with more crushed pepper and parmesan cheese.

Serving this spinach pasta?

It is best served with more parmesan cheese and crushed black pepper. You could pair it with white wine as well. The pasta is delicious on its own but serve it with cottage cheese, pan fried fish or grilled chicken to up the protein if you want a wholesome meal.

Storing this spinach pasta?

Fresh pasta dough can be wrapped tightly in cling wrap and stored in the fridge for 2 days. Cook freshly cut noodles within 24 hours for the best texture and flavor. You can freeze the pasta This is on a lined sheet pan until solid, then transferred to a freezer bag for 1 month. Don’t defrost it before cooking, just drop it in boiling salted water and cook until al dente, adding about 30 seconds to the cooking time.

Looking for more pasta recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this spinach noodles pasta recipe, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.