Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta
Posted Oct 27, 2017, Updated Oct 09, 2022
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This Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta is the best homemade pasta recipe that tastes so much more delicious than boxed varieties! Use it in a delicious main dish or serve it as a yummy side dish!
I went many years in my life only eating fresh, homemade pasta from scratch.
I had the time to be a little bit of a food snob, I couldn’t help help it! I prefer this this Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta to anything that can be found in the store (and I love using it to make recipes like this pesto pasta or this pasta primavera)
And even though it might sound intimidating, it’s really not! Making your own pasta is actually really easy and fun.
Once you eat homemade noodles it is so hard to ever eat store-bought varieties again. I got over it when I had my third baby and my life forever changed (read: I didn’t have the time or energy to make everything from scratch anymore).
However, now that I have older kids who love to cook with me, we’ve started making this whole wheat pasta again as a fun way to spend time together in the kitchen.
Perfect recipe for entertaining!
Pasta dishes are great to make when you need to feed a crowd! So whenever we have friends over for a yummy Italian dinner, I usually break out my pasta machine and make this Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta from scratch. I really think it gives the meal an extra special touch.
It took me about a year to create what I believe to be the perfect Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta recipe. I tested different methods, ingredients and ratios until I got it just right. So here are a few tips and tricks to making this recipe!
How to Make Whole Wheat Pasta Dough
- Use a Food processor. In this recipe, the dough is made in the food processor, which means that it’s easy! Just process the ingredients until the dough forms a ball and then knead it until it’s no longer sticky.
- Rolling. I have a version of this pasta maker and I love it. Always start the rolling process on a thicker (lower number) setting and gradually roll it thinner until the desired thickness is achieved. My sequence is usually 2, 4, 5, 6. My maker goes up to a 7, but I prefer to stop at 6!
- Cutting. Usually a pasta maker comes with the option to cut two different sizes of noodles. I like the thicker ones (pictured here), but again it’s totally preference! You can also use a pasta cutter and cut the dough into squares by hand to make homemade ravioli!
How to cook fresh whole wheat pasta from scratch:
- Cooking. Fresh pasta cooks in a fraction of the time that it takes to cook boxed, dried pasta.We’re talking 2-3 minutes and it’s done! You’ll notice the noodles start floating to the top, and that’s when to take them out of the boiling water.
- Large batch. This recipe makes a lot of noodles. If you want less, simply halve the recipe. It makes so much you will need to cook them in batches, so do not dump out the water!
Serve
Serve this pasta in your favorite dishes. Here are some suggestions
- Toss it in some homemade pesto sauce to make pesto pasta.
- Use it to make pasta primavera.
- Make this avocado pasta sauce and serve it as a meatless main dish.
- Serve it as a side dish to this baked pesto chicken.
FAQs about Homemade Pasta
Yes! This whole wheat pasta is loaded with fiber & nutrients and even protein. Plus it is made from scratch so it doesn’t have any preservatives or unwanted ingredients.
Yes, you can double this recipe! Use the 2X button for ingredient measurements.
Store cooked pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Yes, you can freeze the noodles before or after cooking. To do this, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hard. Then transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. I prefer to freeze cooked pasta. If you freeze the noddles before they’re cooked you can put the frozen noodles directly into boiling water to cook them.
Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Recipe: Substitutions
This is a recipe I do not recommend tampering with at all. It took me a long time to develop the perfect noodle and I wouldn’t them to not turn out amazing for you.
There are two ways you could change the recipe and still have perfect results:
- Flour. You can use only all-purpose flour for this recipe, but you may need to add a touch more than is called for. You cannot use all whole wheat flour because recipe will turn out super dense if you do.
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe. Avocado and canola are two varieties I have used successfully!
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Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 3 TBS water
Instructions
- Put all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour & salt into the container of your food processor fitted with an “S” blade.
- Pulse to combined.
- Add eggs, olive oil and water and process until the mixture just starts to form a ball.
- Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead until it is firm and not sticky (about 4-5 minutes).
- Place dough ball on a well-floured surface and cover it with a bowl. Let it stand for at least 1 hour.
- Separate your dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll a piece of dough using a pasta maker into a rectangular sheet. Start at a low thickness setting (I usually start at 2) and increase until the dough has reached your desired thickness (I prefer a “6” on my pasta machine, which goes as high as 7).
- Once you have a thin rectangular sheet, pass it through the pasta cutter attachment of your pasta maker, using whatever shape noodle you prefer.
- Hang on a rack or set on a cooling sheet to harden.
- Repeat with remaining portions of dough until you have used them all.
- Allow the pasta to air dry for at least 15 minutes and up to 12 hours (to prevent it from clumping together while it’s cooking).
- When you’re ready to cook, bring water to a boil using a large pot,
- Cook half of the pasta for 2-3 minutes (the noodles will float), in the boiling water.
- Use tongs to remove the cooked noodles and place them in a colander to drain, but DO NOT DISCARD WATER! Save the water and cook the second half of the noodles.
- Drain and serve!
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Flour. You can use only all-purpose flour for this recipe, but you may need to add a touch more than is called for. You cannot use all whole wheat flour because recipe will turn out super dense if you do.
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe. Avocado and canola are two varieties I have used successfully!
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.Freeze
You can freeze the noodles before or after cooking. To do this, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them until hard. Then transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. I prefer to freeze cooked pasta. If you freeze the noddles before they’re cooked you can put the frozen noodles directly into boiling water to cook them.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Any thoughts on using semolina instead of all-purpose?
This is the best whole wheat pasta i have come across and a perfect quantity to store as well!
Question: being new to pasta making (I’ve only made spinach pasta) I see that I need to let the pasta sit for at least 15 minutes…do I flour the “nests” before they sit?
Thanks in advance!
I have made this recipe a few times now and it’s always a hit. I use my own fresh milled flour and it’s works great! I have used it to make spaghetti with my kids but the crowd favorite is when I make carbonara! Tonight I am hosting a double birthday party for friends and will be making carbonara myself, and I’ll be making another batch of noodles for my Italian friend from New Jersey to use with his sauce and meatballs he is bringing. Don’t worry, another friend is bringing chicken and there will be plenty of wine! Many recipes are tricky in the Colorado altitude, but yours seems to work just fine if I follow the instructions! I always make sure to weigh my wheat berries before milking them. 125 grams per cup needed works like a charm!
Hi Bill, I enjoyed your comment and appreciate the conversion – for those like myself who don’t traditionally work in ‘cups’ – though I have pretty much abandoned the lbs and oz and pints etc I grew up with.
I was curious about your use of the term “milking the berries” – sounds more like soaking them and then squeezing them: that would certainly produce something like ‘milk’.
How much is a serving size? I see the nutrition information but doesn’t say how much is a serving size.
It’s 12 serving written.
Would this dough be good to make ravioli?
Yes!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made it, and my toddler and husband loved it! Turned out great, even with a few hiccups here and there. It was my first time using my kitchen aid pasta attachments, and first time making homemade pasta. Totally worth my messy kitchen and hours of labor. I definitely feel more confident for the next time with this recipe.
My search has ended! This was perfect. Followed all instructions except I used the kitchenaid mixer to mix instead of food processor, then I used the dough hook attachment.
Thank you so much Caroline!
This recipe is wonderful. My family is Italian and we have made many pastas over the years, but usually it is my brother or someone else choosing the dough ratios. This was the first time I made on my own, without my huge family helping and I wanted to try a new recipe so I could include whole wheat. My husband and I let the dough sit for the entire hour (the total and resting times listed at the top of the recipe are wrong, ignore them, it takes way longer than 35 mins to make, and in my opinion the dough should rest after kneading for at least an hour, as listed correctly in the recipe instructions but incorrectly at the top of the recipe) Also, I had to knead longer than 5 mins to get the consistency right. It was between 10-15 mins. So, with those changes, the dough was perfect and easy to handle. We made bow-ties and angel hair and tagliatelle and froze half and ate the rest that day. The only other change I’d do next time is to boil in salted water next time. It will add flavor and get the boiled temperature just right! We plan on making this into a weekly pasta night, using this recipe, but changing the sauces and the shapes of the pasta. Since we are freezing half each time, we will make it every 2 weeks and boil the frozen pasta to eat during the in between weeks. Wonderful! Thanks.
I like the idea of freezing for the next wee!. Can you please tell me how you thaw it out? Do you just take it out the night before?
I have never made this recipe, but when I make and freeze other recipes, I just dump the pasta in right in the boiling water frozen.
Have you ever tried using whole wheat pastry flour at all? Makes noodle less dense. It’s a much softer and more fine whole wheat flour. Only thing is I haven’t gotten my ratio down to a science just yet either lol.. My husband is diabetic and flour noodles shoot his blood sugars thrw the roof, so I started playing around with whole wheat. If you do try it and you can get a grip on it to help me out that would be GREAT! With all the work I have to do I just don’t get enough kitchen time so I haven’t had time to get back at it but i do plan on working more on it this week. 3 -10-2020. i always felt if your gonna make whole wheat noodles that they should be REALLY ALL whole wheat right? 😛 lol That’s why I am wanting to figure this out. 😉
Two questions. Do you have a thought on how you would alter the amount of flour to use this recipe for a pasta extruder as this requires a somewhat stiffer dough. Also what is the portion size for the calorie count that is given
Hey! I just used whole wheat flour (med course) and it worked out fine.i used the number 5 on pasta machine but u can use 6 or 7 so it don’t bulk up or be to thick. It still was ok. I used 2 cups of WWF and 2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks. I keep it simple..The rest is history. 🙂