Easy Homemade Sourdough Pasta Recipe

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This easy homemade sourdough pasta recipe is a great way to use up leftover sourdough starter and is one of the simplest recipes you’ll ever make.  It never ceases to amaze me how many things we can make with simple ingredients like flour and water.  And when you ferment the flour and water and turn it into gut healthy sourdough?  What’s not to lose!  

Great For Beginners…

When I first started making sourdough pasta, I was honestly surprised at how simple it was!  I make all of our own bread, and yet making pasta was actually easier than making bread.  Why didn’t I start making my own pasta sooner?  I’m not exactly sure!  This is a great recipe for sourdough beginners, because it uses up a lot of extra starter and is very simple and easy.

My Experience

I cook from scratch for our family of seven daily and pasta is a favorite item on our menu.  Whether it’s spaghetti made with our home-canned spaghetti sauce, goulash with our home-canned goulash sauce, lasagna, hamburger stroganoff, mac and cheese, beef and noodles or chicken noodle soup, pasta is a staple in our home.  If you enjoy learning how to make this easy homemade sourdough pasta, be sure to leave me a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

This is a large batch of pasta designed to feed my family of seven, so if you’re only cooking for a couple of people, you can either cut the recipe in half, or hang the extra pasta to dry and keep it in your pantry for a quick meal another day.  If you’re feeding a large family, this recipe will be perfect for you as is.  

You can make the quick version of this pasta if you plan to cook it the same day, or make it ahead of time and allow it to long ferment in the refrigerator for greater health benefits and easier digestibility.

This sourdough pasta recipe works well with a pasta machine or you can just roll it out by hand.  I have a Kitchenaid pasta attachment, but it’s a huge pain to dig it all out when I’m busy homeschooling my kids and need to get lunch on the table quickly.  I usually just roll out the pasta and cut it with a pizza cutter.  I’d like to get a hand crank pasta roller because it would be easier to grab out of the cupboard and use when I’m in a hurry, which is always!

Sourdough Pasta Making Tips:

Sticky Dough

• When mixing up and kneading your sourdough pasta dough, don’t be afraid to add a little more flour if it feels sticky.  Eggs vary in size, so sometimes your pasta will end up feeling a little more wet or dry depending on the hydration of your sourdough starter and the size of your eggs.  Making pasta is a bit like making bread, you have to learn how the dough should feel.  It should feel very similar to playdough, and be smooth and glossy.  Just keep working it until you get it to that consistency, you really can’t overwork the dough.  That’s part of what makes it so fun to make, it’s like playing with playdough.
• For best results, allow your pasta to dry either in sheets before you cut it, or hang the noodles themselves up to dry on a pasta drying rack or over a hangar for 30 minutes or until time to cook.  The great thing about making these noodles a few hours ahead of time, is that you can quickly get supper on the table at the end of the day because the pasta will be already made 
• If your dough starts to get sticky as you’re rolling it out or running it through your pasta cutter machine, just dust it with more flour.  Lots of flour is the key for getting the noodles to cut cleanly and not stick together.  Whole wheat flour, or semolina flour work well for dusting the noodles, but you can use all-purpose flour as well.

Pasta Machine Tips

• When using a pasta machine, make sure the setting on your pasta roller is set at its widest when you first start to roll the past through.  After it’s gone through the machine once, you can adjust the setting so it makes the pasta sheets thinner.  Follow the instructions on your pasta machine to find out how thin to make each sheet depending on what shape of noodle you’ll be cutting out.
• For making this without a pasta machine, just roll it out as thin as you can on your countertop, and then slice it into whatever-sized noodles you want using a pizza cutter or sharp knife.  Keep in mind that the noodles get bigger as they cook.  I like a large sized noodle for things like beef and noodles and chicken noodle soup, and thin small noodles for spaghetti
• If you are making lasagna, the process gets even simpler.  Just roll out the pasta and cut into pasta sheets the size of your lasagna pan.  No need to cut it smaller, it’ll cook up just fine.  Also, there is no need to pre-cook the pasta for lasagna.  It’ll cook right along with the sauce, meat and cheese into yummy gooey lasagna goodness.
• For long term storage, allow pasta to fully dry until it snaps when you break it into smaller pieces.  Make sure the center of the noodles is completely dry.  Then put it into a jar or airtight container and keep in your pantry for when you need a quick meal or easy addition to a soup

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy

It only takes 4 ingredients and a little bit of time to make this simple quick and easy sourdough pasta recipe

Flavor

Sourdough pasta has a depth of flavor that is unmatched.  It is so much better than pasta that comes from a box at the store.  

Flexible

You can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter.  Either one will work fine.  The sourdough discard will give it a little more of a sour flavor which is really nice in some dishes.  The active sourdough starter will give it a sweeter, more mild flavor.  

Easy to Digest

Anytime you add a fermented element like sourdough to a recipe, it becomes more nutritious because it contains live probiotics and good bacteria that help with gut health and digestion.  Gluten and phytic acid are naturally present in wheat, and are usually what is to blame for people not being able to digest gluten well.  When the grain is fermented through the sourdough process, the gluten and phytic acid are broken down, making it easier to digest.  A lot of people that struggle with gluten intolerance (not people with celiac), can digest food made with sourdough without any issue, especially if the recipe is allowed to sit out for a few hours and “long ferment”.   I suggest long fermenting this recipe if you are sensitive to gluten.

Healthy

Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of the nutrients found in wheat. During the sourdough fermentation process, the phytic acid gets broken down and the nutrients are more bio-available to the body. This is why cooking with sourdough is so important for our health.

Low Glycemic Content

Sourdough is known for it’s low glycemic index, making it safer for diabetics to consume in moderation than non-sourdough foods.  You can read more about the glycemic index of sourdough bread here

To find all of our favorite sourdough recipes, click here.

Eggs, especially if they are farm fresh eggs are also a healthy component to this recipe.  I like to make a lot of pasta in the springtime when fresh eggs are in abundance.  If you have access to duck eggs, they make the best pasta!

FAQ:

Is Sourdough Pasta Good For You?

Yes, sourdough pasta is much healthier for you than boxed pasta from the store.  It has the fermentation benefits of sourdough and is made with four simple ingredients.  No preservatives or unnecessary ingredients.

Is Sourdough Good For Your Gut?

Yes, sourdough is full of natural probiotics and good bacteria that help your gut to digest your food more easily.  In addition, phytic acid which is present in flour and can inhibit your body from absorbing key nutrients, is broken down during the sourdough fermentation process.  This makes more nutrients from the ingredients in this recipe available to be absorbed by your body.

How long do I need to dry sourdough pasta for long-term storage?

12-24 hours is best, or until the noodles are completely dry in the middle.

Can I make lasagna noodles and other pasta shapes with this recipe?

Yes, for lasagna, just make big sheets of pasta to lay in your lasagna pan.  You can also make ravioli, fettucini, spaghetti and much more

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Tools You May Need:

Pasta Maker or Kitchenaid Pasta Attachments (optional)

Stand mixer (optional)

Measuring cups and spoons

Pasta drying rack

Four Simple Ingredients:

Flour – I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour from Azure Standard.  Whole wheat or semolina flour works well for dusting the pasta dough as you’re rolling it out.

Eggs – room temperature farm fresh eggs are best, but any eggs will work.  Duck eggs work especially well.

Sourdough starter – you can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard.  Whatever you have extra of that you want to get rid of

Salt – gives the pasta an incredible flavor.  Redmond salt is the healthiest salt you can buy.

How To Make Sourdough Pasta:

In a bowl or a stand mixer add all of your ingredients.

Mix for 10 minutes or until dough ball is smooth and glossy. 

Add more flour or a little more starter as needed to achieve a playdough like consistency

Quick version:  

Allow to the dough to rest for 30 minutes

Long fermented version:

Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap for 12-24 hours to fully ferment.

Next Step:

Roll out on counter with a heavy rolling pin, and cut into noodles using pizza cutter or pasta machine

Hang to dry for at least 30 minutes if possible.  If you’re in a hurry you can skip this drying period, but your pasta will cook up more nicely if you dry it a bit first.

How To Cook Sourdough Pasta:

Fill a large pot with water, add 1-2 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.  

Boil for 4-5 minutes or until al dente.  Fresh sourdough pasta doesn’t need to cook as long as dried pasta.  Be careful not to overcook.  Take a noodle out of the boiling water and taste it to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.

When done, strain pasta and rinse with cool water.  You can also stir in a little butter or olive oil with your noodles to keep them from sticking together as they cool.  

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.  We like to eat this with our home-canned spaghetti or goulash sauce.  It’s also really good with homemade chicken and alfredo sauce, cheese sauce, stroganoff, or as a nice addition to any soup. 

Storage:

As previously mentioned, you can hang extra uncooked pasta noodles to dry for 12-24 hours or until they are completely dry in the middle.  Then store them in your pantry for up to a year. 

You can also freeze your noodles for up to six months, or dry them in a dehydrator for 2-4 hours.

If you try this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment.

And if you like it? Give it a 5 star rating!

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