Last updated on July 1st, 2019
This homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta is a perfect neutral pasta to top with your favorite sauce. Tender eggy noodles with a silken texture and an ever-so-slightly sweet flavor notes.
This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill, a year-long partner of Snixy Kitchen
I served cacio e pepe with this homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta for dinner on Sunday and my three-year-old took one look at it and, without skipping a beat, instructed, “don’t put that in my lunch tomorrow.”
I served cacio e pepe with this homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta for dinner on Sunday and my three-year-old took one look at it and, without skipping a beat, instructed, “don’t put that in my lunch tomorrow.”
Excuse me – come again? She followed it up with, “I don’t like that pasta.” The girl hadn’t even tasted the pasta, but she’s three now, which means being contrary is her only job for the next 284 days until she’s four. (That’s how it works, right?). In the meantime, I’m thinking of getting her a shirt that reads, “don’t put that in my lunch.” to save her the hassle of commanding me whenever I serve her unfamiliar food.
But this pasta! It’s basically grown-up toddler food! I fed her the fanciest restaurant-quality homemade. gluten-free. cheesy. pasta. and she acted like I was poisoning her. That is, until she tasted it and changed her tune. This pasta is incredible. These kids have no idea how good they’ve got it.
If you’re making plans to serve a special mama something delicious for Mother’s Day, this pasta would top my list.
Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta
This homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta is the third recipe in a year-long partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. So far this year, I’ve made gluten-free pop tarts with strawberry jam and gluten-free matcha crepe cake and now I’m balance out the sweet with this savory fresh pasta.
Many gluten-free recipes online simply call for any generic gluten-free all-purpose flour. While those certainly have their place (I love Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose blend), I love creating gluten-free recipes that celebrate the flours that they’re made of with a flour blend tailored to the texture of the specific thing I’m making. I find the flavors more exciting and textures more appealing.
If you’re new to gluten-free baking and cooking, it can feel daunting (and pricey) to buy multiple bags of gluten-free flours for just one recipe. That’s where I’ve got you covered – with my recipe filter, you can sort recipes by gluten-free flour type(s) to use up whatever bag of Bob’s Red Mill flour you’ve got in your pantry! Once you’ve stocked your pantry with a few of the basic flours, you can make almost anything. This pasta uses three of my pantry staples: almond flour, tapioca flour/starch, and sweet rice flour.
Can you make pasta with almond flour?
Absolutely! Pasta made with almond flour is packed with protein and much more nutritious than traditional pasta. Almond flour alone is brittle and difficult to make into homemade pasta. Even if you’d managed to form noodles, they’d likely crumble into pieces in the boiling water. That’s where tapioca flour/starch and sweet rice flour come in as the magic super hero sidekicks. They work together to bind the pasta together. Sweet rice flour gives it the pliability and chewy texture reminiscent of traditional semolina wheat pasta.
If you’ve ever made homemade pasta before, you’ll notice that the dough for this gluten-free almond flour pasta is much softer and sticker than traditional wheat pasta dough. If you increase the ratio of almond flour, the oils from the nuts are extracted out as the pasta rolled try to squeeze the dough through them. Instead, keep the dough softer but dust it generously with tapioca starch.
How to make Gluten-Free Fresh Pasta?
Gluten-free fresh pasta is so easy to make and so much more delicious than store-bought pasta. Traditional fresh pasta dough that has to rest before you roll it out to develop the gluten. You don’t have to do that for homemadegluten-free pasta because you use tapioca and sweet rice flour to bind the flours together. Just whisk the flours together, whisk the eggs together in a well in the center, slowly incorporating the flour until it forms a dough. Alternatively, dump it all in a stand mixer until combined.
Homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta dough doesn’t have the same elasticity of a gluten-filled dough. This means it’s slightly more delicate. As long as you continuously dust the outside generously with tapioca starch as you push it through the pasta rollers, it’s still easy to work with.
Making almond flour pasta noodles without a pasta maker
Gluten-free pasta is also so easy to roll it out by hand. No pasta machine required! Without gluten’s elasticity adding resistance, you can easily roll out the dough paper thin with a rolling pin. Just be sure to your surface generously with tapioca starch to keep it from sticking before rolling it out. Fold the paper-thin pasta dough up and cut it into fettuccine strips with a knife.
Do I need xanthan gum in gluten-free pasta?
Yes. And no. I’ve made many different kinds of gluten-free pasta (see a list below), often experimenting with leaving out the xanthan gum per request from many readers. Time and time again, I’ve found that, without xanthan gum, the dough is just too crumbly. It falls apart going through the pasta maker, or, if you do roll it out, it breaks while it cooks.
I’ve made a version of this gluten-free almond flour pasta that substitutes the xanthan gum for 1 tablespoon psyllium seed husks (Bob’s Red Mill Psyllium Fiber Powder). The dough is more delicate to work with and to eat than the version with xanthan gum – it will break a part a bit when cooked if rolled too thin.
For that substitution, you’ll need to let the dough rest 10-15 minutes after you roll it together to let the psyllium seed husks soak up some of the moisture and help with the elasticity. Additionally, don’t roll the dough out quite as thin. You can roll it through the pasta maker only on a size 1. However, I recommend hand-rolling this more delicate version with a rolling pin using the alternative method shown here.
Gluten-Free Almond Flour Pasta
Using almond flour as the base flour creates a gluten-free pasta that is neutral in flavor with a moderate hint of sweetness. This pasta makes a great neutral pasta to pair with your favorite sauce. Here I’ve turned into cacio e pepe!
I recommend making a large batch and freezing the fettuccine nests, layered between parchment paper to keep them from freezing together. When you want fresh homemade gluten-free pasta, just drop the frozen pasta nests straight into the boiling water.
My homemade gluten-free pasta dough recipes:
- Gluten-free Chickpea Pasta
- Gluten-free Whole Grain Pasta
- Gluten-Free Chestnut Flour Pasta
- Gluten-Free Chickpea Beet Pasta
Disclosure: Special thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for providing the flours shown above and sponsoring this post! And thanks to you for supporting the companies that keep Snixy Kitchen cooking!
Gluten-Free Almond Flour Pasta
This homemade gluten-free almond flour pasta is a perfect neutral pasta to top with your favorite sauce. Tender eggy noodles with a silken texture and an ever-so-slightly sweet flavor notes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) Bob's Red Mill super-fine blanched almond flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoon (82g) Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour/starch, plus more for rolling
- 1/4 cup (44g) Bob's Red Mill sweet rice flour
- 1 teaspoon Bob's Red Mill xanthan gum (*see note)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, and salt.
- Create a well in the middle of the flour and crack the eggs into the middle. Add the olive oil.
- Use the dough hook of the stand mixer to gently mix the eggs together with the flour on low speed, or, if doing so by hand, use a fork to lightly whisk the eggs together in the middle of the well, then begin mixing it all together with the flour.
- Once it's well mixed, use the dough hook or your hands to knead until it forms a dough. It using your hands, it will be quite sticky, so coat them in tapioca starch to knead. This dough is softer than traditional pasta touch.
- Roll the dough into a ball, dusting it in tapioca starch, and lightly flatten into a disk. Cut into 6 pieces and wrap the dough in plastic. If using psyllium seed husks in place of xanthan gum, see note below.
- Bring 3-quarts of water to boil in a large pot with a teaspoon of salt.
- One piece at a time, press the dough on a tapioca-floured surface until it is as thin as you can make it with your hands, reserving the other pieces in plastic wrap under a towel.
- With a pasta roller or rolling pin, roll out each piece into a thin sheet, lightly dusting both sides with tapioca flour each time you pass it through the rollers. If using the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment, send the dough through setting 1, fold it in half, then send it again. Repeat until it feeds through smooth, then reduce the thickness one stop and roll to a 2 or 3 thickness. Dust each side with tapioca flour before cutting.If rolling by hand, heavily cover your surface in tapioca starch and roll it until it is very thin.
- Either by hand or using the fettuccine cutter attachment, cut each sheet into noodles. To do so by hand, dust both sides with tapioca flour, fold it up lightly on itself, and cut into thin strips. Place noodles in a nest on a tapioca-floured baking sheet while rolling out the rest. If storing, place uncooked noodles between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer- proof bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. Cook frozen noodles straight out of the bag without defrosting.
- Drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and gently toss it with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- Serve with your favorite sauce! (Here I've served it simply as cacio y pepe, but I lalso ove making almond milk fettucine alfredo!).
Notes
*You can substitute xanthan gum for 1 tablespoon psyllium seed husks (Bob's Red Mill Psyllium Fiber Powder). The dough is more delicate to work with and to eat than the version with xanthan gum (it will break a part a bit when cooked if rolled too thin). To substitute, let the dough rest 10-15 minutes after you roll it together to let the psyllium seed husks soak up some of the moisture and help with the elasticity. Don't roll the dough out quite as thin. You can carefully roll it through the pasta maker only on a size 1 or, I recommend hand-rolling and cutting that version with a rolling pin.
todd -
Can’t wait to try making this for the fam!!
Lex -
I’m always trying to get my carbaholic to eat better! These might help! I feel your pain, Brent! What are the carb count in these, I’m keto.
Brent -
Looks delicious. As my daughter is on a carb-only diet, perhaps this is how I can get some fiber and protein in her! Also, if you end up making “Don’t put that in my lunch” T-shirts, I want one! That may be a well-used article of clothing in our household :)
Sue -
Why would she be on a carb-only diet? That is extremely unhealthy.
https://www.quora.com/How-long-could-a-person-survive-on-a-carbohydrate-only-diet
Amanda -
Because she’s a child, I’m assuming 🤣
Elizabeth -
This post has me aching to break out my pasta maker! It’s looks so perfect and toothsome – congrats on nailing homemade gf pasta. I’m sorry that your heroic efforts were…under-appreciated by the pre-school set. I’ve been there.
Mimi -
Oooh, you had me at almond flour! I’m not a huge pasta person but my hub is and I’m always trying to get him to eat healthier. Any chance of getting the macros for this?
Wendy -
Hi there. Would these noodles hold up being used in chicken noodle soup?
Madison -
Have you tried this recipe with a pasta extruder? I have the kitchen aid one and I’m wondering if it will go through well enough to make the rigatoni. My experience with it for regular pasta dough is that it has to be very dry.
Sarah Menanix -
I haven’t tried this almond flour pasta with the extruder – I also have the extruder but I haven’t really used it yet! I did use it once and I can’t remember which recipe I used, but if I were to try it again, I’d use it with this gf pasta recipe because it’s less oily when extruded (when overworked, the almond flour pasta dough tends to get oily from the nut flour). If you try that, let me know how it works!
Cate -
Is this pasta strong enough to make into
ravioli? I was just lamenting on Saturday that good gf pasta was really the last frontier. This has me hopeful.
Sarah Menanix -
First, I should say that I’ve not yet made ravioli out of this particular pasta dough (because now I have two small children and very little dinner prep time;), but I’m certain it will work great! The texture is not far off from my chestnut flour pasta or my chickpea pasta both of which make great hand-cut ravioli! If you make it, please let me know how it turns out for you!
karen -
can this be made without rice flour iam on keto diet how many carbs are in this noodle reciepiekaren
Sarah Menanix -
I’ve not tried this recipe without sweet rice flour. Sweet rice flour has a special sticky texture that allows you to make the pasta without gluten to hold it all together. I might try replacing it with more tapioca starch – though I’ve not tested this so not sure how well it will work!
Laureen Stilling -
I may try this by replacing the rice flour with Vital Wheat Gluten which has no carbs and should hold better. I make a very low carb bread with vital wheat gluten, oat fiber and ground flax. It’s awesome!!
Anne -
Nutrition information, please?
Sarah Menanix -
The specific ingredients used in each recipe can vary extensively from one person to the next. If you’re looking for this information, please plug the exact ingredients you use into any of the free online calorie counters, like this one.
Emma -
Are large batches able to be made ahead of time and saved for later in the freezer perhaps?
Sarah Menanix -
Yes! When I make pasta in advance I make sure to dust the noodles well with tapioca flour before curling into individual nests. I then place those nests on parchment paper in a sealed freezer bag and freeze until ready to use. When ready to cook, cook the noodles directly from the freezer without defrosting!
me -
Tapioca flour is too starchy!!! Is there anything else I can use to make is even more keto friendly.
Sarah Menanix -
I’ve not tried this recipe without the tapioca flour. Tapioca flour helps the noodles stick together and gives them the soft texture, without it I’m afraid the noodles would be brittle. I might try replacing it with more sweet rice flour – but I’ve not tested this so not sure how well it will work!
Jay Cohen -
Thanks for working up this recipe. I’m making Rav’s today, will report back.
Kate -
How to did work out?
me -
I may use this dought to make “pasta” calazones
Sarah Menanix -
Would you boil them? I don’t think the noodles would hold up well to lots of filling as gluten-free pasta tends to be a little more delicate. That being said, it’d work great for ravioli!
Amanda ortiz -
What is the net carb for the almond flour pasta ?
Sarah Menanix -
I don’t calculate the nutritional information on my recipes, but I recommend putting the ingredients into a free online nutrition calculator!
Julie -
Amazing! I had to substitute the sweet rice flour with arrowroot, but I used the same amount as the recipe calls for. I then entered the ingredients into MyFitnessPal, made the whole recipe 6 servings, and net carbs were only 12. Some may think that’s high, but for a whole meal, I’ll take it! Don’t let anyone get mad about this not being Keto, I never read anywhere that it was supposed to be! I was also able to take one of the 6 dough balls and serve it as 3 portions, so actually only around 4 net carbs. Wonderful recipe! I’ve added a pasta attachment to my Christmas list because of you! Thank you!
Maureen Gibbons -
Can you make this pasta with gluten flour and almond flour, as I’m on keto diet,
Sarah Menanix -
I’m really not sure! I’ve not tried the pasta with all-purpose flour, but I think it would probably work!
Josefina -
Hi! Thanks for this wonderful recipe. What can I use instead of rice flour?