Kids Kitchen: Make Easy Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta

Hey, guys! Just a few notes before we start cooking. Making homemade pasta is so much fun. If you want to make more of a project out of it, mix the dough in a bowl. It’s the same process as the food processor, but it’s way more fun for young kids! I used the Kitchen Aid pasta roller and cutter attachments, but any pasta roller would work. The process is relatively fast, and the pasta is WAY healthier than boxed dried pasta because you know exactly what’s in it. Have fun!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (use whatever brand you want, but make sure it includes xanthan gum) 

6 tablespoons tapioca flour 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 whole eggs 

3 egg yolks 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

⅓ cup water (plus extra if needed) 

Directions

Add the flours, salt, eggs, egg yolks and olive oil to a food processor and pulse until everything is combined. Once you have one homogenous mixture, turn the food processor on low/medium and add the ⅓ cup of water slowly to the mix while the food processor is running. You’ll know when the dough is ready to come out of the food processor when it all clumps together. The dough should have a similar consistency to cut-out sugar cookie dough. It should be soft and pliable but hold its shape. If it’s too stiff, add more water by the tablespoon until you have a good texture to work with. 

Place the dough out on a floured surface and cut it into 4 equal parts. Working with only one part at a time makes the process way easier and less overwhelming. Cut the ¼ piece of dough you are working with in half. Take ½ of it and roll it into a rectangle ¼-inch thick. Feed the dough through the pasta roller to flatten it and make it thin enough to cut. I kept the roller setting on 1 and fed the dough through a few times. Once the dough is smooth, you can move to a thinner setting; I used setting 3. It’s important to make sure the dough is well-floured on both sides every time you feed it through the roller, otherwise it will stick.

After that, you should have a thin and long rectangular section of pasta dough. Switch the roller attachment to a spaghetti or linguine cutter, depending on your preference. Run the dough through the cutter to cut it into noodles. Place the noodles on a floured baking sheet and repeat this process with all the dough. 

To cook the pasta, boil a pot of water. Once the water is boiling, gently place the pasta in the water and cook until the pasta floats to the top for al dente pasta. If you prefer your pasta cooked a bit more, cook it for 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Drain the water, toss with your favorite sauce (I like pumpkin sauce for something a little more seasonal) and enjoy! 

A message: Be careful not to get hair, loose clothing, etc., in the pasta attachment. As always, kids should be careful with boiling water and blades in the food processor, so get an adult involved. I hope you love this pasta dough as much as I do. If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag @chefmaizy and use the hashtag #chefmaizy. Happy cooking!