Spinach Pasta Dough (Printable)

Vibrant homemade pasta dough enriched with fresh spinach. Perfect for fettuccine, ravioli, and any fresh pasta shape.

# What You Need:

→ Spinach Preparation

01 - 3.5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and stems removed

→ Dough Base

02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 1⅓ cups Italian 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
04 - ⅓ cup semolina flour (optional, for texture)
05 - ½ tsp fine sea salt

# Directions:

01 - Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add spinach and blanch for 30 seconds until wilted. Drain, rinse under cold water, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
02 - Finely chop the spinach or blend in a food processor until very smooth.
03 - On a clean work surface, mound the flour (and semolina, if using) and salt. Make a well in the center.
04 - Add eggs and pureed spinach to the well. Using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients.
05 - When a shaggy dough forms, knead by hand for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. If sticky, add a little flour; if too dry, sprinkle a few drops of water.
06 - Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
07 - Roll out the dough with a pasta machine or rolling pin to your desired thickness. Cut into desired shapes.
08 - Boil fresh pasta in salted water for 1–2 minutes until al dente.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The dough has this gorgeous jade color that turns an ordinary pasta dinner into something that makes everyone at the table do a double-take.
  • Kneading this dough is strangely therapeutic – something about the silky texture and the earthy spinach scent centers me even after the most chaotic days.
02 -
  • Squeezing every last drop of water from the blanched spinach is absolutely critical – excess moisture will throw off your flour-to-liquid ratio and leave you with sticky, unworkable dough.
  • The dough must rest those full 30 minutes – I once rushed and skipped this step, resulting in pasta that tore easily and cooked up tough instead of tender.
03 -
  • For the absolute smoothest dough, push the spinach puree through a fine-mesh sieve after blending to remove any fibrous bits that might create bumps in your pasta sheets.
  • When rolling by hand, lift and turn the dough frequently, and maintain even pressure with your rolling pin – this prevents the dough from sticking and ensures uniform thickness.
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