This fresh egg keto pasta (or fried gnocchi!) is surprisingly easy to whip up! And while different from the original, it yields killer al dente-like results to pair with your favorite Italian sauce.
Please note this recipe was first published on March 6th 2018, and has since been updated with more tips and tricks!
Grain Free & Keto Pasta
Ready For Your Favorite Italian Sauce!
Because pasta!! Undoubtedly one of the things peeps understandably miss the most when going keto. Because let’s face it, not much beats a bowl of pasta!
And while this low carb version is a different from the original (think fried pasta or gnocchi!), you’ll still be surprised by how wonderful it pairs with traditional Italian sauces! Ahem, homemade pesto being my favorite here (but marinara cannot be dismissed!!)!
My one important tip? Keep your pasta shapes small and thick (gnocchi, cavatelli, orecchiette and bows work great!), so you get that al-dente bite after frying it. Whipping up noodles unfortunately makes it more bread like (#tear!).
Plus, while it can take about an hour to put together (counting resting time and depending on the amount to shape), think of it as meal prepping supreme. The pasta can be cooked after briefly thawing it out, making it ideal for a quick weeknight meal!
The Flours
I’m using our famous Crazy Keto Dough (for everything!) here… but without the baking powder. You have encountered the base dough already in our famous keto tortillas and subsequently in our keto ravioli.
Think almost the same ingredients: super fine almond flour (Anthony’s super fine is awesome) and coconut flour (again Anthony’s, best taste and texture by a mile!), a touch of xanthan gum and an egg. But slightly wetter, allowing for better rolling and cooking.
Fact is, the recipe for this keto pasta is very similar to the staple fresh egg Italian. Think roughly a cup of grain free flours per egg, and a little water as needed.
Allergic to nuts? I’ve heard great things about substituting the almond flour with sunflower seed meal or pumpkin seed meal from readers. Color and taste will be different though.
Otherwise, no substituting flours here and the xanthan gum is absolutely necessary. And, if possible, weigh your ingredients for consistent results.
The Method
This pasta dough is, perhaps surprisingly, very easy to shape (particularly with a little practice!). I timed myself and it took me 30 minutes to shape cavatelli and 20 for the orecchiete and farfalle. And maybe I’m into manual work, but I’ve always found making homemade pasta to be ultra relaxing.
As mentioned, however, that the shape of choice (for most pasta-like results) are the cavatelli. Both because the ridges help the sauce to stick better, and for the resulting texture and mouthfeel.
Though you’ll need to procure a (9 bucks!) cavatelli & gnocchi board. Cavatelli are very similar to gnocchi in shape (which you can make too!), though slightly thinner and with more of a bite.
Otherwise orecchiette and farfalle (i.e. butterflies or bows) are super easy to make, and yield wonderful results too.
And, as many of you know already, you can make killer ravioli with this dough. Check out the full ravioli recipe post for deets and tips!
The trick to even shaping? Divide the dough in four, roll into a log and slice off pieces (see picture below). This is a traditional Italian method to ensure even-sized pasta.
How To Cook This Keto Pasta
You’ll want to freeze the shaped pasta for 15 minutes prior to cooking. And yes, you can go ahead and freeze them too (think a couple months!), but thaw them out slightly before cooking.
You’ll also want to always cook these guys in a little olive oil or butter, never in water (they’ll just be mushy as keto flours cook very differently). But they’re absolutely killer lightly fried.
Though be sure to only cook this low carb and keto pasta until it just begins to get some color. I found this is the best way to get an al dente-like texture. Soft, but with a nice bite.
(Fresh Egg!) Dairy Free & Keto Pasta
Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.
Ingredients
For the keto pasta dough
- 96 g almond flour
- 24 g coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2-4 teaspoons water as needed
To cook
- 56 g grass-fed unsalted butter as needed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic slivered, optional (but highly suggested!)
Special equipment (optional)
Instructions
For the keto pasta dough
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum and salt to food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Note: you can alternatively whisk everything in a large bowl and use a hand or stand mixer for the following steps.
- Pour in apple cider vinegar with the food processor running. Once it has distributed evenly, pour in the egg. Add water teaspoon by teaspoon, as needed, until the dough forms into a ball. The dough should be firm, yet sticky to touch and with no creases (which mean the dough is dry and you need to add a little more water).
- If no food processor is at hand, you can also do it by hand (it just takes a little more time and arm muscle!). Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour in vinegar and whisk until thoroughly distributed. Pour in egg while whisking vigorously and keep whisking until the dough becomes too stiff to whisk. Using your hands, knead the dough until thoroughly incorporated, adding a teaspoon of water at a time as needed (we use 2).
- Wrap dough in cling film and knead it through the plastic for a couple minutes. Think of it a bit like a stress ball. Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes (and up to 5 days) in the fridge.
To shape
- Farfalle (i.e. bows) and orecchiette are probably the quickest shapes to make. Though cavatelli might just be my favorite, but you'll need a board (see special equipment for details).
- For farfalle: roll out the pasta to its thinnest point using a tortilla press between parchment paper (our favorite) or a pasta machine. You can also use a rolling pin, but it'll take a little longer. Cut into roughly 2x1-inch rectangles. And if you're fuzzy about presentation, use a knife to cut lengthwise and a pastry cutter to cut widthwise.
- For orecchiette: cut dough into 4 pieces, roll out into even-sized logs and slice off even-sized pieces. This will ensure evenly-sized pasta. Using your thumb, press each piece against your opposite palm, creating an indentation. Lightly dust with coconut flour as needed. You can either leave them as they are or turn them out (see post for gif images).
- For cavatelli: cut dough into 4 pieces, roll out into even-sized logs and slice off even-sized pieces. This will ensure evenly-sized pasta. Lightly dust the board and pasta pieces with coconut flour. Place a piece on the board and using a knife press the dough towards you, angling the knife tip upwards as you press (see post for gif images), making the pasta curl into shape.
- Place shaped pasta in the freezer for 15 minutes (and up to a couple months).
To cook
- Heat up butter and oil in a skillet or pan over low heat. Once warm, add in garlic slivers. When the garlic begins to brown, add in chilled pasta and baste right away.
- Cook pasta until it just begins to get some color, we found this gave the most 'al dente' texture (soft but with a bite). Feel free to make a test with one piece.
- Serve right away with toppings of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
and some food (for thought) 👁️
a newsletter about functional food to nourish, create and evolve.
(p.s. we don’t talk about fight club 🪄 )
xo! Paola
Hi, I’m so excited to try this. Just wondering if I could replace the almond flour with Lupin flour? Thanks
I added too much water. how do I fix it? Coconut flour? a mix of coconut and almond? I’m so unsure what the right remedy will be. I didn’t see your two teaspoon note until I had already added a half cup of water. It’s pretty moist. help please!!! 🙂
Love your blog by the way. love that so many recipes are low carb and dairy free.
Oh no!! If you added half a cup of water in all honesty I think your best bet is to start over (you would need to add SO much flours and might not end up with the right ratios, also because of the eggs). You can try and spread your dough/batter on a baking tray with a mat and bake it until dry. You’ll could end up with crackers, or at the very least ‘bread crumbs’ so you don’t throw it away. Hope this helped! xo!
I made this last night; thank you! I made orecchiette with keto creamy garlic spinach chicken. It was pretty good! I really want to get a cavatelli/gnocchi board. The xanthan gum is absolutely essential. I do admit I did eat 100g of it and it IS super filling.
What sauces do you think this pasta would work with? I’m missing Alfredo pasta greatly so I wonder if you think this pasta would go with a homemade Alfredo sauce?
Keto cavatelli?! Never would I have thought that possible!! Being full-blooded Italian…cavatelli are a treasure to me haha. I am soooo going to try this. Thank you!
LOL! enjoy! xo
Beautiful. Would love to help my kids get off traditional pasta, Thank you!
My pleasure Laura! xo!
I was wondering if you’ve tried cooking these up and then eating them later like for lunches. I was wondering if I heated up the sauce and added it to them after they get room temp if the texture would still be the same. Anyone try this yet?
Hi Amy! In all honesty I haven’t tried reheating them, but I have eaten them cold with pesto (like in the picture) and they are good.
I am just blown away by this recipe. I very much look forward to trying it. I am wondering if ravioli could be made out of this. And, this might sound kooky: could this be shaped to work as an egg roll wrapper and fried? Thanks for sharing this recipe! Shirataki can only get you so far haha!
Hi Lydia! Yes on the ravioli (just search for ravioli on the site!). And on the egg rolls, the dough simply won’t crisp up completely though (taste will be good but texture won’t be spot on unfortunately). xo!
I take chicken skins and fill them with egg roll filling, then fry. My family loves them!! My teenage son prefers them
Wow. How interesting. That’s crazy creative! Lol I might try this. I LOVE egg rolls. Where do you get your skins?
I Just made Manicotti with this noodle recipe. Yummy so good.
OOOOH! I hadn’t even thought of that! What a wonderful idea Wendy thanks so much for sharing! xo!!!
Tried this today, as my boyfriend is really trying to stick to keto – I just try to go low carb as much as possible. The dough turned out really really oily – wasn’t sure if this was normal, as it isn’t mentioned in the post at all! It rolled into shape decently, after I patted some of the oil out with paper towels. Haven’t actually cooked the pasta yet, but I’ll update when I do!
Thanks for a new recipe to play around with! 🙂
Hi Marti! Did you add any oil to the dough? Any other subs? The dough is not oily at all, should be sticky because of the xanthan gum? xo and let me know
I did not add anything other than what your recipe said!
They cooked up alright, kind of like gnocchi as mentioned in some of the other comments!
I wouldn’t recommend using a butter/oil based sauce though, they soaked up A LOT of the butter in the sauce we made!
Hi I was just wondering if you have to use coconut flour in this recipe or can you use all almond flour? I ask because I’m out of it lol and I wanted to make it. And if I can what would the measurements then be? Also I wanted to also tell you that your recipes are delicious. I made the cinnamon toast crunch recently and my husband and I loved it.
Hi Sam! I found them not to be quite interchangeable here, particularly texture wise. The dough just doesn’t come out right unfortunately 🙁 xo and so happy you guys loved the CTC!!
Paola, your blog is genius, I love all the recipes and have tried many, this one included. Im wondering what’s your opinion on trying to make fetuccini out of this dough. Im not sure how it would react to the frying part, I wouldnt want for the strands to break.
Keep up with with the awesome things you do!
Hi Mariana!! Thank you for your lovely comment, so happy you’re enjoying the recipes so much! Regarding your question, I found that when cooked as fettuccini that the dough just becomes too bread like. I mean I still ate them happily, but I loved them so much more as cavatelli! xo and thanks for reading!
Thank you!! 😊😋
I’m leaving a review because this wasn’t my favorite thing, BUT ironically my non-keto husband and kid loved it. Maybe I’m just missing real pasta too much? And don’t get me wrong, I did a bolognese and the taste was good but it didn’t quite do it for me. But it’s definitely worth a try if you’re missing pasta, you might luck out and love it 🙁
Wow! What a wonderful recipe! I was wondering if you think it would work to make mashed cauliflower filled perogies using this dough? Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed Garnet! Check out the recipe on dumplings, you just need to fry them xo!
https://www.gnom-gnom.com/gluten-free-keto-dumplings/
We made gnocchi today with the dough and loved it so much!
I do periodic carb ups with pasta when I cannot take keto foods anymore, but I made the pasta tonight and I will be cheating way less nowadays! Served it with some pesto as I got a huge craving after seeing your picture lol! So delicious, felt like gnocchi! The taste is slightly sweet, but actually really lovely fried in the garlic oil. Will be making again and again! I also see some comments here about your tortillas?! I’m new to your blog, so I’ll be sure to look those up to!
HELLO! I think it’s very important to not expect these to be exactly like pasta. They’re made out of coconut, almonds and fried after all. BUT, and this is a big but, I want to congratulate you as this is a fantastic recipe for ‘keto pasta’- probably the best sub my wife and I have tried to date. We highly dislike the miracle noodles as the chewiness is simply unpleasant. I’ve always been an avid pasta maker, so I have an actual cavaletti machine not just the board. They came out perfectly shaped after a couple tries and once cooked and with the sauce they were delicious. Different, but delicious and satisfied the craving through and through!
I totally agree with you. I have to remind my fiancé not to expect the same taste, but how wonderful it is to have something so very close to pasta or tortillas or pizza crust. It’s nice not to have to just eat zoodles or lettuce wraps all the time. Tho I do enjoy those. I’ve never had the miracle noodles cause they seem weird to me lol. To each is own. I want to praise you too for taking the time to create these recipes. Superior by far to all dough substitutes I’ve found in the year and a half I’ve been in this keto journey. Thanks!!
Thank you for your comments Jim and Amber! And a big YUP here! It’s so important when eating keto (or even gluten free for that matter), not to expect things to taste exactly the same. And particularly with keto, given that it’s all grain free! Some recipes (like the churros) will come out pretty much like the original, but most will be different. Still, I sincerely only publish the recipes which taste great (at least according to my taste buds!), and which I eat constantly myself.
Regarding the shirataki noodles, I actually love them in asian dishes were chewiness is expected (like the pad Thai). But I highly dislike them in Italian dishes because they just feel like rubber. But like you said, to each his own and if I’ve learned anything in my short food blogging career is that tastes vary SO much!
Anyways! So happy you’re enjoying the recipes and thank you for your comments. They always help readers a bunch! xo and good weekend!
Do you have recipes here for the shirataki noodles? I heard they need to be washed and then put in a pan or they’ll smell weird and taste strange… so I’d love to know how you prepare them for Asian dishes. Thank you if you have the time!
Yup! Search for the pad thai 😉
Good to know it worked with the cavatelli machine as I am going to try them tomorrow that way for my daughter. Any tips?
Hi Mary! I’m not sure if Jim subscribed to notifications on replies, and just in case he didn’t- I would just advice to roll the pieces in coconut flour before popping them in the machine. I then brush off any excess coconut flour. xo!
Bless you! We were lazy and just cut it up into gnocchi-like squares, lightly fried it and served with some marinara. Definitely different from real pasta, but it had a good bite and was delicious with the sauce.
Question, we make your tortillas all the time. Do you think that the baking powder would make a big difference here? We were thinking of just making a big batch of the dough and using it for multiple purposes? Or would the results not be too great?
Hi Jennifer! So happy you guys enjoyed it! Regarding your question, in all honesty I wouldn’t add the baking powder here. Because of the way it’s cooked, you’ll likely have a lingering baking powder taste. Hope you enjoy and thanks so much for reporting back!
I made this pasta into hand cut spaghetti shape. It was very easy to make in my food processor. But when eating it it tastes more like bread. The texture is also more like bread. I’ll stick to the shiratake noodles.
Hi B! That’s precisely the reason why a spaghetti-like shape was not suggested, it will cook too quickly. For this to have the mouthfeel of pasta (or gnocchi, as other readers reported back), you want to try the smaller and thicker shapes suggested. xo!
Could I use glucomannan instead of xantham gum?
Hi Jennifer! Unfortunately they’re not interchangeable here xo!
Hi Paola,
Is it possible to substitute the xantham gun for Psyllium husk?
Thank you
Paola this looks wonderful thank you! I was wondering if you will post a video on how you shape the cavatelli? Did I spell it right?! I just bought the little board lol! 🙂
Thank you Stace! Yes, video is coming (along with about other 8 video recipes). But I injured both my wrists last week, so I’ve been unable to edit them (thank goodness for voice dictation though!!). I’ll let you know once its posted xo!
Sounds great!
Thank you Karin! xo!
Delicious! In my opinion a cross between a fried gnocchi and pasta. Will become a regular
Hi Sam! In a comment earlier Selena said a very similar thing to you! I hadn’t thought about it but definitely yes, fried gnocchi and pasta 🙂 happy you enjoyed xo!
What do you think about using these as lasagna noodles? Do you think they would turn to mush?
In all honesty I think they would turn to mush as lasagna sauces are very wet. The dough itself works VERY well for things like enchiladas and pizza, so it can handle some wetness- but I think lasagna would unfortunately be pushing it. xo enjoy!!
When I got your email earlier today I was just cooking a bolognese and was fairly upset about having to have it with zoodles. I like zoodles, but I really miss pasta since I was diagnosed with Coeliacs and a grain sensitivity so can definitely not have the real stuff ever again.
So mine were most definitely not as pretty as yours, I made the orechiette, and let me tell you that I was very hesitant while cooking them as frying pasta just seemed weird. But I did a little test and cooked them just briefly like you said and they were delicious! I can see what you mean that they are different from normal pasta, but once I got the sauce on them it went beautifully! Perhaps a cross between gnocchi and pasta? Alas, thank you!
Hi Selena! I get you, I have zoodles almost daily but sometimes you just want some actual pasta. Glad this recipe helped and thanks for reporting back! xo
Do you think this would hold up being ran through the Kitchen Aid Gourmet Pasta maker? I cannot wait to try this! I am sooooo in love with your Bakery Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Oh lol two comments about this! Yes! I tried with my pasta machine when I experimented with the ravioli and it worked. You just have to (very lightly!) dust it with coconut flour, and if it’s too sticky just leave it out to dry for 15 minutes or so. The dough is a little different but it holds its shape fine (so just need to fiddle around a bit). And so happy you love the cookies, they’re def top 10 for me too xo!
Can’t wait to try it!!
Find it so upsetting that so many of your yummy looking meals include xantham gum 😣 I’m paleo-ketogenic so can’t have it!
Oh man I know! I’ve been experimenting without it (as I know many of you don’t use it), but not all recipes are successful without it 🙁
Is there a paleo friendly substitute?
Unfortunately I haven’t found one yet! Psyllium husk can generally be used, but it doesn’t behave quite right
What about Arrowroot starch?
In all honesty I doubt it would work 100%
Do you think this dough would work in my Kitchen Aide pasta press?
Yes! I tried with my pasta machine when I experimented with the ravioli and it worked. You just have to (very lightly!) dust it with coconut flour, and if it’s too sticky just leave it out to dry for 15 minutes or so. xo!
Can i use vitamix blender or hand mixer for this recipe? Thanks! Im excited to try another recipe of yours after the success of my keto donuts.
Hi Julz! I would try with a hand mixer, just perhaps knead it a little longer to make sure everything is well distributed. And if you liked the donuts, check out the waffles (same dough!) xo!!
I’m literally so in love with your blog. Every post consistently blows me away with all these new possibilities for eating on a keto diet. Thank you so, so much for all the work you do. This recipe looks incredible and I cannot wait to try it!
Hi Luna! Thank you so much for your lovely comment, so happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes so much! Hope you enjoy! xo!