Almond Flour Pasta
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My almond flour pasta is a grain-free and gluten-free alternative to classic pasta noodles! Made with just 3 ingredients, these noodles are thick, chewy, and perfect with your favorite sauces.
Growing up, my mom always made pasta from scratch. She learned this from her Zia Christina (yes, the same aunt who’s famous for the Tuscan white bean soup) and passed those techniques on to me.
Once I learned the basics, I used them to develop a homemade pasta made with almond flour instead of wheat. I was inspired to create it after so many readers asked for a sturdier make-ahead alternative to my keto pasta.
Unlike traditional pasta, almond flour pasta is a little thicker and chewier, but still has a tender bite. Its mild flavor makes it perfect with everything from Bolognese to my partner’s favorite cottage cheese pasta sauce.
Best of all, you don’t need a pasta machine or any complicated techniques to make it.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Almond flour. Blanched almond flour must be used, not almond meal. The latter tends to be gritty and can make the pasta a little denser.
- Tapioca starch. This gives the pasta a classic chewy, thick texture. Arrowroot or potato starch is a decent substitute, but the texture won’t be quite as chewy.
- Eggs. Mixing room-temperature eggs into the dough is much easier and helps prevent it from becoming a little gummy.
- Water. Combines everything to form a dough.
How do you make pasta with almond flour
Start by mixing together your almond flour and tapioca starch in a large mixing bowl. Next, form a well in the center and add the eggs and water. Using a fork or a large spoon, gently fold the ingredients together until a dough forms and it is thick enough to knead by hand. If the dough is still a little dry, add more water.
Now, transfer the dough onto a flat kitchen surface dusted with extra tapioca flour. Gently knead the dough several times until it becomes smooth. Form a large ball of dough, cover it with a kitchen towel, and set it aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. After you let it rest, roll out the dough until it is thin, then use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into noodles about 1/4 inch thick.
Finally, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta to the pot and let it boil for around a minute until it floats to the surface. Drain the pasta and serve with your favorite pasta sauce.
Arman’s tips for making almond flour noodles
- Don’t worry about over-kneading. Since there’s no gluten in the dough, you won’t develop a tough texture. If the dough feels sticky, knead in a little extra tapioca flour. If it’s too dry or cracks as you roll it, add a splash of water.
- Use a pasta machine if you like. I usually cut the noodles with a pizza cutter, but a pasta machine works just as well. You can also use it to make different shapes if you prefer.
- Cut the noodles to suit the sauce. I like thinner noodles for lighter sauces like Pomodoro or sugo, or thicker noodles for hearty sauces like mushroom or Alfredo.
How to store leftovers
To store: Leftover pasta can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 days. Any longer, and it will begin to stick together.
To freeze uncooked pasta: Arrange the uncooked noodles in a single layer on parchment paper and freeze until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months. I recommend cooking the pasta straight from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the cooking time.
To make ahead: I often make the dough a day or two in advance and keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge. You can also roll and cut the noodles a day ahead- just dust them lightly with tapioca flour, arrange them in a single layer, cover, and chill until you’re ready to cook.
Almond Flour Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour 224g
- 2 cups tapioca starch 260g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4 tablespoon water * See notes
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add your almond flour and tapioca starch and mix well. Form a well in the center and add the eggs and water. Slowly whisk together, until a smooth dough remains. If needed, add more water.
- Lightly flour a kitchen surface with tapioca flour. Transfer the ball of dough onto it and gently knead it several times. The dough should feel smooth and firm. If the dough feels sticky or wet, add more tapioca flour. Cover the dough in a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, roll out the dough until a thin layer. Using a pizza cutter, slice thin strips of noodles from it.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta into it and let it boil for around a minute. Remove from the heat and drain the pasta in a colander. Distribute the pasta into bowls and top with your favorite pasta sauce.
Granddaughter who is gluten and dairy free loves this recipe! Even my husband who has great disdain for anything that is not “regular food” says they are great. This is a very easy and forgiving recipe. It also freezes very well and heats up like a fresh batch.
Thanks so much, Suzanne- I’m so glad your daughter and husband enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a lovely review.
Thank you for the nutritional facts, but you didn’t list the sugar content. My husband is diabetic so that information would be helpful, if you have it.
Thank you!
Hi Tammy, the nutritional calculator in the recipe card calculates it as 1 gram. It’s a rough guide, so best to double check on myfitnesspal or similar 🙂
Can tapioca resistant starch be used instead of the tapioca flour?
Hi Helena, unfortunately not. They have very different properties when cooked and you won’t get the binding that you need for this recipe. If you’re struggling to find tapioca flour a better substitute would be arrowroot or potato starch. Hope this helps!
This recipe was a fail. The pasta disintegrated when I put it in the water. I was really excited for a low carb pasta, but this recipe did not work.
Sorry that happened. Pasta dissolving in the water is usually a sign the dough needed more tapioca starch- it’s what holds everything together. The dough should feel smooth and firm before rolling, similar to play dough. If it feels all sticky or wet, knead a little more tapioca starch before rolling it out. Also make sure the water is completely boiling before adding the pasta and that it only cooks for around a minute.
I followed the recipe exactly as described. The dough fell completely apart when I tried to roll it and cut it. I used Bob’s Red Mill almond flour and tapioca flour. Adding more water or almond flour made no difference. Disappointing.
Hi Landis- sorry to hear that. It sounds like you should have added more tapioca starch, not almond flour. That is what is key to helping things stay together and not break apart. I hope you’ll give it another go!
I made this and it fell apart the moment I tried to roll it out. Tried cooking it and it dissolved in the water. I ended up throwing the whole thing away and doing something else.
Sorry to hear that. This is almost always down to two things- either almond meal was used instead of blanched almond flour or the dough needed more tapioca starch to hold together. The dough should feel smooth and pliable, not sticky or crumbly, before rolling. If it’s falling apart at that stage, knead a little more tapioca starch until it comes together. Hope that helps for next time.
This almond flour pasta is one of the best recipes that I have tried
the noodles are so nice and chewy they remind me of the noodles that I used to eat when I ate gluten they are called Reames egg noodles
I made them into a homemade chicken noodle soup and it was so good. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
I LOVED this recipe. I make pie crust for pot pie with almost exact recipe all the time so I knew a little. I followed the instructions exactly. but then when I went to cut the dough, I was texting on the phone and lost track of time and set me like 3 min back and that meant I had to wait for the water to boil bc I forgot to turn it on.
so I cut the noodles and they got slightly dry for me. I had to be careful. what I did was just carefully carry the noodles and tho they did break in half on some of then, most stayed together.
I didnt get noodles as thin as in the picture but I go some tasty noodles nonetheless. well they were mostly thin but not like fettuccini thin they are like frozen egg noodles which are not fat per se but they are not like fettuccini they are a tad meatier than that. Its been like 15 years since i made noodles. so I did pretty good.
Also if you have trouble getting them right consistency in making the dough ball, I watched a guy online show how to mix the flour and make a well in the middle meaning you scoop some out the middle and leave a fine dusting in the center and it looks lie a bowl with walls made of flour.
You drop the egg in and ya take a fork and mix in a little at a time and try not to break the wall of flour just a little added to the eggs at a time till you get it more doughy then glove hands and start kneading the rest of the flour in. You will use like 90 percent of the flour. you wont be able to use all of the flour at 100 percent bc it gets too dry and cant get ALL the rest so I dumped the bit like say 1’4 cup worth out and that may be part of anyone’s problem and then knead it in the bowl dont have to take to the counter.
Just kneed for 6 min total then put in a damp paper towl and put in the fridge so it wont dry out for 30 min. then when working on cutting them get the water ready before taking it out the fridge and dont do what I did. 🤣dont let the noodles dry out too much. hope my tips from my experience helps anyone. they are amazing!!! i know it says that most recipes make enough for 4 ppl but i dont know here lol I am making soup now and then saving the rest for tomorrow. i wont have any left after that. this is delicious!!!!
So easy and so good!
Thanks Lee! So glad you liked it 🙂
Incomplete recipe! Where are the eggs? And what else did you omit? Sheesh, c’mon man!
Hi Nina- how is this an incomplete recipe? It has two eggs in the ingredients…
The starch destroys this recipe for diabetics.
Hi Kenneth- I didn’t develop this recipe to be diabetic-friendly and it’s not something I feel comfortable doing, as I’m not a doctor.
Haven’t made. Looking for reviews
Hopefully you’ve found what you’re looking for 🙂
Could I use my automatic pasta maker for this? I have one of those Emeril Pasta and Beyond machines that mix it and shape it. I can’t find a keto pasta recipe that actually says you can make it in the machine.
Hi there, you may need to adjust the recipe if you’re using an extruder (mixer) as the dough might not be quite the right consistency for that, but it should be perfectly fine in a roller-style machine that simply flattens and cuts. Hope this helps!
Almomd flour in pasta, very interesting. I thought almond flour can be used only in sweet desserts.
This is an excellent recipe.👍
Would suggest adding an amount for salt but The texture is perfect and it cooks well.
Thanks so much Rhonda!
Fabulous
Needs a binding agent! Crumbles when I tried to roll it.
Hi Susie, thanks for the comment. The egg works as the binder in this recipe, along with the tapioca starch.
Hi! My body doesn’t like me to eat Tapioca Starch..it punishes me the next day lol. I’ve ready where cornstarch can be substituted; have you ever used something besides tapioca starch for this???
Hi Emily, you could definitely replace the tapioca starch with arrowroot or potato starch instead. These will give a slightly better texture than cornstarch.
This I must try. Combination with pasta and almond flour should be amazing.
can this pasta be dried and saved? or frozen raw?
Hi Joyce, freezing is your best option here. Once it’s been shaped and cut, dust it with some tapioca or almond flour and lay it on a tray to freeze for 1-2 hours. Then transfer it to a freezer bag/container. Cook it straight from frozen when you’re ready 🙂
fail
Hi Abigial- I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe- was there something specific that happened? I’d love to troubleshoot for you.
made this pasta into bow ties and my kids could not tell the difference, really great pasta and so easy.
I love to hear that, Paula. What a great idea to get kids to enjoy a different kind of pasta.
Would I be able to use this for lasagna noodles? I’m trying to find a low carb pasta recipe that will still hold up cooking in a lasagna in the oven.
I haven’t tried to be honest! You are welcome to experiment and see.
I want to make this now and eat later tonight. Can I let the noodles air dry and cook when we want to eat? Thanks.
Hi Amy- yes, I’ve updated the recipe to include make ahead instructions! 🙂
Hi Armen your almond flour fettuccini sounds good but only one problem for me! too high carbs? 29 gr? I’ m trying to eat higher protein and small amount carbs. Can you modify the recip. Thankyou.
I can’t do egg yolks! Top of my allergen list 😔. Anyone try this with flax egg?
This won’t work with a flax egg, Wendy- it does need to be traditional whole eggs.
This was my first time making thes noodles and they were fabulous! I’ll be adding them to my rotation. They were so good, I swear if you didn’t tell anyone, they wouldn’t notice the difference between the almond pasta and regular wheat noodles.
This recipe was very easy to follow
Thanks, Pandora, I appreciate it!
I have a question about the tapioca starch. The link to the package indicates that there are 27 grams of carbohydrate per 1/4 cup which would equal one serving to this recipe. It doesn’t seem ketogenic at this point. Am I missing something?
Hi Amy- you aren’t wrong. This is lower net carbs than traditional pasta, but still does have some carbs in it.
This is going to be absolutely awesome! It just feels like 👍 unbelievable 😕 we’ll talk soon
Thanks, Michael- let me know how it goes!
Is the consistency suitable to use my kitchen aide pasta roller/cutter?
I tried it with mine and it wasn’t as good!!
Let me say I am full Italian and grew up on handmade macaroni and if I hadnt made this myself I never would have known it wasnt my moms or grandmoms. I loved the texture especially!!! It was so so super easy too!!!!
Hi.
My daughter is on scd (special carbohydrate diet. She loves noodles/pasta/ macaroni. Can u please create some recipes that are free from starches. She cant eat anything with tapioca starch or any other starches. I found many recipes with starches.
You can search my site for keto recipes they don’t use starches.
Do you think that zucchini puree would work in place of tapioca starch?
No it will not
I love all the recipes on this site and none have ever failed me. And Arman’s fun loving spirit is always all over every webpage. I truly love your work.
But sadly this recipe was a disaster and I cannot figure out how on earth you got a yours to look like what is in the picture. Mine wasn’t even close. First I never got a smooth dough. I added more water like you noted but after 6T we start to wonder if 3x the recipe amount is ok or not. Still it was lumpy like a ball of sticky clay. When trying to roll it out it was literally a joke. It split in too many places before it even got down to 1/2” thick. Regardless, I kept rolling and had to take small pieces and roll them thin by themselves. Whatever portions didn’t crack I sliced thin like fettuccini, and the parts that cracked I kept short like an egg noodle to cook separate.
But when I added it to the boiling water, I was stirring the water slowly but continuously to make sure they didn’t stick to pan or each other, but after 60 seconds it all broke into tiny pieces and then became a mush.
My Alfredo sauce burned and my chicken over cooked during the handling of all this. Lol It was my first failed keto dinner.
I do not know what cooking skill I should have under my belt that can produce what you did out of these three ingredients. My husband is convinced something is missing but you are thorough and never leave anything out.
I used Anthony’s Unblanched Almond Flour so it would be the smoothest kind, and I even sifted it into bowl to be double sure. But it still had a grittiness to the dough before cooking.
Could my tapioca starch (flour) have been too old? How do you have absolutely no grainy grittiness in your picture having used Almond flour?
Hi! I think the error was the unblanched flour— he mentioned above to use blanched. I’m sorry it fell apart!
I suspect your problem may have been using *unblanched* almond flour, which includes the skins of the almonds. I would imagine this would add an additional element of graininess compared to blanched flour, and the skins probably don’t behave the same way as the flesh of the almond in terms of soaking up liquid and binding to other ingredients.
I used Anthony’s Unblanched Almond Flour so it would be the smoothest kind, and I even sifted it into bowl to be double sure.
Were you able to successfully make these??
Correction I DID use Anthony’s “blanched” almond flour. That was a typo in my original post. All the Almond Flours I buy are blanched (Kirklands, Anthony’s, or Blue Diamond.)
So it was the smoothest you can buy without skins. So I’m still waiting for what else would make it fall apart.
I am much more experienced now after a year of learning to cook with Keto. I will give it another try and report back. Maybe I have naturally acquired some technique working with the ingredients that makes some difference??
This sounds good, but is there a tapioca alternative? I’m allergic to it. Thanks!
Hi Louise! Yes, arrowroot starch is my favorite alternative, or potato starch. Several readers have made it using arrowroot 🙂
Is this keto? Is the whole recipe only one portion?
Hi Gina- it’s lower carb, but depending on how strict you are with keto. One portion is 3 ounces/85g.
Hi, The recipe says tapioca STARCH in the ingredients, but the instructions say to knead on a tapioca FLOUR surface so I’m a little confused. Thanks!
Hi Sharon. Both are the same thing 🙂
I have a pasta machine that allows me to make spaghetti noodles and macaroni noodles. Will this recipe allow for this without the flour breaking apart? Or does it need to be rolled out, sliced into thin strips and cooked?
Corrinne- a pasta maker does work. Just make sure the dough is as smooth as possible. If some breaks, add more tapioca starch with a splash of water.
Misty, Did you try using the pasta roller machine to flatten this dough?
What is a serving size?
Hi April! 3 ounces (85g), which is roughly one metric cup.
Curios how pasta turned out with the corn starch in maters of tapioca starch.
Hi Sharon- I haven’t tested it with cornstarch, but I have with arrowroot and potato starch successfully.
I don’t understand why this is so high in carbs. Is it the tapioca starch? Everything I have made with almond flour is basically carb free.
Hi Annie- yes, it is. Tapioca starch has significant carbs in it.
Can I use corn starch instead of Tapioca starch? The later is not available where I live.
I haven’t tried, feel free to experiment and see.
Can you use coconut flour for less carbs? And any guess as to how much? I’ve had some luck substituting in recipes but lower ratio did not work in shortbread.
Hi Heidi- no it won’t work for this. This recipe has only been tested with almond flour/tapioaca starch.
Can this pasta be dried and stored that way, either traditionally or in a dehydrator?
It can’t be dried, Pat- but it can be made ahead of time and frozen.
I can use a pasta machine to roll out and cut the pasta into spaghetti noodles can’t I?
I’m sensitive to tapioca but dying to try making almond pasta. I miss real pasta! Is there any substitute?
Hi Lee! Arrowroot starch is the best alternative, or potato flour 🙂
Will these noodles hold up in a chicken noodle soup dish? Or should I add the soup over the noodles before serving? BTW, your lasagna was to die for… my non-keto eating family almost didn’t leave me any!
Hello Linda! I would do the latter- make the soup then pour it over the noodles!
Aw, thanks for that. I LOVE that lasagna, and I’m not even keto!
Thank you for the recipe. Question: Can I use an egg substitute instead of eggs?
Hi Michele- nope, not for this recipe unfortunately. It does need to be whole eggs.
I count 4 ingredients, traditional pasta is 3 ingredients being fliur, eggs, water.
Is there a replacement for almond flour? I’m allergic to nuts 🙁
Hi Sue! Yes, sunflower seed flour works as an equal replacement. The pasta will be a little green in color, which is totally normal for recipes using sunflower seed flour/butter.
Wondering why the carbs are so high, especially when using almond flour?
The tapioca starch/flour. You can make my keto pasta if you’d like a low carb pasta https://thebigmansworld.com/keto-pasta/
I can’t wait to try this! One question: Have you tried this by substituting Arrow Root Powder for the Tapioca? I wondered if the texture would remain the same. Thanks so much for your great recipes!
I haven’t- Feel free to experiment and see!
Hi
Just wondering how much is a serving size?
Hi Jason- it works out to be about 85-90 grams (3 ounces) per serving, which is around one cup.
I have and it works out just fine. Thanks for the great recipe!
WILL THAT MAKE IT LOWER CARBS?🤔
Can you make this and dry it out for later use or is this only good for fresh use?
Hi Debbie- I’ve updated the recipe to include make ahead instructions- it’s in the body of the post and the recipe card 🙂
Anyone try this recipe using Bob’s egg replacer? I can’t have yolks 😢!
I substituted arrowroot for the tapioca starch, equal amounts and it was perfect.
This looks wonderful! Do you think I can substitute tapioca flour with rice flour? Or any other substitute? I don’t have tapioca where I live. Thank you !
Hi Suzan- arrowroot or potato starch is the best swap, although it won’t be as chewy. Fine white rice flour is a little more delicate, but should be okay.