This almond flour pasta takes low carb eating to a whole NEW LEVEL–And guess what? It’s crazy easy to make! No more boring dinners. No more staring longingly at piles of steaming pasta. Let me show you how to make it, and all the delicious sauces you can cover it in…
Looking for more pasta alternatives? Check out my guides to zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, and shirataki noodles.
What I Love About This Keto Almond Flour Pasta Recipe
There are no bad pasta recipes. In fact, if you’ve never made your own pasta before, wow, are you in for a treat!
The difference between store-bought dried pasta and fresh, tender homemade pasta is a world of flavor, texture, and satisfaction. Buckle up, friends — once you make this keto almond flour pasta recipe, you’ll never go back to dried pasta again!
- 3 simple ingredients
- Easy! I promise!
- Delicious, tender noodles
- Low carb
- Gluten free
- Great with any pasta toppings and sauces!
Recipe Notes
I know you’re itching to find out what makes this keto almond flour pasta recipe so wonderful. Some of it’s the ingredients, some of it’s the method, and some of it is just pure pasta magic!
Ingredient Notes
Of all the healthy recipes out there, my favorite ones always include pasta! Because seriously, who doesn’t love pasta? To make sure you get every noodle just perfect, I’ve outlined some tips for you:
- Almond Flour – Why use almond flour for this recipe? Almond flour has a higher density than most other low carb flour substitutes, and it’s also high in fat. Both of those things help give you chewy, rich pasta taste and texture, which is exactly what you want when you’re craving noodles!
- Xanthan Gum – Since we’re using almond flour, there is no natural source of gluten. You’ll need to add a binding agent — for this almond flour pasta recipe, we’re using xanthan gum! Xantham gum helps act as a connector for all the ingredients in your pasta, making sure your noodles stay in noodle form!
- Eggs – Eggs are an important component of any pasta dough. They bring the needed richness and smoothness to the pasta, giving your finished noodles that signature color and taste. Don’t skip on the eggs! They’ll also act as a binding agent to help your ingredients stay together.
- Mozzarella Cheese – This ingredient is optional (not needed for binding and tastes GREAT without it!), BUT, after testing this recipe 1,345,324 times, we found we def prefer the texture of this keto almond flour pasta recipe with a bit of cheese in there. Because, to cook our pasta, we will be lightly searing it in a pan. Now, when your dough has a bit of cheese in there, that means the edges of the cheese crisp up in your pan and make the most delectable shapes to scoop up your sauce!
My goal with this recipe was a totally dairy-free option (for those of us who have SO much cheese with all our other meals), and this pasta works wonderfully without it! It’s truly delicious either way.
Tools To Make
While making your own pasta dough may seem daunting, I promise it’s accessible! Depending on the shape you’re going for, you’ll need a few additional tools here are the keto almond flour pasta basics:
- Large bowl – to combine the ingredients.
- Microwave (if using the cheese) – to melt the cheese. A double boiler will work as well.
- Plastic wrap – to wrap the dough.
Now, a few additional tools may be needed depending on the type of pasta you’d like to make:
How to Make Low Carb Pasta
After you’ve formed the keto almond flour pasta dough, you’ll want to work in batches, and keep the rest of the dough covered — this prevents it from drying out and becoming too hard to use!
You’ll also want to work with wet hands. I find it easiest to prep a bowl of water in front of your cutting board, so you can dip your fingers whenever necessary.
Cavatelli (right):
One of the easiest noodles to make. The roll, lengthen, curl process may take a bit of getting used to, but luckily, you can rework the dough so none of it goes to waste!
- Roll the dough into a long 1/3″ diameter rope.
- Cut the rope into 1/3″ square pieces.
- Take each piece of dough and roll it on your surface using your index and middle finger, pulling the dough towards you so it lengthens and forms a slight curl.
Conchiglie (left):
I LOVE these noodles! They’re also known as shell noodles and are specifically designed to hold more sauce!
- Same as above, however, instead of pressing your dough on a flat surface, you’ll want to do this on the back of the prongs of a fork (or gnocchi board if you have one!).
Orecchiette:
Small “ear-shaped” pasta. These are super easy to make and they scoop up loads of sauce (which is the best part!).
Traditionally these are made using steps 1-2 above, then taking the back of a butter knife and rolling each piece of dough until it curls into ear-shaped pieces. I prefer to (because it makes prettier shaped noodles):
- Pinch off a penny-sized piece of dough.
- Roll it between your hands to form a ball.
- Use your thumb to press into the center of the ball and flatten the dough into a round disk.
Farfalle:
Who doesn’t LOVE bowtie pasta? For some reason, these noodles are more fun to eat. To make them:
- Roll your dough between 2 sheets of parchment until it’s 1/4″ thick.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into rectangles that are about 1 1/2″ x 1″. (Traditionally, a pizza cutter is used in one direction, and a ravioli cutter is used in the other to give the pasta that decorative edge.)
- Pick up the dough and pinch each square in the center.
Another super easy one! This one is perfect if you’re craving penne — although it differs from penne in that you can see the seam of the rolled noodle.
- Repeat steps 1-2 above (only use a pizza cutter)
- Place a chopstick on one corner of the rectangle, and roll the dough.
- Once you get to the edge, remove the chopstick and pinch the tip so the pasta stays in place.
Storing Tips
Once you’ve made your raw pasta dough and shaped it into noodles, you’ll either want to cook it in your favorite pasta recipe, or store it. Pop your raw noodles into an airtight container or a bag and store them in your fridge for a few days.
Can You Freeze These?
BONUS! This pasta freezes beautifully!!
To freeze, spread your pasta in a single layer across a rimmed cookie sheet and place in the freezer for an hour (this will prevent the noodles from sticking together). After an hour, place frozen pasta in a large resealable baggie, making sure to release as much air as possible before sealing.
Serving Recommendations
What kind of sauce can’t you pair this with? Here are a few of my faves:
- Keto spaghetti sauce is delicious — all those herbs.
- If you’re looking for more protein, try this keto bolognese.
- Your favorite pesto recipe is great too if you love basil and want to up the nuttiness of your noodles.
- But my favorite has to be keto alfredo sauce–creamy, dreamy, lip-smackingly good! And that’s what pasta is all about, right?
- How about some keto meatballs, like these mozzarella stuffed meatballs.
Recipe FAQs + Variations
Now, for the fun part! Let’s see what kind of changes we can make to this keto almond flour pasta recipe.
- Use This Dough to Make Gnocchi. It works BEAUTIFULLY! Keto gnocchi is another recipe I love to make in bulk and freeze, for nights when I’m craving pasta and feeling lazy!
- Use This Dough To Make Ravioli. I love making low carb ravioli with this recipe and stuffing each pocket with my favorite ravioli fillings, like keto cheese or spinach. Similar to this recipe, you don’t want to boil the ravioli in water, rather pan sear it.
More Keto Pasta Recipes
- Cabbage Lasagna
- Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini Ravioli
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Almond Flour Pasta
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 Cup Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 Eggs large
- 2 Ounces Mozzarella Shredded* OPTIONAL (see notes below)
To Cook Pasta:
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
Make The Dough:
- (If using cheese!) Melt the cheese (2 Ounces) in a large, heat-safe bowl. This can be done in the microwave or in a double boiler.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to the melted cheese, along with eggs (2 large in size). Work quickly to stir everything together and form the dough into a ball.
- Cut the ball into four pieces.
- Place 3 of the four pieces in plastic wrap, and work on 1 piece at a time to shape the pasta. The dough should be easy to form and gummy.
Shape The Pasta:
- To form cavatelli, conchiglie or orecchiette:– Roll the dough into a long 1/3″ diameter rope.- Cut the rope into 1/3″ square pieces.– For CAVATELLI: Take each piece of dough and roll it on your surface using your index and middle finger, pulling the dough towards you so it lengthens and forms a slight curl.– For CONCHIGLIE: Take each piece of dough and roll it along the prongs of the back of a fork surface using your index and middle finger, pulling the dough towards you so it lengthens and forms a slight curl.– For ORCCHIETTE: Take each piece of dough and roll it on your surface using the back of a butter knife, pulling the dough towards you so it lengthens and forms a slight curl.
- To form farfalle and garganelli:– Roll your dough between 2 sheets of parchment until it’s 1/4″ thick.– Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into rectangles that are about 1 1/2″ x 1″.– For FARFALLE: Pick up the dough and pinch each square in the center.– For GARGANELLI: Place a chopstick on one corner of the rectangle, and roll the dough. Once you get to the edge, remove the chopstick and pinch the tip so the pasta stays in place.
Cook The Pasta:
- Heat olive oil (1 tablespoon) in a large pan over medium heat.
- Once shimmering, add the pasta and toss to coat in the oil.
- Cook until each side gets a bit of color. Cooking the pasta too long will make it hard and brittle.
- Cover in your favorite sauce and serve immediately. Enjoy!
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Lindsey’s Tips
- Crumbly dough? The dough should be easy to work with and gummy. If not, there’s a chance the eggs may have been too small. If this is the case, add 1 teaspoon of oil at a time until it stays together.
- Almond Flour. Using fine-grained almond flour will yield the most “flour-like” results. My favorite brands are Bob’s Red Mill, Trader Joe’s, or Costco brands.
- Xanthan Gum is necessary for binding the ingredients of this recipe together, you CAN’T SKIP OR SUB!
- Mozzarella. I like to add the mozzarella, as it crisps up along the edges when it cooks. That said, it isn’t necessary, the noodles will bind well without it.
