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Sometimes I feel like there are so many things out there that I want to make but never have the time to. But really, let’s be honest, I probably do have the time, I just don’t have the inclination. It takes a huge amount of interest to get me to actually follow through with my millions of plans so it came as a surprise to me when I finally made these homemade garganelli!

I have made garganelli before, but the smooth kind, without the ridges. Garganelli are the cutest little pasta shape – essentially a tube that is formed from a flat square noodle. They kind of look like penne except penne are extruded and are a completely seamless cylinder. Garganelli on the other hand, have a delightful little flap where the seams are pressed together giving it a nice textural contrast between where the pasta is thicker and where it is thinner.

Garganelli are super easy to make at home. Just make your pasta dough as per usual. If you don’t have a favorite pasta dough, I’ve included one below, but of course this will work with all and any pasta doughs.

After your pasta dough has rested, it’s just a question of rolling it out into thin (but not too thin) sheets. I usually roll mine out to #5 or #6 which results in quite puffy giant pasta shapes. I like keeping it on the thicker side because I love chewy biteable pasta and I also find the the shapes hold up better when the pasta isn’t rolled too thick.

Once your pasta is rolled into sheets, it’s just a question of cutting everything into squares. I use a ruler and cut squares about 1.25 inches but if you want to freehand it, you can do that too, just try to keep the squares a consistent size.

From there, it’s a question of rolling. If you have a gnocchi board, you can make garganelli with ridges but if you don’t, you can just make smooth garganelli. The ones with ridges are great because sauce clings to them but the ones without are just as tasty and probably easier to make because you don’t need to worry about aligning the pasta squares.

To make: place a square diagonally on your work surface (either a wooden cutting board or a gnocchi board). Pick up the corner closest to you and hold it against a wooden dowel or the end of a wooden spoon. Roll the pasta and the rod together firmly, pressing down when the two corner edges meet. Slide the tube off the dowel and let dry out on a lightly floured or cornmeal dusted surface.

These little guys cook up super fast – just cook them until they float, then serve them up with your favorite sauce! We like them with: creamy cacio e pepe, lemon sauce, pasta alla norcina, or garlicky brown butter parmesan.

How to Make Homemade Garganelli

Serves 1 portion

4.60 from 5 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 100 grams flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 large egg
• 1 extra egg yolk

Instructions

• Place 100 grams flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Put the egg and egg yolk into the well and use a fork to whisk the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour, little by little, until a dough starts to form - alternately, use a food processor to bring the flour and eggs together until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, then wrap with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
  
• After the pasta has rested for an hour, lightly dust with flour and press into a rectangle shape. Working in batches, roll out the dough, starting at the thickest setting, and dialing it down after roll. You can roll it to anywhere from between #5-#7 on the pasta roller. The thicker your roll it, the more likely it will be able to hold its shape after cooking, so keep that in mind.
  
• Cut the pasta sheet into 1.25 inch squares, being sure to cover the extra pasta dough (and cut squares) with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
  
• Take your gnocchi board and place a square diagonally on the board. Pick up the corner closest to use and wrap the pasta square around a dowel (I used the handle of a wooden spoon) and roll while pressing down to form the ridges. Press a bit more firmly to seal where the corner edges meet.
  
• Slide off the dowel and set aside on a lightly floured or cornmeal dusted tray or work surface. You can let these dry out slightly once they’ve been formed, it will help them keep their shape while cooking. Repeat until you have used up all of your pasta dough.