From basic plain pasta to noodles with veggies such as spinach, carrot & beet, these are 5 ways to make pasta from scratch with or without a pasta machine.

Like so many other people, I have a lot of things on my to-do list now that we are at home.

I can’t say that I’ve crossed off much of anything. Despite not having as many distractions and commitments in the outside world, it just takes me longer to complete a task these days.

I am a pro at procrastinating organizing and cleaning projects. No surprise, the kitchen calls my name first.

Seeing all the homemade loaves of bread on social media has brought me so much comfort and joy during these uncertain times.

Another from-scratch project that I find satisfying is making pasta.

Tools For Homemade Fresh Pasta

The fastest way to make the dough is in a food processor. If you have access to one, it is great not only for making pasta dough, but I also use mine for pizza dough and pie dough.

No food processor? No problem. You can gather your flour into a well to hold your eggs and use a fork to combine it all into a dough.

A caveat: if you are making a pasta that involves a veggie puree, you will need a food processor or food mill.

You don’t have to have a fancy pasta machine. If you have a rolling pin and a sharp knife or pizza cutter, you are good to go to roll and cut out your noodles.

It may take longer to make pasta dough from-scratch, but it cooks in just a couple minutes—much faster than dried.

5 Ways to Make Fresh Pasta From Scratch

I like to add vegetables to my homemade pasta dough for a twist on fresh pasta. You will find that these additions add a ton of beautiful color with just a hint of flavor.

Basic Fresh Pasta

My first ever attempt at homemade pasta was with plain pasta. There is nothing basic when it comes to fresh pasta. It has such a special bite compared to the usual dried packaged pasta. Plain pasta gives you the opportunity to do whatever sauce you want from basil pesto to tomato sauce to browned butter.

Recipe: Basic Fresh Pasta

Fresh Spinach Pasta

What better way to get your greens than in your pasta. I love supercharging my pasta dough with A LOT of spinach.

Recipe: Fresh Spinach Pasta

Fresh Carrot Pasta

Carrots are always on my grocery list to satisfy my need for healthy snacks or for roasting. Pureed, they are also excellent to add to pasta dough.

Recipe: Fresh Carrot Pasta

Fresh Roasted Beet Pasta

So often when I roast a batch of beets, I end up with more than what I need. They are easy to puree and incorporate into pasta. If you are looking for a shortcut, you can even use packaged roasted beets.

Recipe: Fresh Roasted Beet Pasta

Fresh Pumpkin Pasta

Unlike the other pastas, pumpkin pasta involves canned pumpkin puree. Skip pumpkin bread or pie, and use that precious can of pumpkin puree for pasta that can be tossed in pesto or brown butter.

Recipe: Fresh Pumpkin Pasta

These 5 ways to make pasta from scratch are just a start for all the different ways that you can customize your noodles.