Lasagna was the first dinner recipe I took the time to recreate using ingredients that we like. I have been making the same version for more than 25 years. These days, I don’t make lasagna as much as I used to, but rather I’ve transitioned to making my own pasta noodles following the southern Italian styles keeping the recipes simple with very few ingredients. In this post, I’m sharing a simple 3-ingredient recipe for spinach lasagna pasta noodles that includes only spinach, flour, and water. You can use these noodles in your favorite lasagna recipe or cut them into any shape for any pasta dish.
Spinach Lasagna Pasta Inspiration
Pasta-
Pasta (mainly spaghetti) used to be my husband’s favorite meal because it was filling (or maybe there’s some unknown Italian heritage in his blood 😉). When we were first married, he could consume a pound of pasta (any kind) in one sitting and still have room to eat anything else. With age comes a slower metabolism, so our diets have changed, and he doesn’t eat as much. These days, he’s not much of a pasta eater, so I don’t make it that often. Since I don’t “have” to make so much of it, I’m at the point where I enjoy learning about the noodles and making them from scratch. I’m sure that sounds strange, but when I used to make pasta dishes so often, it was easier to buy the dried version than make it. Back then, I didn’t have or want to take the time to make it from scratch. Times have changed!
Spinach-
Rarely my fridge or freezer does not have a bag or container of spinach. We eat spinach or some sort of greens everyday. Since we have so much of it, it is an ingredient I put in almost everything savory. Over the past couple of years I’ve become really interested in making homemade pasta like my 2-ingredient water and flour Italian pasta and my 2-ingredient ricotta cheese and flour pasta recipes. Now that pasta is a treat for us, I love the idea of adding flavor and nutrients to the noodle to create something pretty, flavorful, and versatile. Since I put spinach in everything anyway, one day it occurred to me to make pasta noodles with it, too. Therein lies my spinach pasta noodle inspiration😊. It’s fun pairing different, from-scratch pasta shapes and flavors with different homemade sauces.
Spinach Lasagna Pasta Ingredients
This recipe makes about a pound of pasta (~12 lasagna noodles) and is enough for a standard lasagna recipe. For the ingredients, you’ll only need two plus water. They include frozen spinach that has been thawed, semolina flour, and water. The great thing is that you make any pasta shape from this recipe.
Make the Spinach Lasagna Pasta
Process the Spinach
Thaw 150 grams (5-6 ounces) of frozen spinach by setting it in the fridge overnight. Then, place it in a strainer and drain by lightly squeezing the spinach to remove excess moisture. Place the spinach in a food processor and blend it until smooth and broken down which will take about a minute.
Add Semolina Flour
Add 300 grams (~2 cups) of durum wheat semolina flour to the food processor with the spinach. Blend until the mixture is grainy and combined. Add 59 milliliters (¼ cup) of water and blend again for about 30 seconds. The mixture should begin to stick together. Then, add another 15-59 milliliters (1-4 tablespoons or more) of water until the mixture forms a ball in the machine and is moist. The dough should be moist or kneading will be very difficult.
Knead the Dough
Remove the dough ball from the machine. Place it on a lightly floured work surface. Knead for about 7 minutes by hand until the dough reaches a tacky smooth ball. Add flour or water as needed. The dough will be dense but not sticky.
Resting Time
Cover the dough ball with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
Prepare Baking Sheet
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust the paper with semolina or other flour. You can simply flour the pans without paper, but the paper helps to manipulate the pasta in and out of the pans.
Shape & Cut Spinach Lasagna Pasta Dough
At this point, you can roll out the dough in the shape you want for making different pasta shapes. You can even use a pasta machine if you have one available, but it is not necessary. To make lasagna noodles, divide the dough disk into thirds. Place one third on a lightly floured work surface. Set aside and cover the other two thirds to prevent drying.
TIP: You can eyeball or weight the balls into equal portions; however, it’s not necessary since you’ll have leftover dough anyway that will be combined to create a fourth dough ball that will be rolled out and ultimately yielding 12 total lasagna noodles.
Roll into Sheets & Cut Dough
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat keeping the work surface floured. For each dough ball, roll it larger than a 9-x13-inch rectangle since you will need to trim the rough edges down to a 9×13-inch rectangle or about the size of your baking dish. If you use a pasta attachment, flatten the dough as you would for lasagna noodles. Lasagna noodles can come in different widths and textures. Some are flat, others have ridges like Ruffles potato chips. Any and all are acceptable in making homemade lasagna. The ridges, however, are thought to hold the sauce and cheese in place. Use a pizza cutter, knife, or fluted or ruffled pasta wheel to cut out three, 3-inch-wide long strips that are the full length of the dough. Each sheet of dough should yield 3 long pasta noodles that will completely fill a 9-x13-inch baking dish. The extra dough trimmed off from each rectangle will likely be enough (when combined) to roll into a 4th rectangle ultimately yielding 12 lasagna noodles.
Keep Noodles Flat & Separated
Place cut noodles flat on a lined baking sheet. Cover the noodles with a towel, parchment paper, or wax paper to prevent drying out. Continue rolling and cutting the remaining dough balls into rectangles and strips. Place paper between layers of rolled out dough to prevent sticking.
TIP: If using wax or parchment paper to cover each lasagna noodle layer, add flour on top of the flour before adding the noodles to prevent sticking.
Storage Suggestions for Spinach Lasagna Pasta
You can make fresh pasta noodles and assemble them immediately in a baking dish with the lasagna ingredients. Eat them immediately, refrigerate them until tomorrow, or freeze them for later.
Make a Day or Two Ahead & Store in the Fridge
Refrigerate the noodles overnight for up to 2 days. Place lasagna noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet and dust the tops lightly with flour. Add a sheet of parchment/wax paper in between each layer. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap to ensure the noodles are covered well. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Cook as directed for fresh pasta.
Freeze for Later
Freeze the noodles for up to a couple of months. Place lasagna noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet and dust the tops lightly with flour. Add a sheet of parchment/wax paper in between each layer. Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours until frozen. Then, remove noodles and stack them together placing them in an airtight bag or container. Freeze them for up to a couple of months. Follow the cooking directions for fresh pasta.
Par-Boil the Noodles? Is it Necessary?
There is a debate among professionals as to whether or not to par-boil lasagna noodles. Homemade pasta holds more moisture than dried, so some say par-boil them first, so they don’t soak up all the sauce during baking. It’s totally up to you!
How to Par-Boil Spinach Lasagna Pasta Noodles
Since fresh pasta absorbs more liquid than dried, it’s best to par-boil the noodles before using them in a baked pasta dish. To par-boil, bring a large 4-quart pot of water to a boil. Salt the water heavily to the salinity of the sea, particularly since there isn’t any salt in the noodles. Place 3 lasagna noodles into the pot. Boil for 30 seconds (just par-boiled). With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer noodles to a colander. Immediately run the noodles under cold water to wash off the starch to prevent sticking and to stop the cooking process. Place them in a single layer on clean kitchen towels. Continue to par-boil the remaining noodles until all are par-boiled following the above steps. Use them right away or store in an airtight container, separated by layers of parchment paper to use later.
Cooking Suggestions for Any Shaped Pasta
Regardless of how the pasta is stored and its shape, it’s cooked the same way. Bring a large pot of 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt, enough that the water has a salty taste like the ocean (salinity of the sea). Add the pasta and reduce the heat to a simmer. Once the pasta rises to the surface, set the timer and cook for 2 minutes. Taste a noodle to check for doneness. It should be “al dente” meaning “to the tooth” and should have a small bite to the pasta. If a dense white spot is in the center of the pasta, it needs to cook another 20-30 seconds. Once the pasta is done, drain, and serve it immediately with your preferred sauce.
Usage Suggestions
Use these spinach lasagna pasta noodles in your favorite lasagna recipe. You can cut them into different shapes or even make the noodles thinner to resemble pappardelle. Then, serve the pasta with your favorite sauce. Spinach pasta goes well with a simple tomato sauce or white cream sauce like alfredo or béchamel.
Spinach Lasagna Pasta Final Thoughts
The best thing about homemade pasta is that you have options like flavor, shape, size, and how to cook them. Spinach pasta creates a visually interesting pasta that can be cut into any shape and compliments a good tomato-based or cream-based sauce. You can imagine the pretty green color contrast to the red tomato and white cheese layered lasagna dish. We have enjoyed this pasta cut into simple strips and served with a good tomato sauce and cheese. Throw on some crispy pancetta and you have a hearty dish.
Baker’s Perspective
Homemade pasta is certainly not as easy to make as buying dried pasta. However, I find that making and eating homemade pasta is a treat and more interesting when you start adding different flavors and colors like spinach. When you decide to make pasta, think of it like making homemade yeast bread. It will take time and will require kneading, but you can make a large batch and freeze it for later cooking and consumption. If you like to make bread dough and have never tried homemade pasta, if you like pasta, you should give it a try, since the preparation steps are very similar. Of course, the cooking time is MUCH less than baking a loaf of bread AND there’s no rising time! Bonus!
Taster’s Perspective
Scott and I have enjoyed eating homemade pasta. The spinach is very defined in this noodle but is very simple, since it only contains spinach and flour. Be sure to salt the water heavily when cooking the pasta, since there is no salt in the actual noodle. If you’re using the noodles for lasagna, you still need to salt the water well because the par-boiling time is short enough that not much salt will be absorbed but some of it will. Much of the salt flavor will come from the lasagna dish ingredients, not the noodles. We enjoy the spinach pasta with a tomato-based sauce and cheese. The combination of the three flavors creates a well-flavored pasta dish.
Check out my YouTube video on making this spinach lasagna pasta. “Homemade Spinach Lasagna Pasta Noodles: Only 3 Ingredients- Spinach, Semolina Flour, & Water”
Simple Spinach Lasagna Pasta Noodles
Ingredients
- 150 g (5-6 oz) fresh or frozen spinach cooked (if fresh), thawed (if frozen) and drained
- 300 g (~2 cups) durum wheat semolina flour
- 59-118 ml (¼ -½ cup) water, as needed
Instructions
Make Pasta Dough (For All Pasta Shapes)
- Thaw frozen spinach. Drain by lightly squeezing spinach to remove excess moisture. Place in a food processor and blend until smooth and broken down.TIP: Place bag of frozen spinach in the fridge overnight to thaw & drain before using. If using fresh spinach, cook the spinach in a skillet until wilted and drain.
- Add semolina flour to the food processor with the smooth spinach. Blend until the mixture is grainy and combined. Add 59 ml (¼ cup) of water and blend again for about 30 seconds. The mixture should begin to stick together. Add another 30-59 ml (3-4 tbsp) of water until the mixture forms a ball in the machine and is moist but not too wet.TIP: The dough will be dense but should be moist enough to knead like bread dough.
- Remove the dough ball from the machine and place it on a floured work surface. Knead for about 7 minutes by hand until the dough reaches a tacky smooth ball.
- Cover the dough ball with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with semolina or other flour.TIP: You can simply flour the pans without paper, but the paper helps to manipulate the pasta in and out of the pans.
- At this point, you can roll out the dough in the shape you want for making different pasta shapes including using a pasta machine if available.
Roll & Cut into Lasagna Noodles
- Divide the dough disk into thirds. Place one third on a lightly floured work surface. Set aside and cover the other two thirds to prevent drying. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat keeping the work surface floured. For this amount of dough, roll it larger than a 9×13-inch rectangle. Don't worry about the shape since you will trim off uneven edges.TIP: You can eyeball or weigh out the thirds into equal portions. If using a pasta attachment, flatten as you would for lasagna noodles.
- Use a pizza cutter, knife, or fluted pasta wheel to trim off uneven edges down to the size of pan you’re using for lasagna. Cut three 3-inch-wide long strips that are the full length of the dough. If using a 9×13 pan, you should get three long strips to fit the pan from each dough ball.TIP: Set aside extra dough pieces to combine with other dough pieces at the end. These extra pieces will likely give you enough dough to make another 3 long strips giving you a total of 12 strips of noodles (3 more than you need for a traditional lasagna recipe.)
- Place cut noodles flat on lined baking sheet and cover with a towel, parchment paper, or wax paper to prevent drying out. Continue rolling and cutting the remaining dough and place covered on baking sheet. You should end up with ~12 lasagna noodles giving you extras if needed. TIP: Place wax or parchment paper along with a dusting of flour between layers of rolled out dough to prevent sticking.
Video
Notes
You might be interested in these other Italian recipes.
2-Ingredient Fresh Southern Italian Pasta (Busiate, Fettucine, Tagliatelle, & Pappardelle)
2-Ingredient Ricotta Cheese and Flour Pasta (Orecchiette & Cavatelli)
Roasted Garlic White Bean Hummus
Italian Savoiardi Ladyfinger Cookies
Italian Gluten-Free Savoiardi Ladyfinger Cookies
Italian Panettone Christmas Bread
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