Simple Spinach Lasagna Pasta Noodles
This simple 3-ingredient spinach lasagna pasta recipe only includes spinach, semolina flour, and water. Use it in your favorite lasagna recipe or cut the pasta dough into your preferred shapes. Serve the pasta with your favorite tomato-based or cream-based pasta sauce.
Servings: 1 pound
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 9x13-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 9x13 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
Make a Day or Two Ahead & Store in the Fridge:
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:
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.