These homemade agnolotti del plin are gorgeous pasta pockets filled with a silky spinach ricotta filling and tossed in a light garlic butter sauce. Agnolotti are so fun to make and are incredibly delicious!
Why I love it:
I’ve had a lot of pasta in my day, as I’m sure you have too. And I’ve eaten plenty of standard spinach ravioli — thick dough, stringy spinach, chalky ricotta. They’re always fine, but not the kind of pasta you dream about.
It seems like they just have to be homemade for the real elegance and delicacy to come through. With paper-thin sheets of fresh egg pasta and a filling blended until it’s silky smooth, these little pockets are pure indulgence.
Once you get the hang of making pasta and stuffing it, the fillings become a whole new playground — whether it’s pumpkin ravioli in fall or meaty tortellini in winter.
For this recipe, I reworked the classic spinach-ricotta combo: blanching and blending an entire pound of baby spinach with ricotta, parmesan, and a touch of mascarpone. The result is luxuriously smooth and creamy. Pipe it into a sheet of dough, pinch it into little bellies, and you’ve got agnolotti del plin.
The name “plin” means pinch in Piedmontese dialect, and that pinch is what defines them. Once you get the hang of it (and dust plenty of semolina to keep things from sticking), shaping becomes fun and deeply satisfying. Tossed in a glossy garlic-butter emulsion, these agnolotti are as close to restaurant-level pasta as it gets at home.
how to make agnolotti del plin:
- Make homemade pasta dough.
- Make spinach filling.
- Roll out the dough to a very thin sheet (7 on Kitchen Aid attachment, or second to last on other machines).
- Pipe a line of filling down the length of a sheet of pasta, about ½” away from the edge.
- Pull the dough over the filling and seal the edge, to create a long tube.
- Pinch and seal individual agnolotti.
- Use a fluted pasta wheel to trim along the seam of overlapping dough (save the remaining sheet for another line of agnolotti).
- Cut in between each pillow and store agnolotti on semolina-dusted sheet pan.
- Cook, refrigerate up to 2 hours, or freeze for 2 months.
Tips to make best agnolotti:
Use egg-rich pasta dough
My homemade pasta dough recipe is high in egg yolks and made with finely ground 00 flour. The flavor is richer, the texture silkier, and it rolls thin without tearing.
Blend the filling completely
Blanch fresh baby spinach, then process it with ricotta, parmesan, and mascarpone until smooth. The mascarpone adds creaminess, and the food processor eliminates any stringy bits.
Master the pinch
The “plin” is everything. Pinch firmly through the filling so the edges seal and the bellies puff. Be generous with semolina — this shape loves to stick to the counter.
Finish with a butter emulsion
Gently cook slivers of garlic in olive oil, then add cold butter cubes and a splash of pasta water, swirling until the sauce is glossy. It clings beautifully and highlights the pasta instead of hiding it. If you’re curious about another butter emulsion, try my ricotta ravioli with sage brown butter sauce.
For a perfect pairing, serve these agnolotti with a light and fragrant shaved fennel salad.
agnolotti del plin (spinach filling)
These homemade agnolotti are gorgeous pillows of pasta filled with a silky spinach ricotta filling and tossed in a light garlic butter sauce. Agnolotti del plin are so fun to make and incredibly delicious!
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Handmade
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
spinach filling
- 1 lb fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup mascarpone
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅛ tsp grated ground nutmeg
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
agnolotti del plin
- 1 batch egg pasta dough, rolled out to setting 7 on Kitchen Aid (about 1.5 mm)
- 00 or all-purpose flour, for rolling
- semolina flour, for dusting
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and cold
Instructions
- To make the filling, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Add spinach to boiling water and cook 20 seconds, then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.
- Drain the spinach and squeeze dry. Place it in a food processor or high-speed blender and puree until smooth. Add ricotta and process 30 seconds, until very smooth. Add mascarpone, parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and pulse until just combined. Transfer to a large piping bag and refrigerate until needed.
- Lay out a long sheet of pasta dough on a surface generously dusted with semolina flour. Pipe a ½-inch thick line of spinach filling lengthwise down the pasta, about ½-inch away from the edge.
- Pick up the edge of the dough and pull it up and over to cover the filling. Starting at one end of the sheet and working your way to the opposite end, press down where the dough overlaps to remove air and seal the edge against the line of filling.
- Roll the tube of filling up 90 degrees, so it stands up. Generously scatter semolina until the tube, to prevent sticking.
- Use your fingers to pinch both ends of the long tube. Then, starting at one end, pinch and seal individual agnolotti about the width of your thumb, down the line of filling. Go back and re-pinch a few times to make sure everything is well sealed.
- Use a fluted pasta wheel to cut along the seam, as close to the pasta pockets as you can get. Save the pasta sheet for another line of agnolotti.
- Use the pasta cutter to cut in between the pillows, directly in the center of the pinched seam. Gently transfer them to a semolina-dusted sheet tray (I love using a bench scraper here). Refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add agnolotti and cook for 2- 3 minutes, or until just tender.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet large enough to hold the agnolotti, heat olive oil and garlic over medium-low heat. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and a ladleful of pasta cooking water, bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan, for about 1 minute to emulsify the sauce.
- Use a spider to transfer agnolotti to the skillet along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, swirling and gently turning the agnolotti, until coated in the light and glossy sauce, about a minute.
- Divide among serving bowls and serve immediately, spooning extra butter sauce over top.
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ serving
- Calories: 490
- Sugar: 1.2g
- Sodium: 476mg
- Fat: 34g
- Saturated Fat: 18g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13.4g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 31g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 263mg
Recipe originally posted 4/14/25. Updated 9/30/25.
Anjali says
wonderful!!
Brigette says
My husband is obsessed with the sauce and creamy filling. thanks for the pictures of shaping the agnoloti, thats been hard for me to nail.
Indi Hampton says
It took me a while to nail it too— just really focus on the pinch! So glad you guys loved the sauce/ filling.