Garganelli are hand-rolled pasta tubes with delicate ridges that catch and carry all the sauce. They’re made from fresh egg dough that is tender, toothsome, and silky. They’re extra delicious with a velvety cream sauce or a meaty bolognese!
Why I love it:
When I first started making fresh pasta, garganelli was one of the first shapes I got really excited about. I love the little grooves, the simplicity of the process, and honestly, I love that it’s made with egg dough. Rich egg doughs have my heart.
Usually, I just cut egg dough into fettuccine and call it a day. It’s quick and easy.
But while these little grooved tubes take a bit more time, they’re just so beautiful and tasty. The shaping is easy to get the hang of and like all handmade pasta shapes… the process can be as therapeutic as the finished product is delicious.
Here’s the thing about living in 2025. We’re all busy. We will always be busy. We all have 39 tabs open in our brains, and the onslaught of busyness will never stop.
So lately, I’ve been trying to choose to not be so busy.
I say no to the running list of things I think I should be doing.
And instead, I savor the simple process of hand rolling pasta for dinner. I connect with the moment and get off of the never-ending treadmill of should-do’s. I ask myself: what would be so fun TO do right now? Lately, hand rolling pasta has been my weirdo kitchen answer. A nd if you’re reading this right now, I have a feeling it might be the same for you too.
Plus if you have kids, this is actually the best activity. Buy a few extra gnocchi boards with different patterns and let them use pencils to roll up their own homemade garganelli. Making dinner has never been so fun!
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garganelli ingredients:
- 00 or all-purpose flour
- semolina flour
- eggs
- salt
garganelli equipment:
You need a few simple tools to make the prettiest garganelli.
- some sort of pasta roller-- manual, electric, or an attachment for your Kitchen Aid mixer.
- You CAN use a rolling pin for any fresh pasta recipe. Just roll it out as thin as possible. I prefer a setting 6 on the Kitchen Aid attachment, which is 1/16 inch (about 1.5 mm) thick.
- ¼-inch thick dowel (or a smooth wooden pencil)
- gnocchi board (or any food-safe patterned wooden board). Etsy has beautiful ones!
How to make garganelli pasta:
- Make homemade pasta dough
- Roll it out to setting 6 on Kitchen Aid (or with a rolling pin to 1/16 inch)
- Cut into 1 ½ inch squares
- Place a square diagonally on a gnocchi board, and roll the dough around a dowel to form a ridged tube
- Your garganelli should have ridges running lengthwise and a securely sealed seam
- Slide off the dowel, dust with semolina, and repeat!
What are garganelli and how do I serve them?
Garganelli is a hand-rolled tubular pasta with ridges-- like little penne rigate. The ridges trap the sauce and the hollow center can hold bits of meat or veggies inside.
Unlike the extruded pasta shapes, garganelli has an overlapping seam of pasta. This double layer gives the garganelli shape a satisfying, firm bite that can handle big sauces.
It’s great for meaty ragus, chunky tomato sauces, cream reductions, and cheesy sauces.
I love to cook up an all-day bolognese to go with garganelli. There’s something so satisfying from a deeply flavorful meat sauce and fresh pasta!
Serve it with a simple lettuce salad like this butter lettuce salad or a simple herb salad for a fresh side.
More fresh pasta recipes to try:
garganelli
Garganelli are hand-rolled pasta tubes with delicate ridges that catch and carry all the sauce. They're made from the silkiest egg dough!
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 4
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Hand shaped
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta dough
- all-purpose flour, for rolling
- semolina flour, for dusting
special equipment
- pasta roller or rolling pin
- wooden dowel (about ¼” thick) or smooth wooden pencil
- gnocchi board or ridged surface
Instructions
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces and work with one at a time, keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the pasta dough into a thin sheet, about 1/16 inch thick. If using a pasta roller, start on the widest setting and gradually roll it thinner, stopping at setting 6 on the Kitchen Aid attachment.
- Dust a baking sheet with semolina flour. Use a sharp knife or pasta cutter to cut the sheet into 1 ½” squares and transfer to the baking sheet to prevent sticking.
- To form the garganelli tubes, place one square diagonally on a gnocchi board (so it looks like a diamond). Lay a wooden dowel across the center and lift the bottom corner of the pasta square to wrap it around the dowel.
- Gently roll the dowel forward, pressing evenly to create ridges on the pasta while sealing the overlapping edges to form a tube. Slide the garganelli off the dowel and onto the semolina dusted tray. Continue with the remaining squares. ensuring each piece is lightly dusted with flour to prevent sticking.
- Roll out another piece of dough and repeat steps 2 through 4 until all of the dough has been rolled, cut, and shaped.
- Refrigerate for up to 8 hours, loosely covered. Alternatively, freeze for 1 hour until firm and transfer to a freezer bag to store for up to 2 months.
- Cook in a large pot of salted boiling water for 2- 3 minutes, until tender but al dente. Sauce and serve as desired.
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: 1
- Calories: 398
- Sugar: 0.6g
- Sodium: 436mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 51g
- Fiber: 1.8g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 418mg
Tara says
turned out amazing!!