This Easy Ravioli Pasta Dough Recipe uses a food processor to effortlessly combine flour, eggs, and olive oil, creating perfect pasta dough in just seconds. Whether rolled by hand or machine, this simple homemade ravioli dough can be filled with seasonal ingredients and served with a cozy sauce!
If you like this recipe you might like my recipe of how to make ravioli and my spinach and ricotta filling recipe for ravioli.
This article contains affiliate links which support us at no extra cost to you.
Jump To
- 🛒 Ingredients for homemade ravioli dough:
- Equipment you need to make ravioli pasta dough:
- 🍽️ How to make ravioli pasta dough?
- How to make ravioli dough by hand:
- How to cook ravioli
- How long to cook fresh ravioli?
- What to serve with easy homemade ravioli?
- 🫙 Leftover and Storing
- 📃 Substitutions & Variations ravioli dough recipe:
- ☑️ Our top tips to make ravioli that doesn't burst:
- ❓ FAQ'S
- Some other recipes you'll love:
- 📖 Recipe
- Easy Ravioli Dough Recipe
Are you a ravioli lover like we are? This is part of my how to make ravioli guide. You maybe recently saw our homemade ravioli and our ricotta filling.
Making homemade ravioli has never been easier, especially when you use a food processor to create the perfect ravioli dough. This simple pasta dough recipe comes together quickly and requires minimal effort, giving you silky smooth pasta sheets ready for your favorite ravioli filling.
With just a few ingredients, you'll be able to make fresh, homemade pasta dough that rivals any store-bought option. Using a food processor helps ensure that everything is evenly combined, so there's no need to worry about overworking the dough.
Nonna uses a basic pasta dough recipe made only with all-purpose flour, egg, and olive oil to make the ravioli. The dough holds up to be able to stretch without breaking and it does not fall apart while it's cooking. It's essential to let the dough rest a bit before rolling it out, so that the gluten relaxes.
Once the dough is prepared, it can be rolled out using a pasta roller attachment or a KitchenAid pasta roller. Both options are perfect for achieving the thin, delicate pasta sheet necessary for making homemade ravioli.
The key to perfect ravioli dough is to keep the dough soft but not sticky, so it can easily be handled on your work surface. After rolling out the dough, you can use a ravioli mold to shape and fill your ravioli with whatever delicious filling you choose. Whether it's a classic ricotta-spinach mix or a more adventurous filling, this dough will be the perfect base.
💖Why we love this ravioli dough:
- Versatile: This pasta dough pairs well with any ravioli filling you love!
- No-fuss prep: Uses a food processor for easy preparation-no kneading by hand.
- Use pasta attachment: Works perfectly with a KitchenAid pasta roller or any pasta roller attachment.
- Best texture ravioli: Produces smooth, flexible dough that's easy to roll out on your work surface. Or make the dough entirely by hand!
- Use for pasta: Perfect for making thin pasta sheets for ravioli or any other homemade pasta.
🛒 Ingredients for homemade ravioli dough:
- All-purpose flour: You could use "00" flour (double zero flour)to make the dough for your ravioli, or you could absolutely use all-purpose flour. You will have just as good as results with all-purpose flour. That's what nonna used to make her ravioli for this recipe. Use whatever you have on hnad.
- Olive oil: I always recommend using a very good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
- Eggs: I look for the best quality large eggs. Use fresh ones if you can find them.
- Semolina flour: Not a lot is needed for making the ravioli. It's just a touch to make sure the ravioli don't stick together as they're being prepped. If you sprinkle all-purpose flour, you may end up with tough ravioli. The goal is to get tender ravioli. So I do suggest buying a small bag of semolina flour for your pasta making.
Equipment you need to make ravioli pasta dough:
This is all you need to make your own from scratch ravioli dough recipe. Nonna did use a food processor, but the dough could be made by hand.
- A large cutting board: I have a very large cutting board, but nonna does like to use my round board to work on this dough. As long as your work surface is large and clean, it will be fine. She prefers my large round board to attach the pasta machine to it.
- Food processor: As this recipe is about how nonna made the dough, it was with a food processor. The dough is easy to put together by hand. But nonna likes how the processor whips the dough together in a few pulses. It does need to be worked a little after on your work surface.
- Large wooden spoon: You could make the dough by hand on your work surface. Get the dough stirred together and then use your hands to bring it all together.
🍽️ How to make ravioli pasta dough?
Here is how to make this pasta dough (the full recipe is below!):
- Step 1: Prepare Your Ingredients
- Measure out 4 cups of flour and crack 4 large eggs. Keep your extra-virgin olive oil and a small cup of water handy.
- Step 2. Using the Food Processor
- Add Ingredients: In a food processor, combine the flour, eggs, and olive oil.
- Pulse: Pulse for about 15-20 seconds, or until the dough starts to come together. If the dough looks too dry, add a tiny bit of water, one teaspoon at a time, and pulse again.
- Step 3. Turn Out the Dough
- Knead: Once the dough has formed, transfer it to a clean, lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for about 1 minute until smooth and elastic.
- Form a Ball: Shape the dough into a ball.
- Step 4. Rest the Dough
- Cover the dough with a bowl or wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Let it rest for 30 minutes to relax the gluten, which will make it easier to roll out.
- Step 5. Roll the Dough
- After resting, roll the dough out on a floured surface or use a pasta machine to achieve thin sheets for ravioli or your preferred pasta shape.
- Step 6. Make Your Ravioli
- Now the dough is ready to be filled and shaped into ravioli, sealed with a little water on the edges!
How to make ravioli dough by hand:
The ingredients are below on the recipe card, but here is how to make ravioli dough by hand (no food processor):
- Form a flour well: On a clean surface, mound the flour and make a well in the center.
- Add eggs: Crack the eggs into the well. Add olive oil to the eggs.
- Mix the dough: Using a fork, slowly whisk the eggs, gradually incorporating the flour from the edges of the well. Once the mixture thickens, start using your hands to knead the dough, bringing in more flour as needed.
- Knead: Knead the dough by hand for about 8-10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if it's too sticky, sprinkle some flour.
- Rest the dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the gluten to relax, making it easier to roll out.
- Roll out the dough: After resting, divide the dough into smaller portions. Roll each portion into a thin sheet using a rolling pin or pasta machine. The dough should be thin enough to see your hand through it (around 1mm thickness).
How to cook ravioli
- Use a large pot: It's essential to cook the pasta in a large pot filled with enough water, as the pasta expands while it's cooking. For every 3.5 ounces of pasta you need 4 cups of water. As soon as you add the pasta to the boiling water you will need to stir, or it will stick.
- Salt water: Generously salt the pasta water, or the pasta will taste plance. Use 1.5 tablespoons of salt. Add to the water as soon as it starts to boil.
- Keep stirring: Continue to stir the pasta as it's cooking, is it could overflow or start to stick. It needs to stay on a rolling boil, not a simmer.
📃 NOTE: Recipe card with detailed instructions are below! Print it out for later!
How long to cook fresh ravioli?
Cooking time will vary, depending on how thick or thin you rolled your dough out.
- They could cook up in 2-5 minutes.
- Yes, even 2 minutes! If you rolled the dough out very thin, they'll be ready pretty fast! Believe me! If you rolled thicker, could be closer to 5 minutes even 6.
What to serve with easy homemade ravioli?
Ravioli is a classic Italian comfort food recipe and they go well with any side dish, or bread. roasted vegetable.
- Tomato Salad >>> A quick and delicious tomato salad goes perfectly with ravioli.
- Insalata mista >>> A fast and simple Italian salad that is so flavorful!
- Panzanella Toscana >>> Easy and deliciousTuscan salad! It's one of my favorites!
- Italian Green Beans>>>My favorite way to eat green beans is in a flavorful sauce!
- Crusty bread >>> Bread is always better when it's homemade. This crusty bread is easy to make! Or give this psomi spitiko Greek bread recipe a try.
- Rosemary breadsticks >>> Breadsticks are easy to make and so crispy!
🫙 Leftover and Storing
Once your dough has rested and you've gone on to fill and cut your ravioli, this is what you could do:
- At Room Temperature: Sprinkle some semolina flour on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place your ravioli on top. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap. They can keep at room temperature for an hour, but not more than that.
- To Refrigerate: Use the step above and then place the wrapped sheet pan in the fridge for up to 4 hours. It is best NOT to keep the ravioli stored in the refrigerator overnight. The ravioli texture and color changes, and if you cook them up, they will be a bit mushy.
- To Freeze: Sprinkle parchment lined baking sheet with a bit of semolina flour and place the ravioli on top. Place the pan in the freezer (without wrapping the pan). Once the ravioli freeze, place them in an airtight container. They will freeze for up to 1 month. No need to defrost. Place in boiling water when ready to cook them up.
📃 Substitutions & Variations ravioli dough recipe:
Nonna always makes her ravioli dough with all-purpose flour. You could make the dough also with:
- 00 Flour (double zero flour): Is super fine and makes a very soft pasta dough. You could swap the all-purpose flour and use just the 00 flour.
- 00 Flour and semolina flour: Or you could do a combination of the 00 flour and semolina flour. Semolina is a coarse flour from the middle of durum wheat and it has a pale yellow color. When you combine the two flours
While I love using a combination of 00 flour and semolina, all-purpose can be substituted since that is what most people have in their pantry already.
☑️ Our top tips to make ravioli that doesn't burst:
- Thickness. Whether you're using a Kitchenaid pasta roller attachment (as I am here) or a hand crank pasta machine (the Marcato Atlas is my favorite), you want to roll the dough thin enough to see your hand through the dough when holding a piece of dough upright.
- Water. Sealing around each ravioli with water either with your finger or a brush offers added insurance that the ravioli won't split.
- Sealing tool. A ravioli mold comes with a little roller that simultaneously seals and cuts the ravioli 12 at a time. So cool!
❓ FAQ'S
Ravioli dough is typically made from a simple combination of flour, eggs, and sometimes a pinch of salt. The most common ratio is 1 cup of flour to 1 large egg. Water or olive oil can be added for texture, but it's not always necessary.
The best flour for ravioli is "00" flour, a finely milled Italian flour that gives pasta a smooth, silky texture. Some recipes also use a mix of "00" flour and semolina flour for a firmer bite. My recipe shared here uses just all-purpose flour, as it's nonna's recipe, and it turns out very soft and fluffy ravioli.
Yes, you can make ravioli from pre-made pasta sheets. Roll them thin, cut them into squares or circles, fill, and seal the edges with a little water or egg wash.
Pasta dough is typically made from just flour and eggs. Some versions may include water, olive oil, or salt, but the base is usually a simple mixture of flour and eggs.
Yes, you can use plain (all-purpose) flour for ravioli. It may not give you the same smooth texture as "00" flour, but it works well for making homemade pasta, including ravioli.
The best thickness for ravioli dough is about 1mm. The dough should be thin enough to be slightly translucent but still strong enough to hold the filling without tearing.
To make ravioli from scratch without a machine or special tools, you can:
Mix flour and eggs by hand.
Knead the dough until smooth and let it rest.
Roll it out with a rolling pin until thin (1mm).
Cut the dough into squares or circles, fill with your chosen filling, and seal by pressing the edges with your fingers or a fork.
This method is simple, requires no machines, and uses basic ingredients like flour and eggs.
You don't need a ravioli maker or press cutter to make homemade ravioli. You can use a rolling pin to roll out the dough and a knife or pizza cutter to cut the shapes. You can seal the ravioli with your fingers or a fork.
If you want a tool to make the process faster, there are hand-operated ravioli presses or stamps available, which can help cut uniform shapes. Electric machines are an option, but traditional hand-operated tools are still widely available and popular for home use.
Some other recipes you'll love:
Did you make this and love it? Please RATE THE RECIPE below:)
I would LOVE IT if you can leave me a star rating and a review down below and let me know your thoughts! It means the world to me to hear how you liked it.
Please Subscribe and give a follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok xx
📖 Recipe
Easy Ravioli Dough Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large wooden spoon
- 1 pastry board
Ingredients
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour or 00 flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- a little water to seal the edges
Instructions
Food Processor
- There are a few ways to make fresh pasta dough, since this is nonna's recipe, I'll tell you she does prefer to use the food processor. It's super fast, and all you do is add the ingredients to the food processor and let the metal blade to the work. Pulse for 15-20 seconds or so until the dough comes together.
Rolling dough by hand:
- The other method is rolling it out by hand. You can bring the dough together on a clean counter with your hands. With a floured rolling pin, start to roll beginning in the middle and roll out. Keep turning and rotating, rolling until you get the thinnest rectangular shape.
- Turn out the dough to your clean work surface and knead dough for a minute, then form into a ball.
- Let the gluten in the dough relax, which makes it much easier to roll out. Cover the dough with a bowl or with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 30. Move on to make the quick filling while the dough relaxes (and tomato sauce, if that's what you are serving it with).
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
