Simple Two-Ingredient Pasta

Have you ever wanted to make pasta at home but thought it was too complicated, required too many ingredients, or needed expensive equipment? I'm here to hold your hand and prove that in the next 60 seconds, you can become a pasta expert. Seriously—this recipe uses just two ingredients and costs about $10 in basic tools from Amazon.

The philosophy behind this recipe is simple: don't over complicate your life. It takes two ingredients to make pasta—flour and water. That's it. No eggs, no fancy machinery, no complicated techniques. Just mix, knead for 2-3 minutes, roll out, cut, and boil. You can use store-bought sauce or make your own simple version with pasta water and parmesan. It's that straightforward.

What makes this water-based pasta special is how accessible it is. It's completely vegan, beginner-friendly, and proves that homemade pasta doesn't have to be intimidating. I love this recipe for teaching people (including kids) about cooking because there's very little that can go wrong. Plus, it's a great way to build your own confidence in the kitchen before tackling more complex pasta recipes.

I make this at least once a month when I want fresh pasta but don't have eggs on hand, or when I'm cooking for vegan friends. It's become one of my go-to recipes for demonstrating that cooking from scratch doesn't have to be complicated or expensive.

The entire pasta requires just 100g of all-purpose flour and 50g of water. That's a 2:1 ratio that's easy to remember and scale up or down depending on how many people you're feeding. I joke that there's one extra ingredient required: love. But really, that's optional—the flour and water will get you there regardless.

For the flour, all-purpose works perfectly. Nothing fancy needed, no special pasta flour required. I use whatever all-purpose flour I have in my pantry. For the water, regular tap water is fine. Some recipes call for warm water, but I've found that room temperature works just as well. The simplicity is what makes this recipe so accessible.

When it comes to serving, you have options and I encourage you to use what you have or what sounds good. You can use any store-bought sauce you love, which is perfectly acceptable and something I do often when I'm short on time. Or you can make a simple pasta water sauce by combining the starchy cooking liquid with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. The pasta water contains starch that helps create a silky coating when mixed with cheese or oil—it's an Italian technique that I use constantly.

This recipe proves that you don't need a long list of ingredients to make something delicious and satisfying. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the most impressive.

The process is wonderfully straightforward and perfect for pasta-making beginners. I start by combining the flour and water in a bowl, using a simple fork to mix everything together until it starts to come together into a shaggy dough. This initial mixing takes maybe a minute. Then I switch to a bench scraper (or a knife if you don't have one) to help incorporate the mixture more thoroughly. I scrape and fold the dough together, getting all those dry bits mixed in.

Once it's mostly together, I use my hands to knead everything for about 2-3 minutes. I'm not trying to develop tons of gluten here like with bread—just getting everything nicely incorporated. The dough should feel smooth and cohesive. I let it rest while I set up my work area and get water boiling. Even just 5-10 minutes of resting time helps the texture and makes the dough easier to work with.

Shaping is where it gets fun. I cut my rested dough ball into 4 equal pieces, then take one piece and roll it out with my hands into a long rope about the thickness of my finger. Using my bench scraper, I cut the rope into small pieces about 1-2 inches each. Then I shape each piece—either by rolling it down a gnocchi board with my thumb to create grooves, or by using the edge of my bench scraper to roll pieces up quickly. The bench scraper method is actually faster, which I appreciate.

Cooking fresh pasta is quick—just 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water until the pieces float to the surface. Then I toss with sauce and serve immediately. The whole process from mixing dough to eating pasta is about 20 minutes including resting time, which is faster than many boxed pasta dinners.