The 4 Best Pasta Makers of 2024, According to Our Tests

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Our top picks will have you churning out impressive homemade noodles.

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Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore

Making boxed pasta at home is fine for a quick weeknight meal, but let's be honest: Sometimes restaurant-quality fresh pasta is the only thing that will do. For quality pasta at home, the first thing you need is a good pasta maker. There's something incredibly special about making your own pasta dough from scratch. With the right ingredients and tools, your homemade pasta will taste just as good as the fresh pasta dishes at your favorite Italian restaurant.

Making fresh pasta requires no special equipment; just a bit of elbow grease to knead flour and eggs into a silky dough. However, once you've concocted the perfect ball of pasta dough, the question is, how to shape it? You could go the old-school route and roll out huge sfoglia — pasta sheets — with just a rolling pin. But that takes practice, patience, and a lot of time.

Thankfully, modern technology has given us machines to ease this task. A pasta machine, or pasta maker, uses a pair of rollers to flatten dough into even sheets. Powered by a hand crank or electric motor, the device can also cut the sheets into noodles of varying widths, from linguine to fettuccine. Another type of pasta machine is the extruder; this shapes the dough by squeezing it through holes in a die and can make a wide variety of flat and rolled shapes: spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, conchiglie, and more. You can even find pasta-shaping attachments for your stand mixer.

With so many options, figuring out the best pasta maker for you can be tricky. To help you out, we spoke to a team of pasta industry experts, and tested more than 20 models in our own kitchens. One of these options will make cooking and serving fresh pasta at home an enjoyable task rather than a chore.

We loved how sturdy and easy to use this model was; it exceeded our expectations.

The spaghetti attachment didn't work so well.

Created by a nearly century-old Italian company, the Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine is a reliable, affordable, manual option for people who want a durable machine that will last.

This machine wowed us in roller testing. It didn't jam, pull, or fray, and the handle seated in place more securely than with similar models. We loved the firm clamp and its lightweight but solid design for easy rolling; even a true beginner won't have problems with the Atlas 150.

There are 10 different thickness settings, and the included cutter makes even fettuccine or spaghetti. However, it didn't cut all the way through the dough in testing and we had to separate the noodles by hand. Spaghetti was a particular issue; some of the strands got squashed and misshapen.

Type: Tabletop manual | Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 7 inches | Materials: Stainless steel | Pasta Types: Spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagne

This machine is built well, made of durable materials, and easy to use.

We wish the handle locked in more reliably.

This Italian-made pasta maker is a manual tabletop model similar to the Marcato Atlas above. It works in essentially the same way, and also includes cutting attachments for spaghetti and fettuccine. We loved this model's thoughtful design and construction; it's perfect for beginners, and seasoned pasta makers will also appreciate the fabrication quality and ease of use. The nickel-plated steel rollers are durable yet lightweight, the body is made from heavy stainless steel, and the wooden handle makes the whole cranking process much easier on the hands. Our one complaint is that the handle kept slipping out in testing, something that was unfortunately common with manual models.

The Imperia comes with a tray that can help feed your sheets though or rest all the pasta once it's been cut — a rare and helpful feature. The body clamped easily onto our countertop and didn't wobble during use. We felt the gears and rollers were of good quality, and the dough easily moved through the rollers and cutters without any sticking or jamming.

Type: Tabletop manual | Dimensions: 8.1 x 7.2 x 6.2 inches | Materials: Stainless steel, wood | Pasta Types: Spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagne

This attachment is well-constructed and durable, producing well-rolled pasta sheets and precisely cut pasta shapes.

We have no complaints about operation, but you need an expensive KitchenAid mixer to use it.

If you already own a KitchenAid mixer and are looking to jump into fresh pasta-making, this attachment set is the perfect addition. It simply clamps into the front of the mixer and uses its regular speed control switch. Not having to use a hand crank is a huge help, not just because it reduces the amount of labor needed but also because it lets you use both hands to feed the dough through and pull it out the other end. This made a big difference in testing, and we encountered no ripping, tearing, or fraying as we rolled dough successively thinner and thinner.

This set has eight roller width settings, and separate cutter attachments for fettuccine and spaghetti. Both performed beautifully in testing, making distinct, even strands and keeping them separated — in fact, this was one of the only machines that managed to cut all the way through spaghetti consistently. Chris Wright, co-owner of The Pasta Lab, a small-batch pasta producer in Philadelphia, also recommends the KitchenAid attachment for its versatility. “Not only can the dough be prepared in the bowl of the mixer, but a pasta filling can as well,” he says. “Whipped ricotta; blanched, pressed, chopped greens; and salty aged cheese would make a classic ravioli filling and would come together in no time with the help of the KitchenAid.”

This attachment set earned a perfect score in every category we measured; the only downside we can find is that you have to own a KitchenAid stand mixer to use it. That's a pretty serious investment, but it's an appliance most kitchens need, and it can last for decades.

Type: Stand mixer attachment | Dimensions: 9.7 x 3.8 x 2.2 inches | Material: Stainless steel | Pasta Types: Spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagne

This extruder is easy to use and produces high-quality, uniform pasta with minimal effort.

Some of the plastic pieces don't feel very durable.

For pasta beyond just flat noodles, consider this fully automatic extruder. It works differently than the roller/cutter models above, squeezing the dough through holes in a die to create all sorts of shapes. You get discs for spaghetti, fettuccine, and penne in the box, but there are dozens of other compatible options sold separately that can create classics like shells, bowties, and spirals as well as fun animal, flower, and seasonal shapes. But the best part about the Philips machine is the mixing chamber, which combines ingredients and kneads the dough all by itself, in less then 20 minutes.

During testing, we found this machine to be quite user-friendly. Once you add ingredients and press start, it's very much hands-off. The extruded pasta didn't stick together coming out of the die, or when we cut the strands to length. We loved the “extra extrude” button, which clears the dough chamber at the end to make cleanup even easier. The whole setup also takes up surprisingly little counter space. The one thing we didn’t like about this machine is that it's mostly made of plastic. Many of the parts, especially the dies, felt flimsy.

Type: Electric extruder | Dimensions: 13 x 15.5 x 11.9 inches | Materials: Stainless steel, plastic | Pasta Types: Spaghetti, penne, fettuccine

The Marcato Atlas 150 Classic Pasta Machine is a tabletop manual machine that snagged our top spot because it’s an excellent choice for beginners and experts alike, and produced some of the smoothest rolling in testing. The Imperia Pasta Maker Machine was our runner-up, and we loved it because it felt durable and was very easy to use.

To find the best pasta makers, we tested 21 models side by side, including manual tabletop makers, stand mixer attachments, and extruders.

After testing, we revealed the retail prices of the machines to rate overall value for money. At the time of testing, the least expensive pasta maker we tested was a hand-cranked model for $29. The most expensive models we tested were an extruder and motorized roller, both for $300. The average price of all the models we tested was $132.

Tabletop pasta makers come in either hand-crank or motorized styles. "These days, you get both manual and automatic [electric] machines, and they also are at different price points and make different types of pasta, based on the attachments," says Chef Beau Fazio of Heirloom Restaurant in Delaware. They're also made from various materials, so you should be sure to pick the type of pasta maker that works best with your skill level.

The hand-crank styles are the most traditional and straightforward. To work these, insert the handle into its slot on the side and rotate to turn the rollers or cutter. Tabletop pasta makers are best for egg pasta and rolling out long, thin sheets. These can be cut into thin strips for spaghetti or fettuccine, left large to make lasagna, or used to make stuffed pasta like ravioli. Manual machines are more traditional and less expensive but require more work. Although they might last longer than motorized machines, they can be hard to use when cooking alone. You have to feed the dough into the machine on one end, guide the pasta out of the other, and turn the hand crank simultaneously; it can be helpful to have a second person on hand. Some models, though, offer an optional motorized attachment that cranks the handle for you.

Electric pasta machines can be motorized versions of hand crank machines, stand-alone extruders, or attachments for stand mixers. Generally, electric pasta makers are easier to use but harder to clean and maintain. With an electric machine, you have to work at the speed of the machine, cutting the pasta to length to keep up. In the case of attachments, you also need a stand mixer that's compatible, which can be expensive if you don't already have one.

Extruders are electric machines that squish dough through a die to make shapes. This allows for more complicated types of pasta, including round penne and rigatoni, spiral rotini and cavatappi, and lots more that aren't possible with a roller-style pasta maker. Extruders can still make spaghetti and similar flat shapes, but they're limited in the size of noodles they can produce; they can’t make lasagne, stuffed pasta, and other wide sheet shapes. Most extruders will also mix and knead the dough for you, which is convenient but makes them much harder to clean. There's also much more upkeep involved and more room for error if your ratio of ingredients is even a little bit off. An extruder is better for larger batches of pasta or big households, since smaller batches of dough can be more difficult for these machines to work through.

A pasta maker attachment is beginner-friendly, performing the same tasks as a tabletop machine but using a stand mixer's motor for power. This requires a lot less elbow grease, at a lot less cost than a pasta machine with an onboard motor. But one of these is really only a good choice if you already have a KitchenAid or other stand mixer — without one, it's useless.

Stand-alone pasta machines are great for those who don't own stand mixers. However, they take up much more space than a small attachment. Manual and motorized tabletop models are generally pretty compact, but they still require some dedicated cabinet space. Extruders are usually much larger since they contain a chamber to mix the dough and take up the most space.

The best machine for you will also depend on the type of pasta you want to make. Most manual pasta rollers come with cutters for spaghetti and fettuccine, and of course, you can roll out long sheets and cut them to size with a chef's knife for lasagne and stuffed pasta shapes. A roller can't produce short, tubular shapes, though. For that, you need an extruder and a specialized die. Both types of pasta maker might be compatible with additional cutters and dies that make a wider variety of shapes; just make sure your exact model works with an accessory before you buy it. Lots of pasta shapes can also be made by hand — with some elbow grease and a rolling pin.

Manual and electric rollers are best for egg doughs — think lasagna, tortellini, and wide pappardelle. The fat in the egg yields a dough that is silky and pliable, perfect for big sheets or bouncy, long noodles. Extruders can be used with egg dough, but they work best with semolina dough — a type of pasta dough made from just semolina flour and water. Extruded pasta has much less moisture, and excess fat in the dough can cause smearing and sticking. Semolina dough is more rigid and makes great short or tubular pasta like ziti or cavatelli.

The material you choose will largely depend on your budget and use. You can get metal pasta machines in stainless steel, chrome-plated steel, or aluminum. Weightier stainless steel will have greater stability and durability, with more resistance to corrosion and rust. rust. However, it's not dishwasher-safe like aluminum or chrome-plated steel. Aluminum also tends to be the cheapest and most lightweight.

Extruders and some electric pasta makers sometimes come with primarily plastic parts. These are easier to clean and are more lightweight than their metal counterparts. They're often dishwasher-safe and don't need protection from moisture like many metals. However, plastic is much less durable than metal, so plastic pasta machines are likelier to break. Some manufacturers sell individual replacement parts, but in some cases single parts aren't available and you'll have to replace the entire machine if something breaks.

If you're new to fresh pasta-making, don't worry, it's not hard to learn how to use a pasta maker. For a roller machine, you can start with any fresh pasta dough recipe you like. If you have an extruder, it's best to use the recipe the manufacturer includes with the instructions. After kneading, let your dough rest for a minimum of 30 minutes (an hour or two is best). When you're ready to start shaping, divide the dough into reasonably sized pieces — generally as many pieces as there were eggs in the recipe.

For a roller, set the machine to the thickest setting and run each portion through, then decrease the thickness setting and repeat. For the first two settings, fold the dough into thirds before running it through a second time. This tri-fold early on ensures a better texture later on. Keep going until you reach the thickness you want, lightly dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Once all your dough is rolled out, proceed to cutting, either manually or by feeding the sheet through a cutter attachment.

Each extruder will likely have slightly different instructions, but start by mixing the dough. Once it's thoroughly kneaded, set the machine to extrude. As the pasta comes out of the die, cut it to the length you want and gently toss with flour to precent sticking. The very beginning of each batch produced by an extruder is often a little uneven; you can just drop these ugly noodles back into the dough chamber to get remixed.

To clean a manually operated metal pasta maker, you should not use any water, as this could cause the machine to rust. Wait about an hour after using your machine to allow any remaining bits of dough to dry, then use a dry cloth to wipe flour and dough from the outer parts of the machine. Use a dry pastry brush or thin wooden dowel to remove any bits of dried dough from the rollers or attachments.

To clean an electric pasta machine, you’ll need to disassemble the machine and wash each part separately; for those and other types of pasta makers, always refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.

"Homemade pasta cooks so much faster than dried pasta, due to the water content," says Chef Andy Clark of Gravitas in Washington, D.C. "With dried pasta, you have time to drop the pasta in the water and make the sauce, but fresh pasta cooks so quickly, the sauce needs to be almost finished." It depends on the pasta shape, but flat noodles could cook in about a minute, while stuffed pasta may take up to 5 minutes.

"Long pasta should be checked after a minute, and you'd want a little less than al dente because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce," adds Clark. "Stuffed pasta should be tender on the edges where the pasta is sealed."

There is no one type of flour that’s perfect for every type of pasta. Different shapes and types of dough have different needs, so no flour is one size fits all. “There are so many different styles of pasta, and each calls for specific raw materials and equipment to produce,” says Wright. “For example, extruded shapes (rigatoni, fusilli, bucatini, etc.) are best made with semolina or its relatives. Semolina is made from durum wheat, which has a hard, glass-like structure that ultimately translates to ideal cooking & eating qualities when dried. Egg dough for tagliatelle or stuffed pasta is best made with finely milled and sifted wheat flour with medium gluten strength.”

Egg dough is usually used to make long shapes, like the kind rolled out from tabletop or attachment rollers, and can be made with all-purpose flour. Italian-style 00 flour, an extra-fine flour made for pizza and pasta, will lend a softer texture. As Wright mentions, some extruded shapes are best made with semolina flour, though some extruders can also produce pasta from egg dough as well. Semolina is also great for hand-formed shapes that don’t use pasta makers at all. If you’re new to the world of homemade pasta, pick up a bag of 00 and a bag of semolina. Even if you only make egg dough, semolina is perfect for dusting.

Most homemade pasta is made with egg dough, and the good news is that you don't really need to dry it very much at all. A 30-minute rest to let some of the surface moisture evaporate is more than enough to set the shape and improve the texture. For flat pasta like tagliatelle and lasagna, a slightly dry, leathery surface helps the sauce cling. You can dry your pasta simply on a dish towel-lined sheet tray or on a dedicated pasta drying rack. The goal with egg dough isn't long-term storage or hard, brittle pasta like you buy in the store; aim to use it within 2 hours of rolling it out. Eggs are perishable, and food containing raw eggs should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. For longer-term storage of egg pasta, pop it in the freezer. "Freezing your pasta extends the shelf life of the pasta, and gives you quick and easy access to it," says chef Bobby Little of Brooklyn bistro Leroy's. It'll maintain its quality for about two months in a freezer-safe container.Some extruded pasta is usually made with semolina dough and no egg, it can sit out longer to dry for pantry storage. The ideal drying window for semolina dough is between one and three hours, depending on the hydration of your dough, the temperature in your kitchen, and the exact shape. Allowing air to circulate around semolina dough pasta, gives it a rougher exterior, perfect for grabbing onto sauce, and helps set tubular shapes like penne to keep them from collapsing. Shapes made with semolina dough can be dried fully and stored for the long term, but they might wind up a little brittle, and the cooking time can be 20 minutes or more.

CucinaPro 5-Piece Pasta Maker Deluxe Set ($50 at Amazon) We were disappointed with the performance of the cutters and rollers on this model.

Cuisinart 5-Piece Pasta Maker (CTG-00-PM) ($80 at Amazon)During testing, the handle on the crank kept coming out, which was frustrating.

Marcato Atlas 150 Pasta Machine with Motor ($350 at Amazon)We experienced some clogging and jamming during testing, which prevented this model from making the cut.

Antree Pasta Maker Attachment 3 in 1 Set for KitchenAid Stand Mixers ($80 at Amazon)We had one instance of light jamming during testing, and we found this machine difficult to clean.

GVODE 3-Piece Pasta Attachment Set for KitchenAid Stand Mixer ($110 at Amazon)This set included many different pieces that needed to be switched out multiple times during use, which was cumbersome and prevented this machine from making the list.

Emeril Lagasse Pasta & Beyond Automatic Pasta and Noodle Maker ($151 at Amazon)While comprehensive, this model was not particularly user-friendly and required us to study the manual before diving in.

The other pasta makers we tested didn’t quite measure up for several reasons. We encountered multiple issues with clogging, jamming, and thickness in our tabletop models. In attachment rollers, only one wasn’t worthy of our recommendations, and that came down to the cutter attachment, which just couldn’t measure up to the others in the same category. Some of the extruders we tested were less than satisfactory when it came to cutting and shaping the dough. Finally, a few of the models we tested were available at the time of testing but have since gone out of stock.

This was our favorite pasta drying rack in testing. It's affordable, sturdy, and has long arms that leave room for ample air circulation. It also stands 20 inches tall, so long pasta won't droop on your counter. It's best for long shapes, so consider a tiered rack if you have an extruder.