If you are new to making your own pasta, garganelli is the perfect place to start. The delicately ridged tubes are super easy to make and we have finished them in a rich tomato and crispy guanciale amatriciana sauce. This post will break it down so you can achieve perfect garganelli pasta.
I think there is this big misconception that homemade pasta is really difficult and/or time consuming. I promise you, it isn’t. Or at least, garganelli isn’t. In fact, I find the process can actually be rather mindful and relaxing once you get into the rhythm of it. All you need is some fresh pasta dough, a gnocchi board and a wooden utensil (a spoon or thick chopstick is ideal). Also, please don't worry about the homemade pasta dough, that is super simple too (you just need 00 flour, eggs and semolina).
What is Garganelli?
Before we get into how to make your own homemade garganelli pasta, let me explain what it is. Garganelli is a small tube shaped pasta from Emilia-Romagna, known for its signature ridges. It looks similar to penne and rigatoni, but with a distinctive fold. If you like my weeknight sausage ragú with penne or deliciously quick bolognese sauce with rigatoni, you will love garganelli. It is one of my go-tos when I am making a delicious pasta sauce as the sauce clings to all the grooves.
Back to how to make homemade garganelli… All you have to do is roll your pasta dough into thin sheets, then cut into 4cm square pieces and place onto a semolina-dusted baking tray. Then, one at a time, you place the squares onto the ridge board and roll around the end of your wooden spoon (or thick chopstick), pressing down to seal. These go back on the tray and are left to stand for 30 minutes-1 hour to dry out a little to help them hold their shape (although if you don’t have time, you can skip this step). Then all that’s left is to boil them in salted water and add to your favourite pasta sauce!
Speaking of pasta sauce, I have included a delicious recipe for an amatriciana sauce. This is a rich tomato sauce with crispy, salty guanciale (or pancetta), chilli flakes and Parmesan. However, you can serve with whatever sauce you fancy. It would be lovely in my creamy mushroom and spinach pasta or sausage 'nduja pasta. Have a look through my pasta recipes and enjoy trying out different combinations.
Jump to:
- What is Garganelli?
- Why you will love this recipe:
- Ingredients:
- Equipment Needed
- What is the difference between penne and garganelli?
- Here's how to make homemade garganelli:
- Cooking Tips:
- Amatriciana Sauce: Serving Suggestion
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Storage & Freezing/Make Ahead Instructions
- Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Made this recipe and loved it?
- How to Make Homemade Garganelli
Why you will love this recipe:
- It is a simple shape to make and ideal for building your confidence in making homemade pasta.
- It is so versatile. You can serve your homemade garganelli with all sorts of different sauces.
- You can prep ahead and batch make the homemade pasta, then keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- It is super comforting and full of flavour when served with amatriciana sauce. Imagine delicate garganelli pasta with crispy, salty guanciale, spicy chilli flakes and rich tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Semolina flour - this helps stop the pasta dough from sticking when rolling it into shape.
Fresh pasta dough - making your own pasta dough is so much easier than you think. You can find my full pasta dough recipe here.
00 flour - this is a finely ground high-protein flour which is ideal for making pasta and pizza. I use it for more dusting here for the garganelli.
Equipment Needed
You obviously will also need a sharp knife, a chopping board and a baking tray. You will also need the following:
Pasta Machine - see my pasta dough recipe for full tips on this. You could make pasta with just a rolling pin but I will concede it is a lot of effort and more time-consuming. The best tool to have is a pasta machine. It's manual and has a metal crank that allows you to effortlessly roll pasta out until it's very thin and ready to be shaped.
Garganelli or gnocchi board - this is a small wooden square with ridges. You will roll the pasta down the board to create the distinct ridges.
Wooden stick or dowel - this is to roll the pasta dough down the garganelli board. If needed, use the end of a wooden spoon or even a clean wooden pencil. Sometimes, garganelli boards, linked above, come with a wooden stick for this purpose.
What is the difference between penne and garganelli?
If you haven’t heard of it before, garganelli are really beautiful small ridged tubes of pasta originally from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Although they look similar to penne, they are traditionally made by hand by folding squares of pasta dough around a wooden utensil (like a stick) before rolling on a ridged board. By contrast, penne is made with a pasta extruder so it doesn't have the ‘folded’ look of garganelli. It works well with sauces as they cling to the little ridges. You can use it in all sorts of recipes - particularly ones that typically use penne or rigatoni.
Here's how to make homemade garganelli:
Here's a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper and dust with semolina. Set aside. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out your pasta into four equal-sized long sheets.
TWO: Cut into 4cm squares and place onto the semolina-dusted tray. Cover with a clean tea towel.
THREE: Working with one square at a time, place onto a ridged wooden board (like one you would use to make gnocchi) so that it forms a diamond shape in front of you.
FOUR: Place the end of a wooden spoon, chopstick or clean pencil horizontally above the bottom corner. Lift the corner over.
FIVE: Then roll your chosen tool away from you until the pasta sheet is wrapped completely around it and indented with the lines from the board. Press down so the top corner seals.
SIX: Gently push it off the tool and onto the lined baking tray. Repeat with the remaining pasta squares. Cover the tray loosely with cling film and leave the finished garganelli to sit out for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. This allows them to dry out slightly and helps them retain their shape. If they start to flatten, gently squeeze the middle to get them back into a tube shape. If you are short of time, you can skip this step and cook straight away.
Cooking Tips:
Resting: allowing the shaped garganelli 30 minutes-1 hour to dry out helps them retain their shape. You can push it for up to 2-3 hours, if necessary. However, if you are short on time, you can cook them straight away. They will still taste delicious.
Al dente: cook the pasta until it is ‘al dente’ (meaning ‘to the bite’). It should still be firm when you bite into a piece, but not too chewy. It will cook much quicker than dried pasta (it literally takes a few minutes). Also remember it will be cooked for a minute or so as it is tossed through the amatriciana sauce.
Amatriciana Sauce: Serving Suggestion
I love serving garganelli with amatriciana sauce. It's one of Rome's most famous pasta sauces with tomatoes, guanciale, and chilli.
Guanciale: an Italian cured meat from pork jowl or cheek. It’s similar to pancetta, but fattier and saltier with less of the smoked flavour. It is traditionally used in carbonara. Use diced pancetta or streaky bacon, if you prefer. If making it for vegetarians, simply leave it out.
Olive oil - this helps soften the onion and adds a delicate flavour to the base of the amatriciana sauce.
Onion - this adds flavour to the amatriciana pasta sauce. You can use a red onion if that is what you have.
Dried chilli flakes - these add a subtle spicy kick to this amatriciana with garganelli. You can leave them out if you aren’t a fan of too much heat.
Tinned plum tomatoes - these are key to creating a rich amatriciana sauce. Go for the best quality tinned tomatoes you can find. I recommend mutti.
Parmesan - a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan adds a delicious cheesy umami flavour to amatriciana with garganelli.
Top tip
Extra flavour: let the garganelli simmer in the amatriciana sauce for a minute or so. It helps the pasta take on flavour and also thickens the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am by no means fluent in Italian, but I am reliably informed it is pronounced gar-gah-NEH-lee.
I love to serve it with an amatriciana sauce (see above) but it's delicious with any kind of sauce you'd usually use with penne or rigatoni. It is an ideal shape as any sauce clings to all the ridges so each piece is full of flavour. It is lovely with homemade basil pesto or a zesty lemon and pistachio pesto. I often serve it with my creamy roasted red bell pepper sauce, the sauce from my gnocchi alla norma or my creamy mushroom pasta too. Have a look through my pasta recipes and enjoy trying out different combinations.
Storage & Freezing/Make Ahead Instructions
There is no getting away from the fact that fresh pasta doesn’t last anywhere near as long as dried. Once shaped, it is best cooked within 24 hours (keep in a sealed container in the fridge if shaping more than 1 hour before cooking). However, it freezes really well for up to 3 months (see notes for guidance). Plus, you can add straight to boiling water - no need to defrost.
You can freeze shaped garganelli for up to 3 months. Plus, you can add straight to boiling water - no need to defrost. I like to open freeze on a tray for 30 minutes, then once firmed up, transfer to a sealed container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
The shaped garganelli is best cooked on the same day (cover and chill if making more than 1 hour ahead and cook within 24 hours) or frozen. The finished dish is best served straight away - if you do have leftovers, you can leave them to cool completely and cover and chill for up to 3 days (just bear in mind that the pasta may go a little mushy on reheating since it is homemade).
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like the sound of this amatriciana with garganelli, you will love my gnocchiflette. Also don’t miss my penne puttanesca or spicy 'nduja pasta. If you want to make a different pasta shape, try my triangoli recipe.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave a review in the comments… I love hearing what you thought, any changes you made, the stories behind what made you try my recipes. Also, if you share a photo on Instagram, please tag me @desertislanddishes, it makes my day to see you making my creations!
How to Make Homemade Garganelli
Ingredients
For the amatriciana sauce:
- 130 g guanciale or pancetta diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 x 400 g tin good quality plum tomatoes
- 80 g Parmesan finely grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the garganelli pasta:
- Semolina flour for dusting
- 1 x fresh pasta dough
- 00 flour for dusting
To serve:
- Freshly grated Parmesan
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the gargenelli:
- Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper and dust with semolina. Set aside.
- Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out your pasta into four equal-sized long sheets. Cut into 4cm squares and place onto the semolina-dusted tray. Cover with a clean tea towel.
- Working with one square at a time, place onto a ridged wooden board (like one you would use to make gnocchi) so that it forms a diamond shape in front of you.
- Place the end of a wooden spoon, chopstick or clean pencil horizontally above the bottom corner. Lift the corner over, then roll your chosen tool away from you until the pasta sheet is wrapped completely around it and indented with the lines from the board. Press down so the top corner seals. Gently push it off the tool and onto the lined baking tray. Repeat with the remaining pasta squares.
- Cover the tray loosely with cling film and leave the finished garganelli to sit out for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. This allows them to dry out slightly and helps them retain their shape. If they start to flatten, gently squeeze the middle to get them back into a tube shape. If you are short of time, you can skip this step and cook straight away.
To make the amatriciana sauce (I like to do this whilst the pasta dough rests):
- Add the diced guanciale to a large non-stick frying pan and set over a medium heat. Dry fry for 4-5 minutes, agitating the pan every now and then, until the fat has rendered out and it is crispy all over. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon (leaving the fat behind) and place into a bowl. Set aside.
- Add the olive oil to the pan with the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over a low heat for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not coloured. Add the chilli flakes and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour in the tin of plum tomatoes (with their juices) then fill the can halfway with water (about 200ml), swirl gently to get as much of the tomato juices as possible, and add to the pan. Tip the crispy pancetta back into the pan, stir gently and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes - or until thickened and reduced. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the amatriciana with garganelli:
- When ready to cook the garganelli, bring a large pan of generously salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, place the amatriciana sauce over a low-medium heat to warm through if you have made ahead.
- Once the water is rapidly boiling, add the garganelli pasta. Cook for 2-3 minutes - or until al dente.
- Remove the cooked garganelli pasta from the pan using a spider or slotted spoon and add directly to the sauce. Toss to coat in the sauce, adding a splash of water, if needed, to make it smooth and silky. Stir in the grated Parmesan.
- Spoon into bowls and serve straight away with extra freshly grated Parmesan and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
