If you often have hankerings for homemade pasta and enjoy a culinary challenge as much as the next gastronome, it might be time to start making your own.
As fate would have it, turns out you don’t need to enrol in a Tuscan cooking school to level up your pasta prowess. Cue: the pasta maker. Whether you’re a fettucine fiend or a devotee of spaghetti, your pasta maker can do it all with a bit of precision and patience.
To simplify things further, we’ve rounded up some of the best electric pasta makers that will have you saying buonissimo in no time.
The best electric pasta makers for homemade pasta
Marcato Atlas pasta machine with motor, $389.97 (usually $649.95) at Myer
Somewhat of a hybrid between a manual and automatic pasta maker, Atlas from Italian brand Marcato bodes a drive motor for precise and practical pasta making. Featuring a 10-position regulating knob for differing dough thickness, a convenient clamp, and compatibility with 12 separately sold accessories, this baby can make lasagne, 6mm fettucine and 1.5mm tagliolini. Perfetto.
Kitchen Aid pasta roller and cutter attachments 3pc, $299 at Kitchen Aid
If you already have the classic Kitchen Aid stand mixer, you’re halfway there to authentic pasta della casa. Mix the dough in said mixer, then use the pasta roller attachment to knead – followed by the spaghetti or fettucine cutter. Quick, easy, delizioso.
Philips pasta and noodle maker, $399 at Myer
Passionate about pasta, but not to the extent of labouring with love over it? This automatic pasta maker does it all for you in under 10 minutes.
Tradizione Italiana by Benzer Napoli electric pasta maker, $179 (usually $299) at eBay
Ideal for lasagne, tagliolini and fettucine, this traditional-style pasta maker from Tradizione Italiana brings ease and simplicity to pasta night.
Is it worth getting a pasta maker?
If having a yarn over a plate of fresh pasta you made from scratch – doughy hands and all – sounds like an ideal pastime to you, investing in a pasta maker is worth it. You can’t put a price on authenticity or the sense of accomplishment.
Is an electric or manual pasta maker better?
It’s not a question of which is better but how you’re wanting to approach your pasta process. While manual pasta makers can feel more ‘authentic’ to roll with, electric models are especially handy for novices – just be sure to keep up with the machine when it comes to cutting the pasta. Either way, buon appetito.