Homemade Basil Farfalle

A recipe for Homemade Basil Farfalle! This butterfly-shaped pasta is packed with finely chopped basil leaves.

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This Homemade Basil Farfalle is a great option to use up some leftover fresh basil or incorporate a little summer flavor directly into your pasta.

To really show off the color, I formed the basil dough into farfalle- one of my favorite pasta shapes growing up. Farfalle, often known as bowtie, translates to butterflies in Italian. It is a fairly easy shape to make, but does take a little time to form each individual piece by hand.

We like to pair the Homemade Basil Farfalle simply with a fresh tomato sauce and grated Parmesan, but many tomato and cream-based sauces will work well.

You can even make the farfalle into the mini Farfalline to add to soup.

Notable Ingredients

I used 2/3 ’00’ pasta flour and 1/3 fine semolina to create the dough. If you do not have semolina available, you can use 1 1/2 cups ’00’ or all-purpose flour in a pinch.

Semolina (durum wheat flour) is a flour with a high protein content perfect for a variety of pasta, pancakes, and bread.

It can be located in the specialty flour section of many larger grocery stores (I have found it at Eataly in Los Angeles and Wegmans in Northern Virginia), especially those featuring Italian ingredients or on Amazon: Bob’s Red Mill Semolina Pasta Flour. For this recipe, you will need fine semolina flour.

Forming the Basil Dough

Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring up and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.

I used a large food processor to easily bring the dough together. If you do not have a food processor available, very finely chop the fresh basil leaves before combining with the flour and remaining ingredients.

Want to add even more flavor? Toss a peeled and crushed garlic clove into the food processor with the fresh basil leaves before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Add just enough water to bring the dough together. If the pasta dough is too dry and crumbly, slowly add a little more water. The exact amount will vary based on the moisture content of the eggs. If too wet and sticky, slowly add a little more flour until easier to handle (take care not to add too much).

After forming the dough, wrap in plastic or cover and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour. This will make it easier to roll and shape. If you have leftover dough, it can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to a day before using.

If you have a difficult time rolling the dough and it keeps shrinking back, wrap back up in the plastic and allow it to rest for another 15 minutes or so.

Shaping the Farfalle

After resting, divide the dough into two equal pieces.

Cover the dough you are not currently using with a clean cloth or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

If you find the edges starting to dry, dampen them with just a little touch of water to help them stick together before rolling again through the pasta machine.

Either use the pasta machine or a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin sheet. I personally prefer to use a pasta machine when rolling this dough to create more even sheets.

Gradually roll the pasta to the thinnest or second thinnest setting, 1/16-1/8th inch (1.5-3 millimeters) thick. I usually do second thinnest setting for this shape.

Lightly dust with flour as needed to keep the pasta from sticking to the work surface or pasta machine.

Cut the thin sheet of dough into rectangles about 1 1/2 inch x 1 inch (4 x 2.5 centimeter) wide using the straight or crimped edge of a pastry or pizza wheel. You can make the Farfalle larger (Farfallone) or smaller (Farfalline) by adjusting the size of the rectangles.

 Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch the center of the long edges of the rectangle together. Repeat with remaining rectangles. Place the Farfalle in a single layer on the baking sheet and allow to dry about 30 minutes to 1 hour before boiling and serving.

This recipe can easily be doubled. If doubling, divide the dough into 4 equal portions.

If not using right away, the prepared farfalle can be arranged on the parchment-lined baking sheet and frozen before storing in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Looking for more homemade pasta?

Try my:

• Homemade Spinach Fettuccine
• Herb-Laminated Pasta
• Sorpesine (Homemade Little Surprises)

This recipe was originally posted in July 2014 and updated in March 2024.

Homemade Basil Farfalle Recipe

Adapted from Taste of Home

Print Pin

5 from 4 votes

Homemade Basil Farfalle

A recipe for Homemade Basil Farfalle! This butterfly-shaped pasta is packed with finely chopped basil leaves.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, farfalle, herb, homemade, Italian, Italy, noodle, pasta

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -3 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup (125 grams) 00 pasta flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (80 grams) fine semolina
• 1/2 cup (10 grams, 0.35 ounces) fresh basil leaves
• 2 large eggs
• Water for bringing the dough together

Instructions

To form the dough:

• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, semolina, and basil leaves. Process until the basil leaves are finely chopped and incorporated.
• Add the eggs and continue to process while very slowly adding just enough water to bring a soft dough together.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Place one on a floured work surface and cover the remainder. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
• Roll the dough into a thin sheet using a pasta machine or rolling pin, starting with the widest setting and continuing to press and dusting with flour as needed to the second to last or last setting based on desired thickness, about 1/16th-1/8th inch (1.5-3 millimeters) thick.
• Place the sheet of pasta on a floured work surface.

To make the farfalle:

• Cut the pasta sheet into 1 1/2 x 1 inch (4×2.5 centimeter) rectangles.
• Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch the long edges together to form a butterfly or bow shape.
• Repeat with remaining rectangles, then the remaining piece of dough.
• Arrange the pasta in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to dry for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta in batches, taking care to not overcrowd, and simmer until they rise to the surface.
• Drain and serve immediately with desired sauce.