Hand-Rolled Tuscan Spinach Pici Pasta With Garlic Sauce Recipe

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Spinach Pici Pasta is an authentic and rustic pasta recipe, consisting of hand-rolled spaghetti-style pasta that’s lightly boiled and then served with a simple garlic butter sauce!

Today, I’ve included spinach to this pici pasta, giving the pasta a punch of vibrant green color and nutrition. Even better is the fact that this pasta is completely eggless and can be made without any special pasta equipment.

A white plate holds a serving of handmade spinach pici pasta covered in a garlic butter sauce.
This foolproof pici noodle recipe boasts the perfect balance of simplicity and flavor, making it a must-try for pasta lovers everywhere.
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🗝️ Recipe’s key points

  • This spinach pici pasta is made with simple ingredients and requires no special equipment.
  • It’s a great pasta to make as a beginner pasta maker or someone who has never made their own pasta before.
  • This recipe is perfect for those allergic to eggs as the dough-like pasta is only made with flour, spinach, oil, and salt!

Spinach Pici Pasta is a hearty and chewy pasta dish. Pair it with a light or heavy sauce as a delicious and authentic Italian meal.

🛒 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

Spinach Pici Pasta

Image of the ingredients needed for the pici pasta made with spinach.

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  • baby spinach leaves
  • flour — all-purpose
  • olive oil — extra virgin
  • Kosher salt — for cooking the pasta

Garlic Butter Sauce

Photo of the ingredients in the garlic butter sauce.
  • butter — we use unsalted
  • garlic — crushed
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper– we like the freshly ground or restaurant grade pepper
  • red pepper flakes — add more or less to your spicy liking
  • pasta water — for making a thicker sauce
  • Parmesan cheese — freshly grated is best

🗒 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

The first collage features the beginning steps of making the spinach pici.
  1. Add the flour and baby spinach in a food processor (or blender). 
  2. Pulse together until all the spinach is broken down. 
  3. Slowly pour in the olive oil with the food processor still on. 
  4. The mixture will start to thicken in the food processor.
The second collage features the continuing steps of making the Italian pasta.
  1. Stop to test the consistency and continue if needed. 
  2. Once the dough is starting to stick together, it’s time to transfer the dough to the rolling station. 
  3. Pull off gumball sized pieces of dough and roll them with your hands into thick spaghetti pieces. 
  4. Boil slightly salted water and boil the pasta for about 1.5 minutes, or until the pasta floats to the top of the pot. Set the cooked pasta aside while preparing the butter garlic sauce. 
The third collage features the steps to making the butter garlic sauce.
  1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet. 
  2. Add the minced garlic.
  3. Pour in the pasta water, ¼ a cup at a time as the sauce starts to cook down. 
  4. Sprinkle in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. 
The fourth and final collage shows sautéing the pici in the butter garlic sauce.
  1. Place the spinach Pici pasta in the pan and coat it in the sauce. 
  2. Grate parmesan cheese over the plated spinach Pici pasta and enjoy!

🥫 Storage

Store leftover spinach pici pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing pici pasta as the texture will likely change from the freezing and thawing process.

📚 Variations

A Skillet contains the Spinach Pici in butter garlic sauce.
This mind-blowingly simple recipe for homemade pasta transforms your kitchen into an Italian trattoria.

👩🏻‍🍳 Tips

  • You’ll need reserved pasta water to make the sauce. Don’t discard the pasta water once the spinach pici pasta has boiled, but rather set it aside.
  • Try to roll the pici pasta strands the same thickness so that they all cook at the same rate.
  • I like to add olive oil to this pasta recipe as pici pasta can dry out easily and crack. The oil keeps the pasta silky and smooth.

🤔 FAQs

What is the difference between pici and spaghetti?

Pici pasta is thicker than traditional spaghetti. It is hand-rolled which makes it appear more rustic than spaghetti.

What kind of pasta is pici?

Pici is a Tuscan type of pasta, typically made from flour and water.

Why is it called pici pasta?

“Pici” comes from the term “appiciare” which refers to the manual way of traditionally making this pasta by hand-rolling.

What is pici in Florence?

Pici is also referred to as “Pinci” pasta and can be found on most menus as a simple hand-rolled pasta.

What is another name for Pici pasta?

Pici is also known as pinzi, umbricelli, strangozzi, lunghetti, ciriole, and serpentelli.

  • Spinach Ricotta Ravioli – Enjoy a hearty and comforting serving of spinach-filled ravioli in a creamy tomato sauce. This recipe shows you how to make fresh ravioli pasta from scratch!
  • Spinach Tortellini in Alfredo Sauce – Another spinach-inspired pasta dish, this time with cheese spinach tortellini in a homemade garlic parmesan cheese sauce, combined with sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach.
  • Lemon Spinach Orzo Pasta – Ditch classic risotto and make this easy lemon spinach orzo pasta instead! It’s super creamy and pairs with any main meal.
Fork holding a piece of the Tuscan spinach pasta.
Impress your dinner guests with this jaw-droppingly gorgeous Tuscan pasta made entirely from scratch.

🍽 What to serve with Pici pasta

Spinach Pici Pasta is great with a light sauce, like the butter garlic sauce in this recipe, or a heavier sauce. It also pairs beautifully with the addition of roasted tomatoes.

🔪 All Our Way recommends the following

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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

📞 Chiacchierata (chat)

Who needs store-bought pasta when you can whip up your own vibrant and flavorful Tuscan pici at home? This recipe transforms basic ingredients into jaw-dropping delicious noodles that are begging to be speared with your fork. This simple homemade rustic pasta will have you feeling like a master chef in no time. With just flour, spinach, and olive oil, you’ll be rolling out sensational noodles that would make any Italian nonna proud!

Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!

Overhead view of the homemade Tuscan spinach pasta with grated cheese on the side and the skillet with additional pici in the back.
Whenever you’re craving the taste of Italy, get ready to roll out these foolproof pici noodles.

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

What’s new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We’ll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make
cooking fun and easy.

📖 Recipe

Tuscan Spinach Pici Pasta covered in Garlic Butter Sauce with Hot Pepper flakes.

Hand Rolled Tuscan Spinach Pici Pasta With Butter Garlic Sauce

Enjoy this simple Tuscan Spinach Pici Pasta, coated in butter garlic sauce, and topped with freshly shredded parmesan cheese. A comforting main meal that can be easily adapted and served all year round!

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Course: Main Course Pasta, pasta side

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Reducing water in garlic butter sauce: 5 minutes

Total Time: 21 minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 718kcal

Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

Spinach pici pasta

  • 1 approx. 114 grams box of spinach 114 grams
  • 1 cup of flour
  • cup olive oil
  • Pinch of salt

Garlic Butter Sauce

  • 4 clove garlic
  • 3 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup pasta water
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Spinach Pici Pasta:

  • Put flour and spinach in food processor (or blender)

  • Pulse together until all the spinach is broken down

  • Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuing to run your food processor

  • When the dough is starting to stick together it’s time to take the dough to your rolling station

  • Pull off gumball sized pieces of dough and roll into spaghetti pieces

  • Boil slightly salted water

  • Place pasta into boiling water

  • Boil for approx. 1 and a half minutes, or until the pasta floats to the top of the pot

  • Add pasta to sauce of choice and enjoy!

Garlic Butter Sauce

  • Finely mince garlic

  • Melt down butter over medium heat on stove top

  • Add garlic to pan

  • Add pasta water to the sauce ¼ a cup at a time as it cooks down

  • Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

  • Put Spinach Pici Pasta in pan, coat in sauce

  • Plate up the Spinach Pici Pasta, great parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Leftover spinach pici pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it, as the texture will likely change from the freezing and thawing process.

Nutrition

Calories: 718kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 54g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 31g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 414mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 5870IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 5mg

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