Cavatelli is light made with Ricotta cheese and flour and some are made with just water and flour, our recipe is light and not hard to digest like some that were called sinkers in our house.
Easy to make and delicious with your favorite Traditional Sunday Italian Sauce over them.
Of course, it would be Sunday without mom's homemade fried meatballs on the breakfast table, and then the rest goes in the sauce.
We have not only fond memories but carry on those traditions year after year through the generations.
Mom even had a box of Utica's finest tomato pie on the table every Sunday, we loved it then and now.
Cavatelli is one of my homemade pasta recipes that mom taught me how to make and this is a simple recipe.
This pasta made fresh is always asked for by the family every time we get together.
Scroll down and let's get started with this easy recipe on how to make homemade cavatelli pasta!
How To Tell If Cavatelli Are Cooked
When cooking fresh, cavatelli is done when they float to the top of the boiling water.
Frozen cavatelli will take more time but they will float to the top when done also.
Serve with favorite Sunday Sauce or they are very good with olive oil and garlic and steamed broccoli over the cooked cavatelli.
Ingredients You Will Need (scroll down to the printable recipe card for measurements)
- flour
- ricotta
- salt
- egg
Rolling the dough
You can either use a fork to get the lines in the pasta or a gnocchi board found in most speciality food stores.
These cook perfectly fresh or frozen in salted water.
It takes a little knack to do, just keep practicing.
Cut the ropes, taking the index and middle finger roll them toward you on a floured board.
It takes a bit of practice.
Sauces to Use
Making Homemade Cavatelli Pasta
These are super light using ricotta instead of semolina (super dense and heavier) which is how they make them in Italy, these are the ricotta version which is a pillowy soft pasta.
There are two recipes to follow below one simple ricotta style cavatelli and the other made like in Southern Italy with semolina.
Pick your favorite variety of sauce to add to the top any kind goes great whether it's store-bought or homemade.
Serve this up with some garlic bread and a garden salad a glass of red or white wine and you're good to go!
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Tips for Making Homemade Cavatelli
- always salt the water and bring to a rolling boil first
- use an gnocchi board to get the lines in them or fork tines when rolling
- when they float to the top they are completed cooking
- do not rinse pasta
- cavatelli dough can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 4-6 hours.
- Pasta can be frozen, just dry a on a cookie sheet with flour, then place the pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer without touching and freeze until solid. Place in freezer bags.
Homemade Cavatelli Pasta
Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
This is a family recipe that everyone loves and asks for often, Cavatelli is lighter than most homemade pasta made with ricotta cheese.
Ingredients
- 1-pound ( I usually use half of a 32-ounce container to make 16 ounces) of Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups flour (more for rolling)
Instructions
- Put 2 1/2 cups of the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle.
- Add 2 eggs and the ricotta cheese and incorporate the flour into the eggs and cheese.
- Knead the dough until a soft, not sticky dough is formed add more flour as needed.
- Note: you may need more or less flour depending on the humidity.
- The dough should be a little sticky just add more flour when rolling out to cut them,
- Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out on board using more flour not to stick, and make long ropes.
- Cut into one-inch pieces, then onto the floured board with an index finger and middle finger roll each piece towards you to get the roll of that thin center cavatelli.
- It will take a few tries to get that right.
- Put in a lightly floured pan. As they fill up in the cookie sheets, place the whole pan in the freezer, then store in freezer bags when completely frozen and refreeze until needed.
- When ready to cook, boil a big pot of water generously salted and boil until the Cavatelli float to the top.
- Add sauce and grated cheese on top and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
190Fat (grams)
19Sat. Fat (grams)
11Net carbs
29Sugar (grams)
22
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More Recipes To Try
Traditional Sunday Sauce
Homemade Orecchiette
Baked Cavatelli
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2009. It was edited and re-published in 2020