Fresh Herb Pasta (Palm Sunday Pasta)

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This is a recipe I created to teach my kids about Palm Sunday. When they were teeny tiny, I used it as an object lesson to teach them about Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The sheet of pasta represents the road. The fresh herbs represent the palm branches and clothing that were placed on the road as He entered the city. We tell the story as we lay out each element, pressing the herbs between two sheets of pasta and sealing them together. It is a delicious way to kick off Holy Week, and it has become one of our most cherished family traditions.

But you don’t have to celebrate Palm Sunday to love this pasta. Fresh herb pasta is one of the most beautiful things you can make in a home kitchen. Fresh basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, or any herb you love gets pressed between two thin sheets of egg pasta dough, then rolled together until the herbs are visible through the translucent pasta. When you cut it into wide pappardelle strips and drop it into boiling water, the herbs seem to float inside the noodles. It is stunning on the plate, and the flavor is incredible – the herbs release their oils directly into the dough as it cooks, giving every bite a subtle, fresh herbal quality that dried herbs or an herb-infused sauce simply cannot replicate.

We serve this with a simple brown butter and herb sauce to let the pasta itself be the star. The whole point of making something this beautiful is to see it, and a heavy red sauce or thick cream sauce would cover up the work you just did. A drizzle of brown butter, a shower of ricotta salata, and some fresh cracked black pepper is all this pasta needs.

Why Fresh Herb Pasta Is Worth the Effort

Laminating herbs into pasta is not difficult, but it does require a little patience and attention. The technique is simple: you roll out two thin sheets of egg pasta dough, scatter fresh herbs across one sheet, lay the second sheet on top, and roll them together until the herbs are sealed between the layers. The result is a single sheet of pasta with herbs embedded inside, visible through the thin dough like pressed flowers in a window.

This is the kind of recipe that looks like it took hours but actually comes together in about the same time as any fresh pasta. The dough is the same simple egg pasta dough we use for everything – flour, eggs, olive oil, salt, and a little water. If you already have experience with our sourdough egg pasta or our gluten-free pasta, you know the fundamentals. The laminating step adds about 10 extra minutes, and the payoff is a pasta that makes people stop and stare before they even taste it.

The herbs you choose are completely up to you. We use a mix of flat-leaf parsley, basil, sage, and rosemary – whatever is fresh and available. Small, flat leaves work best because they lay flush against the dough and don’t create air pockets. Large basil leaves can be used whole or torn in half. Rosemary needles and small sage leaves press beautifully into the pasta. Use what you have, what you grow, or what looks best at the store.

What You Need

Flour: One and a half cups of all-purpose flour. This is the same egg pasta dough we use throughout the blog and the cookbook.

Eggs: Two large eggs. They give the dough its golden color and elasticity.

Olive oil: One tablespoon. We use Partanna. The oil makes the dough slightly more pliable, which helps when you’re rolling it thin enough to laminate.

Salt: One teaspoon. We use Redmond Real Salt.

Water: Two to three tablespoons, added gradually if the dough needs it. Start with two and add more only if the dough won’t come together.

Fresh herbs: A generous handful of whatever you have. Basil, flat-leaf parsley, sage, rosemary, oregano, or thyme all work. Choose small, flat leaves that will press cleanly between the dough layers. Avoid thick, woody stems – strip the leaves and use those only.

For serving: We like to serve this with a simple brown butter and herb sauce topped with ricotta salata and fresh cracked black pepper. You want a light, simple sauce that lets the herbs inside the pasta shine – a heavy red sauce or thick cream sauce would cover up the beauty of what you’ve made. Another favorite is a simple aglio e olio – just garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and basil. No cooking required and it lets the pasta be the star.

How to Make

Make the dough. Place the flour in a bowl or in a heap on your work surface. Create a well in the center and add the eggs, olive oil, salt, and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix with a fork or your hands, starting with the ingredients in the middle and slowly working in the flour from the edges. Continue until the dough can be gathered into a ball. If it’s still too dry, add the remaining tablespoon of water. If it gets sticky, dust with a little more flour. Knead for 5 to 7 minutes after the flour has all been incorporated. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Wrap it in plastic or cover it in a bowl and let it rest for at least 30 minutes on the counter, or up to 2 hours. You can also rest it overnight in the fridge.

Prepare to cook. Before you start rolling the pasta, fill a large pot with water and place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Add salt generously. The water should be at a rolling boil by the time you’re ready to cook.

Roll out the dough. Cut the dough into 4 to 6 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the remaining pieces covered to prevent them from drying out. Flatten each piece with your hands until it’s about an inch thick, then use a rolling pin or pasta machine to roll it thin, dusting with flour as you go so it doesn’t stick. You need two thin sheets for each batch of laminated pasta. Roll them just a tiny bit thinner than you normally would for regular pasta, since you’ll be pressing two sheets together and the final thickness will be the combined layers.

Laminate the herbs. Scatter fresh herbs across one sheet of pasta in whatever pattern you like. Leave a small border around the edges. For extra insurance that the sheets stick together, brush a little water along the edges and down the center of the herb-covered sheet. Lay the second sheet of dough directly on top. Gently press down with your hands to start sealing the two layers together and push out any air pockets. Then run the combined sheet through the pasta machine again (or roll with a rolling pin) to fully laminate the herbs into the dough and press it to your preferred thickness. The herbs should be clearly visible through the pasta when you’re done.

Cut the pasta. I like to cut this pasta into pappardelle-width strips to really showcase the herbs. Wide noodles let you see the herbs in each bite, which is the whole point. Cut by hand with a knife or a ravioli wheel for a nice ruffled edge. You can also cut it into any shape you prefer, but wider is better for this technique.

Cook and serve. Drop the pasta into the boiling salted water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks fast, so don’t walk away. Remove the pasta using a spider ladle or pasta spoon and transfer it directly into your sauce. Toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with ricotta salata and fresh cracked black pepper.

Tips for Perfect Fresh Herb Pasta

Roll thinner than usual. Since you’re pressing two sheets together, each individual sheet should be rolled just a bit thinner than you’d normally roll for regular pasta. The combined thickness of two sheets plus the herbs should end up about the same as a single sheet of normal pasta.

Use flat, small leaves. Thick stems, woody sprigs, or large bunched-up leaves will create bumps and air pockets in the pasta. Strip leaves from stems, tear large basil leaves in half if needed, and lay everything flat against the dough before covering with the second sheet.

Brush water to seal. A little water brushed along the edges and down the center of the herb-covered sheet acts as glue and prevents the two layers from separating when you roll and cook. Don’t soak it – just a light brush with a pastry brush or your fingertips.

Cut wide to show off the herbs. Pappardelle-width noodles are ideal because the wide surface area lets you see the herbs in every strip. If you cut this into thin spaghetti or fettuccine, you lose the visual impact that makes this pasta special.

Keep the sauce simple. The whole point of fresh herb pasta is seeing and tasting the herbs. A heavy tomato sauce or thick cream sauce will cover all of that up. Brown butter with herbs, aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil), or just good olive oil with Parmigiano are the best choices. You want the pasta to be the star, not the sauce.

Our Palm Sunday Tradition

In our family, we make this pasta on Palm Sunday to kick off Holy Week. It started as a way to teach our children the story of the triumphal entry – the pasta sheet is the road, the herbs are the palm branches and garments laid down before Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. We tell the story together while we scatter the herbs, press the layers, and roll the dough. Our kids get their hands involved, and the story sticks because we are building something with it, not just hearing it.

If your family celebrates Holy Week, this recipe pairs beautifully with our Holy Week Activity Book, which walks families through each day of Holy Week with activities, recipes, coloring pages, and scriptural accounts from all four gospels. The Palm Sunday Pasta is one of the recipes featured in the book, and it’s designed to create a hands-on experience that makes the story come alive for children of all ages.

But this pasta stands completely on its own outside of any holiday context. It is a beautiful, impressive, and surprisingly simple fresh pasta that works for dinner parties, date nights, or any time you want to make something special. The technique is the same whether you’re telling the Palm Sunday story or just making a beautiful Tuesday night dinner.

If you love making fresh pasta, this is a natural next step after mastering our sourdough egg pasta or our gluten-free pasta. And if you’ve been making our three cheese ravioli, you already know how to work with two sheets of dough together – this is the same concept, just with herbs instead of filling.

This recipe is from our family cookbook, Roots of Sicily, and is also featured in our Holy Week Activity Book as part of our family’s Palm Sunday tradition. Both books are available in our shop.