Oh, pasta: so comforting, hearty, and easy to eat an entire bowl in one sitting. It’s a pantry staple of the typical American diet and very much loved since it has a long shelf life, is easy to cook, tastes delicious, and fills you up.

Pasta is a favorite for many of us, but it’s not the healthiest thing, especially refined, white pasta that’s full of calories and lacking in nutrients. For a healthier alternative, try eating pasta made from beans, which will give you more protein than whole wheat or white pasta. Make your own bean pasta with these steps:

1. Gather Ingredients and Devices

Making bean pasta doesn’t take many ingredients. Since many of them are vegan cooking staples, you may already have these ingredients on hand. The basic bean pasta ingredients are bean flour, an egg replacement, olive oil, and water. You’ll also need some tools like a grainmill and pasta machine. Start with this recipe from The Pasta Machine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German:

For 1/2 lb. of pasta:

• 3/4 cup semolina flour
• 1/3 cup bean flour ( chickpea, pinto, navy, etc)
• 1 egg (note: use a vegan egg replacer)
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 or more TBS water

2. Transform Beans Into Flour

The first step to making all of those ingredients into your own bean pasta is to choose your desired bean and make flour from it using a grainmill or a good blender. Or, you could buy your own flour at the store to make this process easier. Try chickpea, black bean, fava, pinto, or navy bean flour.

3. Combine Ingredients and Knead

Take these ingredients, combine them, and knead in a mixer or food processor. You can also knead by hand for five minutes if you wish. Make sure you knead until the mixture becomes smooth and soft. You do not want it to be crumbly. Add more water or oil if you desire.

4. Let Mixture Rest

Right after you knead the mixture, you’ll want to cover it right away with a plastic bag to prevent it from drying out. Then, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes and you will have a ready-to-use dough.

5. Knead Dough Using a Pasta Machine

Divide the dough into balls and put the dough lumps through the pasta machine. Run it through five, seven, ten, or however many times it takes for the dough to become softer. Make strips from this dough, then run the strip through the machine until you reach your desired thickness.

6. Let Noodles Dry and Then Boil

Let your noodles dry by hanging them somewhere so they don’t stick together. Then, boil the pasta and you’ll have hot, homemade bean noodles!

After you’ve succeeded in making some delicious, healthy bean pasta, top it off with a fragrant sauce. Try sun dried tomato pesto, homemade spicy red wine tomato sauce, vegan cheesy pasta sauce, creamy avocado-cucumber sauce, or vegan vodka cream sauce.

Image Source: cookbookman17/Flickr