Best Pasta Makers
Here at Consiglio’s we take pasta very seriously, and rightfully so - as a staple of Italian cuisine and heritage, fresh homemade pasta is as much a part of our favourite memories as it is our favourite meals.
Bringing together families, friends and loved ones for generations, making fresh pasta at home is as much about the experience as it is the outcome - and to guarantee the success of both, you’ll want to make sure you have the very best pasta maker!
This week at Consiglio’s, we break down the best manual, electric and commercial pasta makers on the market.
Best Pasta Makers
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Marcato Ristaurantica Commercial Pasta Maker |
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Best Pasta Maker: Best Manual Pasta Makers for Home Use
Best Manual Pasta Maker: Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm
Strong, durable, and offering the utmost in functionality, Marcato has long since established itself as the golden-standard in pasta making. Founded in the 1930’s, Marcato is still Italian made to this day.
The Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm features a classic, stainless steel design and housing with integrated 150mm (6 inch) rollers and a removable cutting attachment. Though boasting a classic design, the Wellness series features new, updated nickel-free alloy rollers - making them more durable than competing brands.
Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm Specifications:
- 150mm (6 inch) rollers and cutting attachments
- Includes table clamp
- Adjustable roller knob with 9 thickness settings
- Compatible with the Marcato Atlas Wellness Motor
- Made in Italy
The Marcato Atlas 150mm comes with a removable Spaghetti and Fettuccine attachment, with additional cutters available in a range of shapes and sizes.
Available Marcato Atlas 150mm Cutting Attachments:
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1mm wide, straight-cut noodle A small, thin noodle similar in size to those common in South and East Asia, Vermicelli’s fine texture gives it a delicate feeling in the mouth, and generally pairs well with fine, light sauces. It’s small size gives it a very fast cooking time. |
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2mm, thick square-cut noodle Named after one of the the oldest traditional pasta makers, Spaghetti Chittara noodles are thicker and heftier than standard spaghetti. |
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2mm, round-cut noodle While the Atlas pasta maker comes with a 2mm, square-cut spaghetti cutter, this attachment cuts round noodles, producing spaghetti similar to that found in supermarkets and grocery stores |
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3mm, straight-cut noodle Literally translated from “little tongues”, Linguine is typically paired with seafood or tomato based sauces. |
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3.5mm, round-cut noodle Typically an extruded pasta due to its thickness, Bigoli is a thicker, heavier spaghetti-type noodle, often made using buckwheat or whole wheat flour. Due to its thick, round size, it’s recommended that the Bigoli attachment be used for pasta sheets run through to the Atlas 150’s #2 thickness setting for the best results. |
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4mm, straight-cut noodle Common in the Genoa region, and with a larger surface area than either Spaghetti and Linguine, Trenette coats beautifully in rich sauces and retains a firm texture when cooked. |
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8mm, ruffle-cut noodle Translating to “the Mafaldas” mafaldine hails from Southern Italy as a celebration of Princess Mafalda (born in 1902). |
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12mm, straight-cut noodle The diminutive form of the lasagna noodle, Lasagnette’s wide ribbon shape lends itself well to either baked and layered pasta dishes, or tossed with a rich sauce. |
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12mm, ruffle-cut noodle Translating to “little queen”, Reginette (like Mafaldine above) is a nod to Princess Mafalda. Both noodles share the same ruffle-cut shape, however Reginette is 12mm (Mafaldine is 8mm) |
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43mm, ruffle-cut noodle With Tuscan origins, Pappardelle’s wide, luscious shape makes it the perfect pairing for rich, oily and chunky sauces. |
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Ravioli and Raviolini are both small squares of stuffed pasta - traditionally ricotta or root vegetables. Delicious and popular, their origin and heritage is widely contested, with many regions claiming influence. The Marcato Atlas 150mm Ravioli attachment makes 45mm (1.7 inch) squares (three squares per row) The Raviolini attachment makes smaller 30mm (1.2 inch) squares (four per row). |
For those seeking some diversity in their pasta making options, the Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm MultiPasta Maker bundles an Atlas 150mm pasta maker with either a Ravioli or Raviolini attachment, as well as an additional straight-edge and additional ruffled-edge cutting attachment. The additional attachments offered by Marcato in the kit can occasionally vary, so be sure to check our item description for current availability.
Best Manual Pasta Maker: Marcato Atlas Wellness 180mm (Runner Up)
Sharing the same rich history and design as the 150mm above, the Marcato Atlas Wellness 180mm features wider 180mm (7 inch) rollers and cutters allowing for it to roll wider sheets of pasta, making it a popular choice for making lasagna. As with the 150mm, the Marcato Atlas Wellness 180mm also features a removable spaghetti and fettuccine cutting attachment.
Despite its increased convenience for making lasagna, the 180mm’s defining feature is also it’s downfall - Marcato sadly does not make additional cutting attachments in the wider 180mm size, making it less versatile than its smaller 150mm counterpart.
Marcato Atlas Wellness 180mm Specifications:
- 180mm (7 inch) rollers and cutting attachments
- Includes table clamp
- Adjustable roller knob with 9 thickness settings
- Compatible with the Marcato Atlas Wellness Motor
- Made in Italy
Best Manual Pasta Maker: Imperia SP150 (Runner Up)
One of the original innovators in streamlining pasta making in home kitchens, Imperia has been crafting durable yet easy-to-use pasta makers for generations. With a rich Italian history and backed by almost 85 years of experience, much like Marcato the Imperia line is still 100% Italian made.
The Imperia SP150 features a flat roller system with an easy-to-grip adjustment knob, and comes standard with a 2mm tagliatelle (square-cut spaghetti) and a 6.5mm fettuccine cutting attachment - a design and setup so intuitive and versatile that it has now evolved to become almost universal across all home-use pasta maker models on the market.
Though a durable and dependable pasta maker, the Imperia SP150 falls short of the Marcato above on two small points: while Marcato has updated its design to include new alloy rollers, the Imperia has kept its original design, and the Imperia SP150 also only has six adjustable roller settings compared to Marcato’s nine. Where the Imperia SP150 has a slight edge comes in the additional cutting attachments available - Imperia is the only home use pasta maker to offer an additional gnocchi, cavatelli and rigatelli attachment. As a result, the Imperia SP150 comes in a very, very close runner up to the Marcato pasta makers above.
Imperia SP150 Specifications:
- 150mm (6 inch) rollers and cutting attachments
- Stainless steel and food-grade steel construction
- Table clamp included
- 6 adjustable roller settings
- Compatible with the Imperia Pasta Facile motor
- Made in Italy
Available Imperia SP150 Pasta Maker Attachments:
- Imperia SP150 Capellini (Angel Hair) Attachment: 1.5mm, straight-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150 Spaghetti (Round) Attachment: 2mm, straight-cut round noodle, similar in shape and size to the dry spaghetti found in supermarkets and grocery stores
- Imperia SP150 Trenette Attachment: 4mm, square-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150 Lasagnette Attachment: 12mm, square-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150 Reginette: 12mm, ruffle-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150 Pappardelle Attachment: 32mm, square-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150 Reginette Attachment: 44mm, ruffle-cut noodle
- Imperia SP150mm Mille Gnocchi, Cavatelli, Rigatelli Attachment: Shapes Gnocchi, Cavatelli and Rigatelli - simply insert your strand of dough in the row corresponding to your desired shape.
- Imperia SP150 Ravioli Attachment: 30mm (1.2 inch) square ravioli (3 per row)
Best Pasta Maker: Best Electric Pasta Makers for Home Use
Though manual pasta makers certainly get the job done (and done well), adding a motor into the equation makes the process faster, easier, and more convenient. All three manual pasta makers above are compatible with a motor (motor can be added to the manual pasta maker), or come in electric versions - as such, the crux of our rankings sits in comparing the two motors side-by-side.
Marcato Atlas Wellness Motor vs. Imperia Pasta Facile Motor
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Both motors feature a similar design and functionality, but Marcato takes an edge when compared side-by-side - it’s chrome and steel construction makes it slightly more durable, and by attaching directly to the pasta makers it’s easier and more intuitive to use.
With the Marcato motor taking the edge, our best electric pasta maker ranking is similar to the manual pasta makers above:
Best Electric Pasta Maker: Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm Electric |
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A great pasta maker plus a great motor makes the Marcato Atlas Wellness 150mm Electric an unbeatable combination! As with the manual pasta maker above, the 150mm Electric is compatible with additional cutting attachments, and is available in the Ultimate Marcato Electric MultiPasta Kit (note: it’s recommended the Ravioli and Raviolini attachments be used manually) |
Best Electric Pasta Maker: Marcato Atlas Wellness 180mm Electric (Runner Up) |
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With its additional width, the Marcato Atlas 180mm Electric is hard to beat, but as with the manual version the 180mm Electric is sadly not compatible with the range of additional Marcato cutting attachments on the market. |
Best Electric Pasta Maker: Imperia SP150 Electric Pasta Maker (Runner Up) |
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A close runner up behind Marcato, the Imperia SP150 Electric is an impressive pasta maker, and is compatible with the range of additional Imperia SP150 attachments available (note: it’s recommended that the Ravioli and Gnocchi, Cavatelli, and Rigatelli attachment be used manually) |
Best Pasta Maker: Best Commercial Pasta Makers
A step above the domestic pasta makers above, commercial pasta makers are designed to be rugged, durable, and be used for consistent heavy-duty use in professional restaurant or catering environments. When making pasta on this scale, time is money and quality is imperative.
Best Commercial Pasta Maker: Marcato Ristaurantica
The very best of the best, the Marcato Ristorantica Commercial Pasta Maker has everything you could want out of a commercial-grade pasta maker: a heavy-duty steel construction, powerful motor, built-in dough mixer and extruder, pasta sheet rollers and a built-in cutting attachment - the dough mixer and extruder being two features we have yet to see here on this list.
With an integrated dough mixer, the Ristorantica brings a level of convenience, automation, and consistency to restaurant and commercial pasta making, saving you precious time and energy in kneading your dough. Combined with the built-in extruder, the Ristorantica streamlines your pasta making operation by mixing, extruding, rolling and cutting - performing the work of three machines in one compact, durable unit. Designed for commercial and restaurant use, the Ristorantica is powerful enough to be worked consistently and continuously for hours on a daily basis.
Not only is the Marcato Ristorantica a workhorse, it’s good looking too! Featuring a retro aesthetic with brass and bronze accents, the Ristorantica is as gorgeous as it is functional!
Marcato Ristorantica Specifications:
- Includes 3 extrusion dies for making spaghetti, macaroni and rigatoni
- 220mm pasta roller attachment with 10 adjustable thickness settings
- 220mm fettuccini cutting attachment (6.5mm straight-cut noodles)
- Production capability of 12kg (26.5 lbs) per hour
- Hopper/Dough Mixer Capacity: 1.6kg (3.5 lbs)
- Mixing Cycle Time: 180 seconds (3 minutes)
- Extrusion Cycle Time: 240 seconds (4 minutes)
- Made in Italy
Best Commercial Pasta Maker: Imperia RM220 Electric (Runner Up)
Featuring a smaller and simpler design than the Ristorantica above, the Imperia RM220 is a compact restaurant-grade electric pasta sheeter with optional cutting attachments available. Geared towards restaurant and catering use, the RM220 is also a great fit for larger-scale domestic usage.
Though it doesn’t mix, knead or extrude like the Ristorantica above, the RM220’s simplicity is its biggest strength - it fills the gap in the market between small home-use machines, and complex (and expensive) commercial machines. For more information about the Imperia RM220 pasta maker, read our full review here.
Imperia RM220 Specifications:
- Production capability of 11.8kg (26 lbs) per hour
- 10 adjustable thickness settings
- 220mm rollers
- Stainless steel housing
- Made in Italy
Cutting Attachments for the Imperia RM220 and R220 Restaurant Pasta Makers:
- Imperia RM220 Cappellini Attachment (1.5mm, straight-cut)
- Imperia RM220 Tagliatelle Attachment (2mm square cut-spaghetti)
- Imperia RM220 Spaghetti Attachment (2mm round-cut)
- Imperia RM220 Trenette Attachment (4mm straight-cut)
- Imperia RM220 Fettuccine Attachment (6.5mm straight-cut)
- Imperia RM220 Lasagnette Attachment (12mm straight-cut)
- Imperia RM220 Reginette Attachment (12mm ruffle-cut)
Best Commercial Pasta Maker: Imperia R220 Manual (Runner Up)
The Imperia R220 features the same build and design as the the RM220 above (minus the integrated motor), and is compatible with the same optional additional cutting attachments. As a manual pasta maker, the R220 provides a quality restaurant-grade pasta maker at a very economic pricepoint, making it a great choice for small restaurants or caterers on a budget!
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