The KitchenAid Pasta Press and Pasta Roller are both incredible tools for making homemade pasta, but they produce entirely different results. The Pasta Roller flattens your dough into long, uniform sheets perfect for lasagna and ravioli, while the Pasta Press extrudes dough through shaping discs to create various types of pasta like spaghetti, macaroni, and bucatini.
Here's everything you need to know to choose the right pasta attachment from KitchenAid for your culinary needs.
KitchenAid Pasta Roller Attachment
The KitchenAid Pasta Roller is the foundational tool for any home cook who wants to make flat noodle pasta. This attachment is elegantly simple, focused on one primary job: taking a ball of pasta dough and mechanically rolling it into thin, even sheets. It's the go-to choice for classic layered dishes, filled pastas, and can be paired with separate cutter attachments for noodles like fettuccine and linguine.
- What it is: A single, durable metal attachment that rolls pasta dough into sheets.
- Key features: 8 different thickness settings, rolls dough into 6-inch wide sheets, compatible with all KitchenAid stand mixers.
- Price: Around $99.99 for the roller alone (often bundled with cutters).
- Materials/Construction: Commercial-style stainless steel construction for durability and easy cleaning.
- Pros: Excellent for making wide, uniform sheets for lasagna and ravioli. Sturdy, all-metal build feels incredibly durable. Simple to use - just feed the dough through. Provides precise control over dough thickness.
- Cons: Limited to making sheets only, you need separate attachments for cutting noodles. Requires some manual guidance to feed the dough properly. Cannot create tube or spiral pasta shapes.
This attachment is ideal for anyone who primarily loves making lasagna, ravioli, or other hand-cut pastas and values professional-grade construction.
Shop this product: kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/attachments/p.pasta-roller-attachment.ksmpa.html/
KitchenAid Gourmet Pasta Press
The KitchenAid Gourmet Pasta Press is a versatile attachment designed for variety. Instead of rolling, it uses an auger to extrude dough through one of six interchangeable shaping discs. This is how you get classic shapes that are impossible to create by hand, such as hollow bucatini or ridged rigatoni. It's a complete pasta-shaping system in one accessory.
- What it is: An extruder attachment that pushes pasta dough through shaping plates to create 6 different pasta types.
- Key features: Includes 6 quick-change discs for spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni, fusilli, large macaroni, and small macaroni. Has a built-in wire cutter to slice the pasta to your desired length.
- Price: Around $149.99.
- Materials/Construction: Durable plastic housing with a metal auger and shaping plates.
- Pros: Incredibly versatile, producing six different shapes with one tool. The built-in cutter provides clean cuts and control over pasta length. Fun and easy to watch the pasta emerge. Creates shapes that can't be made with a roller.
- Cons: Dough consistency is critical for proper extrusion - too wet or too dry and it will fail. Cleaning can be more involved due to the various small parts and discs. The plastic housing feels less substantial than the roller's all-metal body.
The Pasta Press is perfect for creative cooks who want to make a wide variety of familiar pasta shapes and enjoy the convenience of an all-in-one tool.
Shop this product: kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/attachments/p.gourmet-pasta-press.ksmpexta.html/
Pasta Roller vs. Pasta Press Comparison
Type of Pasta Produced
This is the most significant difference between the two attachments. The Pasta Roller is exclusively for sheet pastas. It creates the foundation for dishes like lasagna, ravioli, tortellini, and hand-cut pappardelle. If you want spaghetti or fettuccine, you'll need to purchase separate cutter attachments to run the sheets through.
In contrast, the Pasta Press is purpose-built for shaped noodles. It excels at creating spaghetti, fusilli, rigatoni, and other extruded forms. It cannot, however, produce the wide, thin sheets needed for lasagna or filled pasta. Your choice here depends entirely on the kind of pasta you want to make most often.
Process & Ease of Use
The Pasta Roller has a straightforward, hands-on process. You guide flattened pieces of dough into the roller, "fold and roll" them a few times to knead, then progressively guide them through thinner and thinner settings. It's a simple mechanical process with a very minimal learning curve.
The Pasta Press has a different workflow. You feed small, walnut-sized balls of dough into the top hopper, and the machine's internal auger does the work of pressing it through the shaping disc. Your main job is to use the integrated wire cutter to slice off the pasta as it reaches your preferred length. While the machine does more of the work, getting the dough's hydration exactly right is crucial for success, which can take some practice.
Materials & Construction
The KitchenAid Pasta Roller is celebrated for its all-metal, stainless steel construction. It feels heavy, durable, and built to last a lifetime, matching the quality of the stand mixer itself. This inspires confidence and ensures smooth, consistent operation for years.
The Pasta Press has a plastic outer housing with metal components inside (the auger and discs). While the plastic is tough and the internal parts are sturdy, it doesn't feel as premium as the all-metal roller. However, the design is functional and practical for its purpose.
Price & Value
Purchased individually, the Pasta Roller is typically more affordable than the Pasta Press. However, its value proposition changes when you consider what you want to make. If all you crave is lasagna, the roller offers excellent value. If you want spaghetti and fettuccine too, you'll need the 3-Piece Set (Roller + 2 Cutters), which brings the cost closer to the Pasta Press.
The Pasta Press costs more as a single unit but comes with everything you need to make six different shapes right out of the box. For sheer variety, it provides significant value in one package, saving you from buying multiple attachments.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both attachments are fantastic additions to a kitchen, but they're not interchangeable. Your pasta preferences make the choice clear.
Choose the Pasta Roller if:
- You primarily want to make sheet pasta like lasagna, ravioli, and tortellini.
- You value heavy-duty, all-metal construction.
- You prefer the straightforward, manual process of feeding dough through rollers.
- You intend to buy the separate cutter attachments for fettuccine and linguine eventually or if you enjoy hand-cutting pasta shapes.
Choose the Pasta Press if:
- You want to make a wide variety of shapes like spaghetti, fusilli, and macaroni.
- You want an all-in-one attachment that offers the most versatility out of the box.
- You’re excited about creating pasta shapes that are difficult or impossible to make by hand.
- You're patient enough to perfect your pasta dough recipe for optimal extrusion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference between the KitchenAid Pasta Roller and Pasta Press?
The core difference is function. The Pasta Roller rolls dough flat into sheets, which are used for lasagna, ravioli, and hand-cut noodles. The Pasta Press pushes (extrudes) dough through shaped discs to create noodles like spaghetti, macaroni, and fusilli.
Do these attachments work with all KitchenAid stand mixers?
Yes, both the Pasta Roller and the Pasta Press are designed to be compatible with the power hub on every model of KitchenAid stand mixers, from the Classic Series to the Professional Series.
Which pasta attachment is better for a beginner?
The Pasta Roller is generally considered simpler for a beginner. The process of feeding dough through the rollers is intuitive, and perfecting dough texture is more forgiving. The Pasta Press requires a bit more trial-and-error to get the dough's hydration level perfect for smooth extrusion.
Can the Pasta Roller make spaghetti?
Not by itself. The standalone Pasta Roller only makes solid sheets. To make spaghetti, you need to either buy the 3 Piece Pasta Roller & Cutter Set or purchase the separate spaghetti cutter attachment to use after you have rolled out the sheets.
Is the Pasta Press difficult to clean?
It can be a bit more time-consuming than cleaning the roller. The key is to let all the scrap dough caught in the discs and housing dry completely. Once dry, it usually flakes right off. Both attachments include a cleaning brush to help with this process.
What kind of dough is best for the Pasta Press?
A drier, stiffer dough works best for the Pasta Press. Dough that is too wet or sticky will get caught in the auger and refuse to extrude properly. Many recipes specifically for pasta extruders recommend using semolina flour and less water than traditional egg noodle dough.
Does KitchenAid offer a combo pack?
Yes, the most popular combo pack is the 3-Piece Pasta Roller & Cutter Set. It includes the main Pasta Roller plus two cutter attachments for making fettuccine and spaghetti. This is a great starting point for those who want to make both sheet and long-noodle pastas.
Is the Pasta Press worth the money?
If you love having variety and want to create specific shapes that hold sauce well, like rigatoni or fusilli, then the Pasta Press is absolutely worth it. It unlocks a new world of pasta shapes that you cannot replicate with a rolling pin or the roller attachment.
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