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Pasta, Pretty Please: A Vibrant Approach to Handmade Noodles
The pasta ninja and Instagram star Linda Miller Nicholson delivers her first cookbook, a stunning cornucopia of pasta in every color and shape, all created by hand using all-natural colors from vegetables, herbs, and superfoods—and including 25 dough recipes, 33 traditional and modern shaping techniques, and the perfect fillings and sauces to make your creations sing!
Linda Miller Nicholson began making pasta at age four, but started adding color to it several years ago to entice her son to eat more vegetables. Her creations became a viral sensation, attracting fans worldwide who are mesmerized by her colorful and flavorful designs. Now, with Pasta, Pretty Please home cooks can create dreamy, dazzling pastas in their own kitchens using only all-natural ingredients—flour, eggs, vegetables, herbs, and superfoods—that are true works of art.
Playful and inviting, Pasta, Pretty Please includes recipes, techniques, tips, and inspiration. Linda starts with recipes for basic doughs—standard egg dough, various gnocchi doughs—and works her way up to recipes for dough in many colorful shades. She teaches you just how many colors are pastable and what kinds of pigmented vegetables, fruits, and spices you can use to color your pasta—such as mixing turmeric with parsley for just the right shade of chartreuse, or using activated charcoal powder to create black pasta. She also shows you how to roll out dough, cut and form many pasta shapes, and gives tips for retaining brilliant colors even when cooked.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll find recipes for more elaborate patterns and colors that are sure to impress your family and friends. Linda reveals how to layer colors to make multi-colored doughs in recipes
Rainbow CavatelliPolka Dot FarfalleEmoji RavioliAvocado GnocchiHearts and Stripes PappardelleArgyle Lasagna Sheets6-Colored FettucineYou’ll also find recipes for spectacular sauces and fillings, such
Golden Milk RaguPecorino Pepper Sauce with BroccoliniRoasted Tomatoes with Basil Oil and BurrataSpiced Lamb Yogurt SauceRustic Squash FillingClassic Ricotta FillingPepperoni Pizza FillingFeaturing beautiful pasta in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes, patterns, and sizes, Pasta, Pretty Please is an artistic treasure trove that will please the eye and the palate. Buon Appetito!
Linda Miller Nicholson began making pasta at age four, but started adding color to it several years ago to entice her son to eat more vegetables. Her creations became a viral sensation, attracting fans worldwide who are mesmerized by her colorful and flavorful designs. Now, with Pasta, Pretty Please home cooks can create dreamy, dazzling pastas in their own kitchens using only all-natural ingredients—flour, eggs, vegetables, herbs, and superfoods—that are true works of art.
Playful and inviting, Pasta, Pretty Please includes recipes, techniques, tips, and inspiration. Linda starts with recipes for basic doughs—standard egg dough, various gnocchi doughs—and works her way up to recipes for dough in many colorful shades. She teaches you just how many colors are pastable and what kinds of pigmented vegetables, fruits, and spices you can use to color your pasta—such as mixing turmeric with parsley for just the right shade of chartreuse, or using activated charcoal powder to create black pasta. She also shows you how to roll out dough, cut and form many pasta shapes, and gives tips for retaining brilliant colors even when cooked.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll find recipes for more elaborate patterns and colors that are sure to impress your family and friends. Linda reveals how to layer colors to make multi-colored doughs in recipes
Rainbow CavatelliPolka Dot FarfalleEmoji RavioliAvocado GnocchiHearts and Stripes PappardelleArgyle Lasagna Sheets6-Colored FettucineYou’ll also find recipes for spectacular sauces and fillings, such
Golden Milk RaguPecorino Pepper Sauce with BroccoliniRoasted Tomatoes with Basil Oil and BurrataSpiced Lamb Yogurt SauceRustic Squash FillingClassic Ricotta FillingPepperoni Pizza FillingFeaturing beautiful pasta in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes, patterns, and sizes, Pasta, Pretty Please is an artistic treasure trove that will please the eye and the palate. Buon Appetito!
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2018
153 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 19, 2019
I give this book 5 stars for the recipes/photos and 3 stars for the level of cringe and privilege.
October 16, 2019
I do love my pasta and I was excited to see this cookbook about pasta. This cookbook was more than I expected though. This was not a book for the pasta-maker in me, but was for a more advanced pasta maker. I did learn a great deal from this book and you really should see the pictures inside this book. Who makes this pasta?! It’s beautiful.
I like looking at all the pasta varieties in the store. It feels like every week, there is something new on the shelves. This past week, I saw thick & hearty noodles, before that it was pasta made out of beans. What’s next? A few years ago, I bought an attachment for my mixer so I could make pasta and I think I’ve only used it a few times. Before that, I had my grandmother’s old pasta maker that attached to our table. My husband used it a few times a year to make noodles. I keep thinking that I want to make my own pasta and when I saw this book, I thought perhaps this was a “sign.”
If it was a “sign,” it was really telling me, “see if there is a beginner’s guide to pasta because this book is not for you, YET.” I did like this book as it had lots of information for making pasta, packed with the different varieties and it was laid out with nice details.
I like colored pasta and this book talks about creating them and how to achieve the right color. We are talking 25 colors! From Red Beet Dough to Beet-Paprika Dough, they give you the lowdown on what ingredients you need to mix together, in step-by-step directions to get those rich colors. From there, they talk about how to roll-out and cut the dough. We are talking techniques here, this is an art. Should you freeze, store or dry your pasta? “You’ll want to serve your pasta projects in this book when they’re at the peak of their beauty.”
The author discusses the different types of pasta and I was drooling over the pictures of the fresh pasta in this section. From colorful farfalle, to hand-cut tajarin, to a six-colored fettuccine, the author gives you instructions on how to create these masterpieces. There were stars (actual stars) on pappardelle, polka-dotted farfalle, 4th of July pappardelle and then, the argyle lasagna sheets were simply amazing!
The book is set up in sections beginning with the basic dough. It goes next into the sheeting section, then the advanced section where the pasta became a work of art. Rolled pastas and gnocchi were in the next section. There was a section of sauces and a final section of fillings for your works of art. A conversion chart and index complete the book.
This book is not for me YET but hopefully in the future, I will need it. It does begin with the basics and progresses quickly with detailed information. If I were to create these works of art, I would definitely make sure we savored every bite.
I like looking at all the pasta varieties in the store. It feels like every week, there is something new on the shelves. This past week, I saw thick & hearty noodles, before that it was pasta made out of beans. What’s next? A few years ago, I bought an attachment for my mixer so I could make pasta and I think I’ve only used it a few times. Before that, I had my grandmother’s old pasta maker that attached to our table. My husband used it a few times a year to make noodles. I keep thinking that I want to make my own pasta and when I saw this book, I thought perhaps this was a “sign.”
If it was a “sign,” it was really telling me, “see if there is a beginner’s guide to pasta because this book is not for you, YET.” I did like this book as it had lots of information for making pasta, packed with the different varieties and it was laid out with nice details.
I like colored pasta and this book talks about creating them and how to achieve the right color. We are talking 25 colors! From Red Beet Dough to Beet-Paprika Dough, they give you the lowdown on what ingredients you need to mix together, in step-by-step directions to get those rich colors. From there, they talk about how to roll-out and cut the dough. We are talking techniques here, this is an art. Should you freeze, store or dry your pasta? “You’ll want to serve your pasta projects in this book when they’re at the peak of their beauty.”
The author discusses the different types of pasta and I was drooling over the pictures of the fresh pasta in this section. From colorful farfalle, to hand-cut tajarin, to a six-colored fettuccine, the author gives you instructions on how to create these masterpieces. There were stars (actual stars) on pappardelle, polka-dotted farfalle, 4th of July pappardelle and then, the argyle lasagna sheets were simply amazing!
The book is set up in sections beginning with the basic dough. It goes next into the sheeting section, then the advanced section where the pasta became a work of art. Rolled pastas and gnocchi were in the next section. There was a section of sauces and a final section of fillings for your works of art. A conversion chart and index complete the book.
This book is not for me YET but hopefully in the future, I will need it. It does begin with the basics and progresses quickly with detailed information. If I were to create these works of art, I would definitely make sure we savored every bite.
August 8, 2021
Lovely book, and definitely makes me want to make pasta again. Flavours seem like they will be perfect, and I loved learning more about which pasta ahapes/thickness works with which sauce.
January 20, 2024
Outstanding cookbook. Well written, interesting anecdotes and clear instructions. I got it from the library and now I’m buying it.
Sigh- someone gave it fewer than 5 stars because of privilege and cringe-worthiness... JFC it is a cookbook with complicated dough that makes people happy. I’m outraged all the time but homemade pasta tends to take the edge off, especially if I make ricotta and nettle pesto.
Sigh- someone gave it fewer than 5 stars because of privilege and cringe-worthiness... JFC it is a cookbook with complicated dough that makes people happy. I’m outraged all the time but homemade pasta tends to take the edge off, especially if I make ricotta and nettle pesto.
April 3, 2024
Okay, so I got this book from my public library. The online catalogue didn't have a description or a picture but had all the other pasta making subject headings more 'traditional' pasta making books had so I figured, why not?
This was not what I was expecting when it showed up.
One brief flip through told me I wasn't going to try any of this, but I was still curious. So in my spare time I decided to flip through it and was it...pretty but ultimately entirely too time consuming. The amount of effort...and the pretentiousness of the author...wow. Now I don't live anywhere even remotely close to Seattle or Santa Monica, which seems to be the only two places that have a store that even carry this woman's favorite type of flour. You can get a 100lbs of flour on Amazon...yeah no thanks. Does it even ship here? I didn't care enough to find out.
I do like how the pictures are all of her hands doing the work and not full, posed shots of her displaying her masterpieces. She also has some tips and tricks for readers as well as some advice if and/or when things go wrong.
That said, if you have time and money and kids (that go somewhere for awhile while you stay at home), and some experience with pasta, I think the prettiness of the pasta alone would convince your kiddos to try some of these plates. They are pretty. Not going to lie. I, however, have exactly one kitchen appliance related to pasta making, zero desire to get that involved with my pasta, and zero experience. Maybe when I am better, or decide to actually take this up as a thing, I will revisit this book.
This was not what I was expecting when it showed up.
One brief flip through told me I wasn't going to try any of this, but I was still curious. So in my spare time I decided to flip through it and was it...pretty but ultimately entirely too time consuming. The amount of effort...and the pretentiousness of the author...wow. Now I don't live anywhere even remotely close to Seattle or Santa Monica, which seems to be the only two places that have a store that even carry this woman's favorite type of flour. You can get a 100lbs of flour on Amazon...yeah no thanks. Does it even ship here? I didn't care enough to find out.
I do like how the pictures are all of her hands doing the work and not full, posed shots of her displaying her masterpieces. She also has some tips and tricks for readers as well as some advice if and/or when things go wrong.
That said, if you have time and money and kids (that go somewhere for awhile while you stay at home), and some experience with pasta, I think the prettiness of the pasta alone would convince your kiddos to try some of these plates. They are pretty. Not going to lie. I, however, have exactly one kitchen appliance related to pasta making, zero desire to get that involved with my pasta, and zero experience. Maybe when I am better, or decide to actually take this up as a thing, I will revisit this book.
January 29, 2022
Amazingly beautiful book --and all the gorgeous colors are from fruits and vegetables to boot, so they are healthy! Love all the helpful and colorful photos too.
I was introduced to her wonderful pastry in a recent Seattle Sunday Times, and naively tho't, "Oh, i should try that," without realizing how much intricate work is involved.
Linda M N is also an entertaining writer when she tells about her background and her family. I looked without success on her FB pages as wanted to know how she changed from being an ardent vegetarian her first 20 years (after her father killed a favorite farm animal and then served it to her!) and now cooks many dishes containing various meats.
I wish so much she had a string on local restaurants, but has only workshops and expensive mail order for lumps of dough.
I read the narrative and looked thru the recipes for a few days. Enjoyed the photos a lot!
I was introduced to her wonderful pastry in a recent Seattle Sunday Times, and naively tho't, "Oh, i should try that," without realizing how much intricate work is involved.
Linda M N is also an entertaining writer when she tells about her background and her family. I looked without success on her FB pages as wanted to know how she changed from being an ardent vegetarian her first 20 years (after her father killed a favorite farm animal and then served it to her!) and now cooks many dishes containing various meats.
I wish so much she had a string on local restaurants, but has only workshops and expensive mail order for lumps of dough.
I read the narrative and looked thru the recipes for a few days. Enjoyed the photos a lot!
March 1, 2022
Pasta, Pretty Please is an excellent crash course in how to have fun with your food. While a previous knowledge and/or experience with making pasta from scratch would be helpful, it is not mandatory. The first few segments of this book outline the steps for creating pasta, but I feel the nuances of the process require first priming oneself with a more in-depth guide before jumping into the projects presented in this book.
The instructions for various colorings and types of pasta are very straightforward and easy to follow. The photography in the book is done well and accurately captures the end result of the recipes and guides.
The instructions for various colorings and types of pasta are very straightforward and easy to follow. The photography in the book is done well and accurately captures the end result of the recipes and guides.
January 27, 2020
If you have any interest in making your own pasta, this is actually a really great place to start. It's not just how pretty the cookbook is, or how to make your pasta pretty, but the focus and troubleshoot on what makes a good pasta from flour type to cooking it properly. How to make colorful pasta is certainly a bonus, but I enjoyed it simply for fine-tuning making pasta at home and for creative ways to have fun with it.
April 30, 2020
I highly recommended this book for anyone wanting to make your own pasta. I did take a pasta making class once so I do have a basic understanding of how to make it. This book took my pasta making skills to the next level. Linda has fun quips and provides so many great recipes and tips to make the most beautiful colored pasta. I have now bought this book for 3 friends because I love mine so much!
December 30, 2018
This is one of those cookbooks you read because it is a celebration of possibilities. Even if I only ever make a few batches of pasta, let them be as fun and vivacious as Linda Miller Nicholson's!
January 13, 2019
Great inspiration and beautiful food
May 31, 2019
I bought the hard copy for my daughter and the kindle edition for me.
Love the book, the recipes and her story.
She made me laugh.
I will cherish this book for ever.
Love the book, the recipes and her story.
She made me laugh.
I will cherish this book for ever.
April 2, 2020
A beautiful recipe book that alters the way an average person thinks about pasta. I really want to make the egg yolk ravioloni!
May 12, 2020
Eye candy! Just plain fun!
October 16, 2020
very informative !!! However I won't go as adventurous as for emoji pastas !
September 8, 2022
Just a little too much for me. I don't need my food to be bright colored just for the look. I would rather focus on taste and be more natural.
September 27, 2024
I don’t have enough counter space for this. Also, idk who she thinks her audience is but some of her jokes were wild!
April 23, 2025
recieved this as a Christmas present a while back. love it so much! but I'm odd and like textbook style cook books.
March 22, 2020
Such a great book!!! If you want to learn how to make amazing pastas from scratch, this book is fantastic.
October 11, 2020
Really beautiful pasta. Obviously the rainbow pasta is what caught my eye and why I checked this book out. I have zero pasta tools but the cover was so pretty I had to read it. It actually made me want to make pasta. I did make the gnocchi and it was good. It didn't look as green as hers even though I followed the recipe super closely. The lemon sauce was to die for. I'm saving it and using that again on another pasta dish. That lemon sauce would take your boring pasta dish to next level stuff.
I will note it's a little pretentious. She recommends certain brands of flour that she only buys at a store in Santa Monica or Seattle. But if you can't go there (obviously), you can buy a 100 lb bag of it on Amazon. Um, I will not be able to use a 100 lb bag of flour before there are mites in it. So there's that.
But it seems like every cookbook author is a little pretentious because they seem to be the expert in their niche. So I'll give it a pass.
I did like how there are only photos of her hands doing the work. I get really annoyed when Instagram stars publish a cookbook and there are tons of lifestyle photos of the author sitting on a blanket in the park laughing with their family. There was none of that. So I can appreciate that.
And if you're really into making your own pasta, she gives you tons of tips on how to make it perfect and troubleshoot problem areas. Would recommend the book - if only for the photos. You won't be disappointed.
I will note it's a little pretentious. She recommends certain brands of flour that she only buys at a store in Santa Monica or Seattle. But if you can't go there (obviously), you can buy a 100 lb bag of it on Amazon. Um, I will not be able to use a 100 lb bag of flour before there are mites in it. So there's that.
But it seems like every cookbook author is a little pretentious because they seem to be the expert in their niche. So I'll give it a pass.
I did like how there are only photos of her hands doing the work. I get really annoyed when Instagram stars publish a cookbook and there are tons of lifestyle photos of the author sitting on a blanket in the park laughing with their family. There was none of that. So I can appreciate that.
And if you're really into making your own pasta, she gives you tons of tips on how to make it perfect and troubleshoot problem areas. Would recommend the book - if only for the photos. You won't be disappointed.
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November 16, 2018Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! It's so pretty to look at! The book contains recipes for making these rainbow colored pastas and even contains recipes for using them in dishes. I have no idea how they taste, but I'm game! They just scream to be made and served in something! I think you need to have a sense of adventure in food to appreciate. Great book!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews