Keto Noodles Spaghetti/Pasta

Keto noodles made with just eggs + a couple of science-y, food safe wizardry ingredients.

I promise once you make them (the first time is tricky), you can get some keto spaghetti into your face in about a half an hour! Additionally, I consider these noodles to be carnivore-friendly since it’s mostly eggs & water, and the other ingredients are negligible amounts and shouldn’t have an effect on most people. Bonus: They’re also not weird at all. I normally am a HUGE skeptic of keto-fied foods because many recipes out there over-promise and under-deliver, and these keto noodles absolutely and (almost ridiculously) deliver!

In case you missed it a few years ago, there was a “keto viral egg noodle” craze on the internet. I discovered it around that time and I put off trying it until a couple years ago. I was a bit put off at having to buy things to make noodles, because the two ingredients required to make these magical noodles were not ordinary pantry ingredients for me at the time (sodium alginate and calcium chloride). Since then, I got up the courage and I’ve made these noodles a few times, and I’m posting my recipe that’s modified to the original (credit to Keto Asian Flavours channel on YouTube) to hopefully make it easier. The original recipes called for whole egg powder or hard boiled eggs, neither of which I find appealing nor affordable (since there are already enough items to buy to make these keto noodles properly, in my opinion!).

Basically, the recipe has 4 steps (not in this order): Mixing the keto noodle batter, then extruding the noodles, a water bath to firm up the noodles as they are extruded, and finally, a softening step to make the noodles into their final form. Once you have done all the work, you’ll get 3-4 heaping servings of keto spaghetti-style noodles you won’t believe aren’t the real thing! And the leftovers are stored (and served) as easily as with regular pasta noodles.

Calcium water bath:

7 cups water
1 T calcium chloride

Combine these into a large, round non-reactive (ceramic, glass or plastic) bowl  and set aside ’til dissolved (it will be clear when ready)

Egg noodle batter:

2 1/2 cups hot (not boiling) water
2 whole fresh eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB sodium alginate

To a high-speed blender, add the hot water + eggs  and slowly add the  sodium alginate.

Continue to blend on high until thickened. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to pop or spread/scoop out the bubbles that form at the top. 

Extruding/storing the noodles:

Pour the mixture carefully into a squeeze bottle (generic red/yellow or clear restaurant style bottles that squeeze easily and have a narrow tip work great). 

With one hand, stir the water to create a vortex. Squeeze out noodle batter slowly in a long stream with other hand. Let the noodles sit in this water bath to firm up. If your noodles start to crowd the bowl, set them into another bowl with some of the water bath mixture in it. You can let these noodles stay in the firming water bath for an hour or even overnight. This is how you store them until you need them. Do not eat them yet! See the next step.

Softening the noodles before serving (necessary step):

To soften the keto noodles, add hot tap water and 1 tablespoon baking soda to a bowl, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice. Watch for chemical reaction (bubbles) and then add a portion of the noodles. Stir or gently toss the noodles with your hands to separate them. Do not allow the noodles to stand too long in this softening bath unless you like your noodles very soft. A quick toss will do the job for al dente style. Rinse them very well in hot water and drain, then serve. 

Serving ideas 

Before eating these keto noodles, you do not need to further cook or boil them at all once you have softened them in the last step, they’re reayd to eat. If you want them hot, you can just rinse them again with hot water (not boiling). For really quick meal prep, just soften, rinse, drain, and  add your keto noodles to your cooked dish or sauce you have already prepared, or set them aside (draining) while you prepare the restof your dish, then add the noodles just before serving.

Examples: For spaghetti, I just add the noodles to my plate with cooked meat sauce. They go great in strongly-flavored dishes, especially Asian style things like stir-fries, my stir-fries consist of mostly ground meat, some onion, a few slivers of broccoli slaw or cabbage & I just add the noodles in at the end of the cooking of the stir-fry. I have also put these into a soup (just before serving, I would not recommend keeping these noodles in a pot of soup or in leftovers).  I did NOT like using these for a mac & cheese type meal. Your mileage may vary. Enjoy!

Storing the keto noodles

You can leave the keto noodles in the calcium chloride firming water bath for a few days. I have not stored the noodles this way for longer than 4 days, so I’m not sure how long they will last. It’s worth perhaps taking a few strands and putting them in a small covered container with some of the water bath and see.

Troubleshooting and tips

 Noodle mixture seems too thick to pour – Slowly add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and blend again before transferring to bottle. Or you could also reduce sodium alginate to 1 tablespoon and it should still work.

Noodles got too soft – I haven’t tried this yet, but you could try to put a noodle or two into some of the calcium chloride solution and see if they firm up again. Otherwise, the best way to avoid this is when softening in the baking soda/lemon juice water, simply toss the noodles just for long enough to separate them and then immediately rinse and drain them. 

Important note about cleanup

You will NOT want to pour any noodle batter down the drains of your sinks! It will coat your pipes and be hard to get off OR build up and clog them. If you haven’t seen the original video on how to remove the noodle batter from your utensils and blender, please note the following: Use calcium chloride water (2 TB per 7-10 cups) in a dish pan, large bowl, or the sink, and place any items your noodle batter coated, into this for a moment or two. The better should lift off of the items (you can help it along with your fingers) and you can then drain the solid batter waste into a strainer and place it in the trash (or soften the scraps and use as pasta in some dishes, if you like, since the larger strips from the sides of your blender or inside your squeeze bottle can actually be used as lasagna or other wide noodles, once softened).