Keto Egg Noodles (Noodlefication)
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Pasta is back on the menu with these amazing keto egg noodles! Using a process similar to spherification, what I’m calling noodlefication, you can create keto noodles that are so authentic to wheat-based noodles, it may bring a tear to the eye.
I’m coming up on the 4-year mark of being keto. While I’ve done a great job of ketofying most of my favorite foods, coming up with a keto noodle recipe that truly mimics a real spaghetti noodle has eluded me.
Sure, brands like Miracle Noodle and Palmini have done a great job of creating keto noodles to satisfy a past craving.
And we all know how popular spaghetti squash recipes are.
But truth be told, I’ve been left “wanting” with all of those options.
Friends, this new method for creating keto noodles is a game changer! We are talking, chaffle-level game changer!
Take a look at this picture, just taken 2 days ago! (unedited, unfiltered)
Now, I’m still working on my finesse in creating these noodles. They are not completely uniform in size and shape. Some of my keto noodles are thinner than others. I’m working on it.
But what doesn’t need to be worked on is the texture and the taste!
The Magic Method of Noodlefication
When I first saw this method of making keto noodles on Keto Asian Flavours YoutTube channel, I was fascinated but skeptical.
I’m no master chef, and the ingredients and method seemed out of my league in the kitchen.
But then Serious Keto made a version of the noodles, and Keto Twins tested out the noodles…..and they all convinced me in their demonstrations to give it a try.
BEST decision ever!!
My very first attempt at making keto noodles and I was hooked!
What is Spherification?
Spherification is a culinary method that uses sodium alginate and calcium lactate to shape a liquid into squishy spheres, which visually and texturally resemble roe (fish eggs).
Stay with me! LOL
We’ve all enjoyed bubble tea or little fruit juice balls and loved them. Those were made using spherification.
What is Noodleficiation?
Truth be told, that’s not even a real word, but I’m coining it! I actually looked it up on Google first to see if the word existed, and it does not (in relation to food).
Noodlefication takes the same concept of spherification, but through the swirling of a calcium lactate bath, creates long noodles instead of individual spheres.
Confused? Check out my video demonstrating the method! This was actually my 4th time making keto noodles using the noodlefication process, and I give my thoughts on using chicken as the noodle base versus egg yolk powder.
Watch to the end for my full taste test!
How to Make Keto Egg Noodles
The keto noodle recipe uses some ingredients you may not be familiar with, and neither was I until a few weeks ago. They sound chemically, but only until you understand what they are.
Keto Egg Noodle Mixture
- Water
- Egg yolk powder – the main base for this specific recipes
- Nutritional yeast (optional) – adds a slight flavor and adds color
- Salt
- Xanthan gum – acts as a thickener
- Sodium Alginate – Sounds like a chemical but is actually a natural gelling agent taken from the cell walls of brown algae. But it only gels when in comes in contact with calcium.
This brings us to the calcium bath.
Noodlefication with a Calcium Bath
- Water
- Calcium Lactate – the other chemical sounding compound, is a salt obtained through a natural fermentation process with lactic acid bacteria, and occurs naturally in dairy products. For the purpose of this recipe, it’s gonna make the noodles….well, noodley!
Making the Keto Egg Noodles
Start by adding 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of egg yolk powder to a high-powered blender. Pulse this for about 20 seconds.
Then, add 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum, and pulse for an additional 20 seconds. At this point, the mixture should be thick enough to allow the blender to stay on with the lid off.
While the blender is still going, add 1 tablespoon sodium alginate and continue blending for a final 20 seconds.
Pour the keto noodle mixture into a container (preferable with a spout) and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, there will be bubbles that have risen to the top. Skim the bubbles off the top.
Using a funnel, pour the keto noodle mixture into a squeeze bottle.
Now, prepare your calcium bath by whisking 1 tablespoon calcium lactate into 7 cups of water. Use the biggest bowl you have!
Once the calcium lactate has fully dissolved and the water is clear, use a spatula to gently swirl the water while you squeeze the noodle mixture into the water and watch the magic happen!
Once you have squeezed out all the keto noodle mixture. allow the keto egg noodles to rest in the calcium bath for at least 1 hour, although you can leave them in longer.
Store the noodles in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.
When you are ready to eat them, simply heat them in the microwave for 60-90 seconds or in a saucepan by placing them in water and bringing the water just to a boil.
The noodles will maintain their structure as long as you don’t heat them more than 250 degrees F.
Recipes made with Keto Egg Noodles
Keto Egg Noodles
Pasta is back on the menu with these amazing keto egg noodles! Using a process similar to spherification, you can create truly authentic spaghetti noodles!
Ingredients
Keto Noodle Ingredients:
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons egg yolk powder
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 Tbsp sodium alginate
Noodlefication Calcium Bath:
- 7 cups water
- 1 tablespoon calcium lactate
Instructions
- Add 3 cups of water and the egg yolk powder to a high-powered blender and pulse for 20 seconds.
- Add the nutritional yeast, salt, and xanthan gum while the blender is on a low speed and blend for 20 seconds.
- Add the sodium alginate while the blender is on a low speed and blend for 20 seconds.
- Pour into a 4+ cup measuring cup or a bowl with a pouring spout and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Skim off any bubble that rose to the surface, then pour the mixture into a squeeze bottle.
- In a large bowl, whisk the calcium lactate in 7 cups of water until fully dissolved.
- Using a spatula, swirl the water in the bowl while you squeeze the mixture evenly from the squeeze bottle into the swirling water. You may want to start and stop the squeeze so you don't end up with one long noodle.
- Once done, allow the keto noodles to sit in the calcium lactate bath for 1 hour.
- Drain the noodles and store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
- When ready to eat, simply heat up in hot water on the stove or microwave for 30-45 seconds.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 3gCarbohydrates: 2gNet Carbohydrates: 1gFiber: 1gProtein: 4g
If you make a mistake and add too much xanthan gum, should you try to thin it out with water or let it stay thick
Depends on how much you added…as long as you can still squeeze it through the bottle, you should be fine 🙂
I don’t have a regular blender – I have a Kitchen Aid and a Nutribullet and a small food processor. Can I make these noodles?
I haven’t tried that, but people seem to get mixed results using a food processor. Some brands work great, others do not.
I made mine a bit thick so I did add more water and thinned it a bit. It turned out fine . I tried this in my processor, I don’t have a reg blender . The processor wasn’t right. I used my ninja cup type blender. The tallest cup takes 3 cups. It’s perfect. It was really powerful and you only need 20; seconds to blend . Your nutrition bullet will work fine also but it only takes seconds. I do the lactate bath in my kit aid works great. A splash attachment works great when they start splashing.
AFTER I sent my comment, I read all the other comments. I did use the exact brand ingredients that you used. The noodles are extremely wet so I will try leaving them in the bath longer and maybe add that extra tablespoon of whichever one goes in the water. I like the flavor of your recipe so I hope I can get it to work better next time. Thickness of batter seemed correct.
Hey Susan, I usually just pat mine dry with a paper towel if needed. Because these noodles are actually gelled and not made from a grain, they will not dry out like regular pasta.
I made your recipe for the noodles. Mine came out very wet even after draining. They also needed softened. Any ideas for what I can do next time to help this? Thank you. I enjoy your channel and am looking forward to making more of your recipes.
If they were too firm and needed softening, try omitting the xanthan gum next time. I’ve never needed to soften mine and honestly don’t know what others use for that process. So glad to hear you are enjoying my channel!!
I saw a YouTube video use lime juice and baking soda to soften the noodles
To soften I read you add a T. Of white vinegar and 1/2 t. Of baking soda. I did that but splashed in a bit more vinegar and that batch got too soft. This time I’ll use less. I made chili Mac. Was great.
Is there a reason you don’t just use fresh egg yolks? Seems like an unnecessary expense to buy powdered egg yolks and then add water to them. (I have a freeze dryer and can actually powder my own, but still…)
It’s the way I learned how to make the noodles, and I’ve never tested with fresh egg yolks…I do know some people have had success using hard-boiled eggs, so that’s an option too 🙂
These viral egg noodles are wonderful. I use 3 hard cooked eggs in the blender in place of the powdered egg yolk as per Anita from Ketogenic Woman and love them. I downloaded a video on her Facebook page showing how you can use your Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the DOUGH HOOK on LOW OR stir while squeezing the noodles into the calcium chloride bath. Also, Amazon sells 3 tip condiment bottles which are sold in a set of 3 or 4 I believe. The process goes much faster. I also cut the tips so make the noodles a little thicker like spaghetti. Hope someone finds this helpful.
Thanks for all the tips, Denise!! I saw the video where Anita used her stand mixer. Pretty genius, if you ask me 🙂
I am wondering if fresh egg yolks can be used in the noodlefication?
Hey Marilea! I haven’t tried that, but my understanding is it throws the liquid ratio off? I know people have had success using the yolk from a hard-boiled egg 🙂
Fantastic idea and delicious results, thanks. But how do you dry yours out? They’re quite moist after processing. I’m thinking of trying my dehydrator.
Because the mixture is gelled, it won’t dry out like regular noodles. I simply drain any excess liquid.
OMG the texture is spot on….. Thinking of all the noodle dishes I have missed, I mean, I have tried with Shiritaki noodles, but just not the same! Its gonna be hard not to go overboard with these….
LOL, this was my exact same reaction when I first tried them!! Luckily, they aren’t just low-carb, but also low-calorie!!
Hi. Made the noodles but when I took them out of the bath they were really wet and letting them sit didn’t dry them out. They were almost gel like and really quite disgusting. Why did you cut the sodium algenate in half. The Keto Asian recipe had the mixture blending for 3 minutes until it was hot and steaming where you pulse 30 seconds after each ingredient addition and that’s it. I amseiously hoping I am doing something incorrectly.
Thankyou
CHERYL
Hey Cheryl! So, these noodles won’t dry out the same as a regular (grain-based) noodle because it’s a liquid mixture that has been gelled through a process called spherification.
I chose to only use 1 tablespoon of Sodium Alginate based on the YouTube video by Steve at Serious Keto. Since the spherification process worked great with less Sodium Alginate, I decided to go with the lesser amount to save money on ingredients. I had a few viewers who said the 2 tablespoons of alginate made their mixture too thick. I haven’t personally tried it myself.
I also mirrored Steve’s timing of 20-30 seconds between ingredients as I found that worked great too.
They stay quite disgusting because they are made with algae and people keep PRETENDING they don’t have that very same texture—because of course they do. Black Tie Kitchen’s recipe using lupin flour and vital wheat gluten have been the closest to pasta as I have tried so far. I do not like the smell when first made, but after they “air out” from boiling, the smell evaporates. They are the closest thing to pasta, unlike this supposed magic pasta. These “noodles” are straight out of a middle school science experiment—quite literally. Some over-the-counter antacid preparations have the same ingredient and the same chemicals are used to form “jelly snakes”. I think we used Gaviscon or something like that….
Hi Cathy, thank you for the great recipe. I tried it, but my „batter“ gets too thick in the mixture. Could you please also list the ingredients in grams? I suspect there are errors in the different conversion tables… Thanks and regards from Germany, Thomas
Hey Thomas! My recipe card does not have the option to convert from one measuring system to another, but you should be able to find a converter by searching on Google.
So another recipe called for softening with baking soda and lemon juice and water???? Is that necessary?
I haven’t needed to soften these noodles, but I use less sodium alginate than the recipe you are referring to, so that might be the difference.
I watched your video about making the macaroni noodles. Try putting the bottle tip INTO the gel bath while you squeeze. This way, the gelling liquid touches the inner part of the mac mixture before it has a chance to collapse on itself. Tricky. You will have to pull the tip out of the bath before releasing the squeeze so it doesn’t suck the bath into the bottle. Good luck! Thanks for putting out these videos.
Great idea! I’ll give that a try 🙂
Hi Cathy. Do your spaghetti noodles or Mac & Cheese pasta remain ‘watery’? I could not get them from leaking water, even after drainindand using up 1/2 roll of paper towels to blot them with…. and, they made the sauce soupy. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.
Hey Linda, that was not my experience, so not sure what happened. Did you use the same brand of Sodium Alginate and Calcium Lactate than I use?
@Linda, how long did you allow the noodles to soak in the calcium lactate solution? I had to soak mine longer than the hour recommended. If I don’t do that, they are not fully gelled, and the insides do leak into the sauce. I just put mine into the fridge in a pitcher with the calcium lactate solution (takes up less room than a big bowl), and let them soak overnight. Even with the thicker noodles, this worked. I’ve made these noodles several times now, and they are a true game changer. I even freeze mine in a ziploc bag for a handy supply for quick meals. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the tips!!!
Have been watching your noodlification videos with interest. Haven’t tried them myself yet, but plan to do so. Miss pasta so much! After watching yor mac-n-cheese noodilification attempt, I wondered if you could use a squeese bottle that has one of those twist tops to dispense the noodles? They have a “post” part inside that holds liquid in when closed. When opened, the noodle mixture should flow around it, hopefully creating the hollow tube we love? Different sized tips would create different sized macaronis.
Interesting! I’ll have to look into that type of bottle. Thank you so much for watching my videos!!
@Cathy Dean, I was even thinking about a potato press do you know what I mean?
Maybe! Please let me know if you try that, lol!