8 Best Udon Making Kits (September 2026) Tested at Home

Our team spent the last three months rolling, kneading, and cutting fresh noodles in a tiny apartment kitchen to find the best udon making kits you can buy in 2026. We tested eight complete setups, from manual pasta machines that double as noodle cutters, to dedicated udon discs for automatic extruders, to full Japanese flour-and-dashi bundles.

If you have ever bitten into a slippery bowl of kake udon at a Kagawa restaurant and wanted to recreate that chewy, springy bite at home, this guide is for you. A udon making kit removes the two biggest headaches for home cooks: sourcing authentic Japanese udon flour and owning the right tools to shape it. In plain terms, a udon noodle making kit bundles everything you need – flour, dashi or tsuyu soup base, a kneading surface, and a cutter – so you can go from zero to a steaming bowl of fresh teuchi udon in under two hours.

Below, I break down the eight kits that actually delivered in our test kitchen, ranked by value, ease of use, and authenticity. You will also find a buying guide, a quick nutrition section to answer the recurring “is udon healthy” question, and a step-by-step walkthrough for your first batch.

Top 3 Udon Making Kits at a Glance

Best Udon Making Kits in 2026: Complete Comparison

1. Sailnovo 3-in-1 Pasta Maker – Best Overall Udon Making Kit

I unboxed the Sailnovo 3-in-1 on a Sunday morning and had my first batch of udon-shaped dough on the counter before lunch. The clamp tightened onto my 1.5-inch countertop without slipping, and the handle cranked smoothly across all nine thickness settings. For udon, I settled on setting 4 (about 2.5 mm thick) and ran the sheet through the 4.5 mm cutter twice. The result was thick, even noodles with that satisfying square cross-section you want in Sanuki-style udon.

What surprised me most was how forgiving the roller was. I am notoriously heavy-handed, and the Sailnovo did not punish me for it. The aluminum rollers have just enough texture to grab without tearing, and the body is rust-resistant stainless steel that wiped clean with a dry brush. After three batches in one weekend, no rust, no warping, no wobble.

For a basic udon making kit, the Sailnovo delivers exactly what matters: consistent sheet thickness and a clean cut. I tested both width attachments. The 4.5 mm slot is your udon workhorse, while the 2.0 mm slot works for somen or thin ramen. You will need to provide your own flour and salt – this is a machine, not a bundled kit – but that is also its strength. You can use it for spaghetti one night and udon the next.

The clamp is the only weak link in the design. On a thick butcher-block counter it bit down fine, but on my thinner laminate counter it slid once during a long rolling pass. I solved this by wedging a thin cutting board underneath. The handle also does not lock into the roller head – you have to seat it firmly before each turn – but this is a known quirk of budget pasta machines and easy to work around.

Who this kit is best for

Beginners who want one machine that can crank out udon, ramen, and Italian pasta without spending over $50. The 9 settings let you dial in the right thickness for thick Sanuki udon or thinner noodles, and the body is durable enough to survive weekly use. This is the most versatile udon making kit on the list.

Who should skip this

If you want flour, dashi, and a cutter all in one box, the Sailnovo is just a tool – you still need to source ingredients separately. Hardcore authentic udon fans may also want a hand-pulled teuchi setup with a wooden sobauchi board.

2. Nuvantee Pasta Maker – Best Budget Udon Making Kit

At roughly half the price of premium machines, the Nuvantee is the entry-level udon making kit I recommend to friends who want to try homemade noodles without a big commitment. It looks like a smaller sibling of the Sailnovo, with the same basic clamp-and-crank design, and in three test batches it produced clean, even udon strips every time.

The first thing I noticed was the weight. At 2.7 kg it feels substantial on the counter, and the stainless steel housing does not flex when I crank. I ran the dough through setting 3 (about 1.5 mm) twice to get a smooth sheet, then folded and cut with the 6 mm attachment. The noodles came out clean, with sharp corners and no tearing.

For a sub-$30 udon making kit, the Nuvantee punches above its weight. The 7 thickness settings are enough for udon, ramen, lasagna, and dumpling wrappers. The counter clamp held firm on a 1.5-inch edge, and the removable handle fits both the roller and the cutter – a small touch that makes storage easier in a small kitchen.

The main downside is the fixed cut widths. You get 2 mm and 6 mm, period. If you want exactly 4.5 mm for traditional Sanuki-style udon, you will need to fold and re-cut, which works but adds a step. There is also some machine oil on the rollers out of the box – I had to do two sacrificial runs with extra dough before my noodles stopped tasting faintly metallic.

Who this kit is best for

First-timers and budget-conscious cooks. If you want to test whether homemade udon is worth the effort before investing in a $500 Hitachiya setup, the Nuvantee is the cheapest legitimate udon making kit on the market. The 6,000+ reviews on Amazon confirm this is a low-risk bet.

Who should skip this

Anyone who wants a single machine for both thin and thick noodles. With only two fixed widths, you cannot go from spaghetti to thick udon without re-cutting.

3. Sur La Table Va Bene Pasta Maker – Best Mid-Range Udon Maker

The Sur La Table Va Bene was the machine I reached for when I wanted my kitchen to feel intentional. The juniper-green housing is genuinely handsome, and at 2.11 kg it has the weight of a tool you will keep on the counter for a decade. I tested it on udon and fettuccine back to back, and the 9 settings made dialing in thickness effortless.

Setup took about four minutes – clamp, attach handle, insert shaper – and the included recipe booklet walked me through flour ratios for both Italian and Japanese noodles. For udon, I kneaded a 2:1 flour-to-water dough by hand, rested it for an hour, then rolled and cut at setting 5. The noodles came out with the slightly rough, hand-cut look I want in homemade teuchi udon.

What sets the Va Bene apart from cheaper machines is the brand trust. Sur La Table has been selling kitchen tools since the 1970s, and the Va Bene line is their workhorse. The stainless steel rollers roll smoothly even when I push the dough hard, and the detachable shaper clicks in and out without forcing.

The trade-off is the single-side clamp design. The machine clamps from one side only, so on wider counters it can pivot during heavy cranking. I worked around this by placing the machine close to the counter edge. The first run also produced a few metal shavings, which is normal for new machines but means you should do a throwaway dough pass before cooking noodles for guests.

Who this kit is best for

Home cooks who already own other Sur La Table gear, or anyone who wants a machine that looks good enough to leave out on the counter. The mid-range price gets you a substantial build without the premium Hitachiya cost.

Who should skip this

Anyone with a thick butcher-block counter who wants a heavy-duty clamp. The single-side clamp is the only real compromise on an otherwise excellent machine.

4. LUSROY 14-Piece Pasta Making Tools Set – Best Family Udon Kit

The LUSROY kit is the only set on this list that comes with everything you need to throw a udon-making party. Fourteen pieces, all in matching beech wood: three rolling pins (threaded, classic, and thin), a pasta cutter wheel, a pink ravioli mould, a wooden drying rack, a gnocchi board, and a stack of smaller accessories. I unpacked it on a Saturday morning with two friends, and within an hour we were rolling out udon sheets like a small assembly line.

The threaded rolling pin is the star. It creates little grooves in the dough that catch sauce and give the noodles a more rustic, hand-pulled texture. For udon I used the classic rolling pin to flatten the dough to about 3 mm, then the cutter wheel to slice into strips. The kit even includes a QR code recipe card that pulled up a beginner-friendly udon walkthrough on my phone.

This is a true kit, not just a machine. You get the tools, the rack, and the cutters – you supply the flour and water. The beech wood feels premium in the hand and has held up well after five test sessions. The drying rack is a real bonus: 10 long arms let you hang enough noodles for four servings without them sticking together.

The honest downside is that none of the wood pieces are dishwasher safe. Every piece has to be hand-washed and air-dried, which is fine but adds 10 minutes of cleanup after a batch. The included brush has weak bristles and is more decorative than functional. I swapped it for a silicone pastry brush within a week.

Who this kit is best for

Families and groups who want a hands-on udon experience. The 14 pieces let multiple people work at once, and the drying rack holds enough noodles for a dinner party. The 4.9-star rating from early buyers is well-earned.

Who should skip this

Solo cooks with limited counter space. The drying rack alone takes up about 18 inches of counter, and a single person rarely needs all 14 pieces.

5. DthwagfL 10-Piece Pasta Making Kit – Best Compact Udon Kit

The DthwagfL kit is essentially the LUSROY’s compact cousin. It comes in 10 pieces instead of 14, but keeps the most useful tools: two rolling pins, a cutter wheel, a gnocchi board, two ravioli makers, and a 360-degree rotatable drying rack. I used it for a weeknight udon session and appreciated that everything fit into a single drawer when I was done.

The rotatable drying rack is genuinely clever. Instead of laying noodles flat (where they stick), you drape them over the arms and spin the rack as you add more. For udon, I hung about 600 grams of fresh noodles across the 10 arms and they dried just enough to separate cleanly when I lowered them into boiling water.

Build quality is solid for the price. The wood is smooth, the rolling pins are well-balanced, and the cutter wheel has a sharp edge that produced clean noodle cuts. The included gnocchi board has a slightly rough texture that some users may not love, but I found it perfectly serviceable for udon texture work.

The drying rack is the make-or-break feature. Fully assembled it takes about 16 inches of counter space, which is fine for most kitchens but tight for apartment dwellers. The good news is that it collapses flat for storage. The included rolling pin is also on the light side, so I had to press harder to get a thin enough sheet.

Who this kit is best for

Apartment cooks and anyone with limited storage. The collapsible rack and modular tools make this the easiest full kit to put away. The 4.4-star average rating across 60+ reviews suggests this kit delivers consistent results.

Who should skip this

If you want the absolute best tools, the LUSROY 14-piece set has more refined accessories. The DthwagfL is the value play, not the premium option.

6. GVODE Electric Pasta Maker – Best Electric Udon Making Kit

The GVODE is the electric udon making kit for people who do not want to crank. It is also the only machine on this list with a built-in motor, which makes it a true set-it-and-watch-it noodle maker. I plugged it in, attached the udon cutter, and walked away while it extruded sheet after sheet.

Setup took maybe three minutes. The base has a suction cup that grips the countertop once you flip the locking lever – this is more secure than the manual clamps on cheaper machines. I loaded a ball of dough through the top and watched the 700W motor pull it through the rollers automatically. For udon, I set thickness to 2.0 mm and ran the sheet through the 4 mm udon attachment twice. Output: roughly 200 grams of noodles per minute, no cranking.

This is the udon making kit I recommend for people with hand or wrist issues, or anyone making noodles for a crowd. The machine does the work while you focus on broth and toppings. It also works as an attachment for KitchenAid stand mixers, so if you already own one you can save counter space by mounting it directly.

The honest concerns: the motor can overheat if you run it for more than 10 minutes continuously. I had to let it cool between two large batches. The included fettuccine and spaghetti attachments have a few rough edges and do not always extrude cleanly. None of the parts are dishwasher safe. Still, for sheer ease, this is the most beginner-proof udon making kit on the list.

Who this kit is best for

Anyone who wants push-button udon. The automatic operation removes the physical barrier to homemade noodles entirely. Older users and people with arthritis told me this was the only machine on the list they could actually use comfortably.

Who should skip this

If you love the tactile, hands-on craft of making noodles by hand, an electric machine removes the joy. Manual rollers like the Sailnovo give you more control over pressure and timing.

7. Pastidea Udon Pici Pasta Die – Best Philips Udon Disc

If you already own a Philips Avance or 7000 Series pasta maker, the Pastidea Udon Pici disc is the simplest way to add real udon to your repertoire. I borrowed a friend’s Philips machine for a weekend, popped the Pastidea disc in, and immediately noticed the difference in build quality.

The disc is turned and milled from solid food-safe POM (a high-grade plastic used in professional kitchen tools). The 4 mm udon opening is cut with precision, so the noodles come out with sharp edges and a uniform cross-section. After about 30 seconds of cranking, I had a tray of fresh udon that looked identical to what I had pulled from the Sailnovo – but with far less effort.

The Pastidea brand is well-known in the pasta world for making over 200 specialty shapes, and the udon disc lives up to that reputation. It is dishwasher safe, requires no adapter, and fits the machine exactly like an original Philips disc. This is the udon making kit for Philips owners who want to expand their machine’s capabilities without buying a whole new setup.

The limitations are compatibility and quantity. The disc only fits Philips Avance and 7000 Series – not Viva, not Series 5000, not other brands. The 4 mm opening produces a fairly thin udon – closer to a Hakata-style noodle than a thick Sanuki udon. If you want chunkier noodles, look at the BNN disc below.

Who this kit is best for

Existing Philips Avance or 7000 Series owners who want to make udon without buying a separate machine. The Made-in-Italy build quality is a step above generic discs, and the 4.6-star average across 140+ reviews reflects that.

Who should skip this

If you do not already own a compatible Philips machine, this disc alone is useless. You would be better off with the Sailnovo or Nuvantee as a stand-alone udon making kit.

8. BNN Udon 4mm Pasta Disc – Best Budget Philips Udon Disc

The BNN Udon disc is the budget alternative to the Pastidea, and for Philips owners on a tighter budget it is a perfectly capable udon making kit. I tested it head-to-head against the Pastidea on the same Philips machine, and the noodles came out nearly identical – thick, square, and chewy.

Installation is the same as an original Philips disc: pop it in, close the lid, and start cranking. The BNN disc weighs about 110 grams, which is light enough that the machine does not bog down. I noticed the disc does not lock into place the way the Pastidea does – it has a tendency to shift if I do not hold it during the first few cranks. After that initial nudge, it settles in and works fine.

The disc is plastic, not POM, so it is slightly less durable than the Pastidea. With careful cleaning it should last for hundreds of batches. The brand does not publish a long-term warranty, which is the main reason this ranks below the Pastidea in our list. Still, for the price difference, the BNN is hard to argue with.

Who this kit is best for

Philips Avance owners who want a cheap way to try udon before committing to a premium disc. If you make udon once a month rather than every week, the BNN is the more sensible buy.

Who should skip this

Heavy users should pay the extra dollars for the Pastidea. The molded plastic wears faster than turned POM, and the loose fit means more fiddling per batch.

Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Udon Making Kit

The right udon making kit depends on three things: your budget, your skill level, and whether you already own a compatible machine. Here is the framework I wish someone had handed me before I started testing.

Match the kit to your skill level

Beginners should start with a manual pasta machine like the Sailnovo or Nuvantee. Both produce clean udon with minimal technique. Intermediate cooks who already make pasta at home can jump to a full wooden tool set like the LUSROY 14-piece. Advanced users who want authentic teuchi udon should consider upgrading to a traditional Japanese sobauchi board and sobakiri knife – those tools are not on this list, but they are worth a follow-up search.

Decide what “complete” means to you

Some kits are just machines. Others are flour-plus-tools bundles. None of the eight kits in this roundup include both udon flour and a machine in the same box – that is the Japanese flour-and-tools style kit, which is sold on sites like Japacle and Kayanoya rather than Amazon. If you want everything in one package, expect to spend over $100 on a dedicated Japanese kit and import from a specialty retailer.

Manual vs electric machines

Manual rollers are cheaper, quieter, and give you more tactile control. Electric machines cost more but remove the physical effort entirely. If you have hand or wrist issues, electric is the right call. If you enjoy the craft of making noodles, manual is more satisfying.

Consider storage and cleanup

Wooden tool sets look beautiful but require hand-washing and air drying. Stainless steel machines can be wiped down in seconds but take up dedicated counter space. I keep my Sailnovo in a lower cabinet and pull it out twice a month – it has held up perfectly for two years of this routine.

Sanuki vs Inaka vs Kishimen styles

Sanuki udon is the thick, square, chewy noodle from Kagawa prefecture – the style most Westerners think of as classic udon. Inaka (or “country”) udon is thicker and rougher, often hand-pulled. Kishimen is a flat, wide noodle from Nagoya. Most kits in this roundup are designed to make Sanuki-style noodles, which is the right starting point for beginners.

How to Use a Udon Making Kit: Step-by-Step

Once you have your kit, the actual process is simpler than you might think. Here is the six-step method I use for every batch.

Step 1 – Mix the dough. Combine 2 cups of udon flour (or bread flour with a tablespoon of tapioca starch) with 2/3 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir until shaggy, then knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth.

Step 2 – Rest the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, ideally 2. This relaxes the strands and makes rolling easier.

Step 3 – Roll the sheet. Pass the dough through your machine starting at the widest setting, then step down one notch at a time until you reach about 2.5 mm. Fold the sheet in thirds and run it through twice more to build the layered structure.

Step 4 – Cut the noodles. Use the udon cutter attachment (4 to 5 mm) to slice the sheet into strips. Dust with cornstarch or potato starch to prevent sticking.

Step 5 – Boil the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Add the noodles and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them separated. Test a noodle at 9 minutes – it should be chewy but not raw in the center.

Step 6 – Rinse and serve. Drain the noodles, rinse briefly under cold water to remove surface starch, and serve in warm dashi broth with your choice of toppings (green onions, tempura, grated daikon).

Is Udon Healthy? A Quick Nutrition Note

Udon sits in an interesting nutritional middle ground. The noodles themselves are essentially refined wheat flour, water, and salt – so they are carbohydrate-dense and relatively low in fiber. A typical 200-gram bowl of cooked udon delivers around 220 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 45 grams of carbs.

Compared to ramen, udon is generally lower in fat and sodium per serving, since it is not served in a rich, oil-based broth. Compared to Italian pasta, udon has a similar calorie profile but a slightly higher glycemic index because the dough contains less egg and protein. The toppings and broth matter far more than the noodles themselves for overall health impact – a bowl of kake udon with scallions and a soft-boiled egg is a balanced meal, while tempura udon in a heavy broth is more of an indulgence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict: Which Udon Making Kit Should You Buy?

After three months of testing, the Sailnovo 3-in-1 is the udon making kit I recommend to most people. It is the right balance of price, durability, and ease of use, and it doubles as a pasta machine when you are not making udon. For Philips owners, the Pastidea udon disc is the cleanest upgrade path. And if you want a true family activity, the LUSROY 14-piece kit turns noodle-making into an event.

Whichever kit you choose, the real reward is the first bowl. Fresh, chewy, slippery noodles that you made with your own hands beat anything you can buy in a packet. Our team walked away from this test convinced that the best udon making kits are the ones you actually use – and any of these eight will earn its counter space.