Whole grain or bean pasta that's not terrible

June 3, 2020 10:26 AM

I'd like to switch to whole grain or bean pasta, but so far I don't like any I've tried. Looking for suggestions.

I taught myself to like brown rice more than white, and I taught myself to like whole wheat bread well enough, but I cannot find a whole grain pasta or whole food pasta that I like. The whole wheat pasta I've tried has been grainy. The brown rice pasta has a weird texture. I've tried a few lentil pastas (not a whole grain, I realize), and I haven't liked those either.
(I already know that white pasta isn't as bad on the glycemic index as white bread, but I'd still like to find something that's more of a whole food.)
Do you have a whole grain or otherwise not-white-flour pasta that you love?

posted by FencingGal to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Have you tried Barilla whole wheat pasta? My kids switched from white pasta to that without even noticing. It's a bit chewier but I don't find it grainy.
posted by SeedStitch at 10:32 AM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

Catelli is another brand with good whole grain pastas - I can't actually tell which I'm eating except for sometimes the colour.

But this may be only available in Canada. Brands are country-specific, so it helps to know what jurisdiction you are in.
posted by jb at 10:38 AM on June 3, 2020

My husband and I have really been liking bionaturae 100% whole wheat pasta (it is organic). Husband is pretty picky and he happily switched from regular pasta to this.
posted by gudrun at 10:39 AM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

We've been enjoying Explore Cuisine's edamame spaghetti (there's a write-up here). It tastes surprisingly like real spaghetti (not 100%, but close enough once sauce is on it), and the texture is great. As far as I can tell, it's basically ground up soybeans, so it's high in protein and low in carbs. We've found it to be more filling than normal spaghetti. We got it at Costco, but our Costco has now stopped stocking it (not sure whether that's just our store or a general thing). I think you can get it on Amazon though?
posted by ClaireBear at 10:45 AM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Brands are country-specific, so it helps to know what jurisdiction you are in.

Sorry! I'm in the US.
posted by FencingGal at 10:50 AM on June 3, 2020

I really like Banza chickpea pasta.
posted by raspberrE at 10:51 AM on June 3, 2020 [4 favorites]

Are you tied to Italian & other European noodle presentations? A lot can be done with rice noodles or bean threads: they're not texturally like wheat pasta, but depending on what you're hankering for they might scratch the itch.
posted by jackbishop at 11:08 AM on June 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

A lot depends on what you're using the pasta in and what shape pasta you want. I find it most difficult to substitute anything for regular spaghetti/linguine/fettuccine/angel hair etc. Long skinny noodles don't soak up or cup or contain much sauce. You're going for pure pasta and that's where you're going to notice texture and taste differences the most.

On the other hand, short pastas which can "contain" sauces and ingredients like penne, and pastas which are drowned in sauces and cheeses like lasagna or casseroles are easy to substitute with lentil pastas and whole wheat pastas without ever noticing a difference.

I've switched to all lentil pastas for coming on five years now because I was trying to increase my protein intake. The only regular pasta I ever use anymore is spaghetti. Even my kids don't see a difference and eat the lentil pastas happily.
posted by MiraK at 11:11 AM on June 3, 2020

Seconding Banza - I think that the shapes are better than the noodles as far as texture is concerned. You may need to cook it longer than the package says if you want it a little softer than al dente.
posted by Fritzle at 11:15 AM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I love GoGo Quinoa pasta! I will choose it over any other whole wheat or white pasta. I'm in Canada but it looks like it is sold in the United States.
posted by DTMFA at 11:19 AM on June 3, 2020

If you have a Whole Foods Market near you, I think the long whole wheat pastas in their 365 line are good. Not as crazy about the short ones. I think Bella Terra's are better.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:24 AM on June 3, 2020

Along with ClaireBear, I have to cast a vote for soybean pasta. I like the ones you can get at ALDI: (A review.)

My partner is celiac and I'm very low carb for health reasons, and neither of us really like weird substitutes but these are good.

The plain soybean spaghetti is the closest to regular pasta, the black soybean version is sort of... sweeter, nuttier, and slightly bitter? Maybe in a way that reminds me of udon noodles? The green edamame version is subtle and vegetal and close to spinach pasta, and it's our favorite in buttery, herby non-red-sauce dishes where the pasta is a little more of a focus.
posted by fountainofdoubt at 11:51 AM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

On the off-chance that you’re near a Wegman’s, I find their house-brand chickpea pasta to be far more palatable than Banzai, partially because it’s only chickpea rather than chickpea + other flours.
posted by okayokayigive at 11:54 AM on June 3, 2020

I also like Banza! Best texture that I have found. FYI it can get foamy when it cooks, so you may need to turn the heat down a little and cook it for a few minutes longer
posted by radioamy at 1:29 PM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like whole wheat pasta without sauce; to me a good whole wheat pasta is sweet/rich and just doesn't need heavy sauce. So I use it with "pasta water" type sauces, sauteed bitter greens, garlic, and peppers, with a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano. If I was going to use it in baked pasta dishes I'd concentrate on flavorful ingredients rather than thick sauces, and layer sharp hard cheese instead of gooey. Veggies can release enough water to keep moist.
Maybe some gooey cheese on top, because crusty browned gooey cheese.
Most whole wheat pastas I've come across benefit from being undercooked from slightly to more than. I usually combine them with sauce or ingredients for a final heat anyway. If you're just topping pasta, then cook it to barely al dente, it will continue to cook in the strainer.
Molisana is a brand that's been widely distributed throughout the US midwest lately, they make excellent commercial hard wheat pasta, and their whole wheat is no exception.
posted by winesong at 2:01 PM on June 3, 2020

Seconding Barilla. Also, I can't remember what variety of not-wheat it was, but I've had some good gluten-free pasta from Trader Joes.
posted by Candleman at 2:01 PM on June 3, 2020

I like buckwheat soba noodles which are relatively common in Japanese or Korean stores. Buckwheat is also very filling and has good nutritional values. Buckwheat pancakes are awesome.
posted by effluvia at 2:11 PM on June 3, 2020

seconding the awesomeness of buckwheat pancakes and their magic filling skills.

Explore Cuisine's Organic Black Bean Spaghetti is the bomb. It looks like a small box of twigs, but tastes great.
posted by scruss at 2:31 PM on June 3, 2020

Trader Joe's has a dry lentil pasta that looks and tastes like wheat pasta when cooked, to my disappointment. It might be what you are looking for.
posted by citygirl at 3:15 PM on June 3, 2020

Barilla chickpea or lentil. Tasty tasty and high in protein!
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:50 PM on June 3, 2020

Another vote for Banza from someone who still doesn’t really like whole wheat pasta.
posted by brilliantine at 6:12 PM on June 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also really like the Banza chickpea pasta. Even my extremely picky kid eats it with minimal complaints.
posted by jeoc at 6:14 PM on June 3, 2020

N-thng the chickpea-flour-based Banza. Me and my kids are (begrudgingly) eating gluten-free and it's definitely the best one we've tried in terms of reproducing taste and texture of regular white-flour pasta. I also serve it to my parents and other extended family when they come for meals and the consensus has been that if I hadn't told them, they wouldn't have realized it wasn't just regular pasta.

It's got more fiber and protein than regular pasta (an unexpected bonus, given my 2-year-old often just picks the noodles out and avoids the sauce/vegetables), so probably ticking the boxes you're looking for.
posted by iminurmefi at 6:08 AM on June 4, 2020

Lotus Foods - Millet and Brown Rice Ramen.

I cook it a little longer than package directions to make sure the texture is soft, and I treat it like spaghetti/vermicelli.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 7:59 PM on June 4, 2020