Is Pasta Good for You?
Here's the skinny on how to make healthy pasta dishes
Pasta is quick to cook, handy to keep in the pantry, and an easy solution for the times when you’re not sure what to make for dinner. But because pasta is high in carbohydrates—and therefore, some people think, bad for your weight and your health—it often doesn’t make it onto the menu.
“Pasta isn’t deserving of its rep as a fattening food,” says Erin Morse, RD, the chief clinical dietitian at UCLA Health Center. Nor are carbohydrates in general. In a 2018 study in The Lancet, researchers projected that a 50-year-old who got half their calories from carbohydrates would live four years longer than someone on a low-carb diet (less than 30 percent of calories) and one year longer than someone on a higher-carb diet (more than 65 percent of calories).
Serving Up Pasta's Health Benefits
Regular pasta is made from refined flour that’s stripped of its fiber-rich outer layers. But the flour (called semolina) comes from durum wheat, which is higher in protein than other varieties. “Many pastas on the market are also enriched with iron and B vitamins,” says Dolores Woods, a registered dietitian at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. A cup of cooked pasta serves up 8 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fiber, plus 26 percent of the daily value for folate and 10 percent for iron—all for just 220 calories.
Tips for Keeping Pasta Healthy
Measure portions. A serving of pasta is 2 ounces dry, or about 1 cup cooked. “It depends on the shape of the pasta, so it’s smart to measure it,” Morse says. If you’re eyeballing it, a cup of cooked pasta is roughly the size of a baseball.
Don’t overcook. That breaks the bonds between the protein and starch. They remain intact in firm noodles, called al dente, Du says. This keeps the pasta’s GI low and helps you feel satisfied for longer. Cooking times vary, so check packages.
Add veggies. This increases the fiber and nutrients. “Blend steamed carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, or leafy greens into your red sauce,” Morse says. Or try asparagus, peas, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms, and a drizzle of olive oil. You can also swap out half the pasta for “noodles” cut from fresh squash or another vegetable, Du says. Or simply warm up frozen veggies with your sauce and use it to top the pasta.
Toss in filling protein. Cooked lean meat and poultry, beans, or tofu can help make one serving of pasta more satisfying.
Choose a low-sodium sauce. A half-cup of tomato sauce counts as a serving of vegetables in your diet. Jarred sauces are often high in sodium; several of the ones in CR’s pasta sauce test had 420 mg per serving. That’s 20 percent of the 2,300-mg daily limit. The two top-rated sauces, the Silver Palate Low Sodium Marinara and Victoria Low Sodium Marinara, have only around 5 percent of the daily limit.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article also appeared in the November 2023 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.
