11 Best High-Fiber Pasta Brands, According to a Dietitian

Pasta is a beloved pantry staple for good reason. Whether you need a quick meal or are cooking up a culinary masterpiece, pasta is versatile, hearty, and a universal crowd-pleaser. Yet, despite its long-standing place in kitchens across the globe, pasta has earned a bad rap due to the rise of low-carb diets that paint it as nutritionally "bad." As a result, many are reluctant to reach for that box of spaghetti on busy weeknights.

Thankfully, there's some good news. Healthier pasta brands are stepping up, offering noodles packed with fiber—an essential puzzle piece of our daily nutritional needs that many people tend to forget about. Fiber is directly associated with satiety, or the feeling of being full, which is often linked to protein but is actually supported by both protein and fiber. Satiety can help with weight maintenance, and fiber itself has been shown to aid in weight loss. Moreover, fiber helps regulate gut health by nurturing beneficial gut microbiota, which is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of overall health.

Not all pastas contain high levels of fiber, however, and it can be hard to know where to begin. There are scores of options on grocery store shelves, and most of us don't have the time (or patience) to sift through nutritional labels. That's where we come in! We rounded up 11 of our favorite high-fiber pasta brands, so you can find the best pick for you and your family. Buon appetito!

How We Chose the Healthiest High-Fiber Pasta Brands

• Contains 5+ Grams of Fiber: Although fiber is often overlooked on the nutrient label, the FDA recommends about 28 grams of fiber per day for the average, healthy adult. Fiber can be hard to get, though, especially in highly processed pasta that strays from its humble whole wheat beginnings. Therefore, you can rest assured that each pasta on this list contains at least 5 grams of fiber or about 18% of your daily fiber needs. Most of the pasta on this list, though, contains far more fiber than this with some even offering up to 24 grams, or about 85%.
• No Added Sugar and Lower in Sodium: Some companies like to get sneaky when it comes to added sugars and sodium, especially in grain-heavy foods. Added sugars and sodium are used not only to heighten taste but to also get consumers hooked on the product. Excess added sugar can lead to chronic inflammation and the development of diseases such as type-2 diabetes while excess sodium intake can lead to serious cardiovascular risks. None of the pastas on our list contain any added sugar, and we have capped sodium levels at 100 milligrams per serving. Many of our pastas don't contain any sodium.
• Protein/Additional Nutritionals: Every brand on our list contains at least 7 grams of protein to help keep you satisfied until your next meal. Additionally, many of the pasta brands also contain additional nutrients including iron (to help stave off anemia), manganese (which helps with antioxidant functions), and potassium (which helps with cellular function). Although these pastas don't contain your entire daily levels of each of these nutrients, every bit counts, and adding lean proteins, veggies, and heart-healthy Omega-3 oils can help you reach your health goals.

Read on for the best high-fiber pasta brands to add to your diet, and for more, check out 10 Best High-Fiber Breads, According to Dietitians.

Goodles Lucky Penne

Made with an impressive combo of ingredients, like wheat flour, chickpea protein, and even maitake mushroom, Goodles Lucky Penne packs a punch in the nutrition department. Plus, with no artificial colors or flavors added to the mix, people who are avoiding these ingredients can rest assured this pasta is a-ok. It is also a low-GI food, kosher, and it earned a Purity Award by the Clean Label Project.

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3 Farm Daughters

3 Farm Daughters Elbow pasta is a nutritional powerhouse. Just half a cup of these little elbows contain a whopping 9 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, and zero added sugars or sodium that may threaten to negate these health benefits. One of the best parts of 3 Farm Daughters pasta is, besides its glowing nutrient label, the easy-to-read ingredient list. This pasta is made with only two ingredients: wheat flour and durum wheat semolina (another type of wheat known for its firmer texture, making it perfect for shaped pasta).

Banza

Chickpea pasta has become increasingly popular in recent years—and with good reason! Chickpeas (aka, garbanzo beans) are a high-protein legume that contains a low glycemic index, making it a potentially beneficial pasta substitute for those experiencing diabetes. Banza Chickpea Penne contains not only 11 grams of protein to help keep you full but also 5 grams of pasta per 2-ounce serving of dry pasta (about half a cup). Additionally, this pasta is low in sodium, contains zero grams of added sugar, and even contains 3 milligrams of iron per serving, or about 20% of your daily iron needs.

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Seapoint Farms Edamame Spaghetti

Have you ever heard of edamame spaghetti? Spaghetti made from edamame, or soybeans, is rapidly growing in popularity due to the numerous health benefits of soybeans. For example, soy proteins, according to one meta-analysis, may help reduce levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels. Seapoint Farms Organic Edamame Spaghetti stays the course of health as each one-cup serving provides a whopping 12 grams of fiber, 24 grams of protein—hello satiety!—and no added sugars.

Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows

Although the term "light" has earned a bad rap in recent years due to the common inclusion of dubious ingredients such as artificial sweeteners and flavors, Fiber Gourmet's New Light Elbows contains all the good and none of the bad. Each ½ cup serving contains almost your entire daily fiber needs—24 grams—without any added sugar and relatively lower sodium levels compared to other brands. Additionally, this pasta provides 7 grams of protein to help keep you full.

Barilla

Barilla is perhaps one of the best-known pasta brands, and their whole grain spaghetti line is surprisingly high in fiber at 7 grams per two-ounce serving. This pasta is made with one ingredient—whole grain durum wheat flour—and is free from added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. Making the simple switch from refined grains to whole wheat may potentially help with proper weight maintenance due to healthy changes in the gut microbiota. One other reason we love Barilla is due to its high vitamin and mineral content. One serving contains 45% of your daily niacin intake as well as 70% of your daily manganese needs.

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Explore Cuisine

It seems that better-for-you brands are able to make pasta from just about anything these days—and we're here for it! Explore Cuisine's Black Bean Spaghetti provides a whopping 11 grams of fiber per serving with a very high protein count of 25 grams. This fiber and protein combo may help you stay fuller for longer, reducing the need for between-meal snacking which may aid in proper weight management. Additionally, one serving of this pasta contains 30% of your daily potassium and even 30% of your daily iron needs. Plus, the black coloring of this pasta just looks super cool!

GoodWheat Spaghetti

GoodWheat Spaghetti may take slightly longer to cook due to its high fiber content, but believe us, the couple extra minutes are so worth it. This spaghetti contains 8 grams of fiber and has even been Heart-Check Certified by the American Heart Association—a much-coveted certification that makes it easy to find heart-healthy ingredients in the grocery store. This pasta also contains 9 grams of protein, no added sugar, and no sodium. When you pair this pasta with healthy Omega-3 fatty acids like those found in a walnut-based pesto sauce, you can really up the ante on your heart-health game.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Carbe Diem

Despite the myriad of fad diets that are currently sweeping the nation, we're here to definitively say that carbohydrates are not the enemy. It's all about what kind of carbs you're eating and how much. Carbe Diem—it's in the name!—embraces the carb life, and just one serving of Carbe Diem's Penne Pasta contains 24 grams of fiber—aka, almost your entire daily fiber needs. With this solid pasta base, feel free to add on lean proteins, veggies, and heart-healthy sauces to really embrace the carbs you know and love in a healthy way!

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Kaizen

We know that we can't convince everyone that carbohydrates aren't bad for you—some of us still want to limit our intake, and for those who are living with metabolic disorders (such as diabetes), it may be a good idea to limit your carbs to help control blood sugar levels. That's where Kaizen Low Carb Fusilli comes in. With 21 grams of carbohydrates and a whopping 15 grams of fiber, one serving offers only 6 grams of net carbs while also helping you feel satisfied, unlike many other low-carb foods on the market. This pasta is also made out of lupini flour and fava bean protein, meaning that it's gluten-free for those with sensitivities and allergies.

Eden

Nutrition (Per 1 cup):
Calories: 210
Fat: 1.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 0 mg
Carbs: 40 g (Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 2 g)
Protein: 10 g

Eden's Kamut Spirals are 100% organic and whole wheat, made from an ancient variety of Khorasan (Kamut) wheat which makes this pasta not only smooth but naturally sweet without any added sugar. One cup of this pasta provides 6 grams of fiber—24% of your daily value—as well as 6% of your daily potassium, 15% of your daily iron needs, and even 20% of your daily magnesium. This one-ingredient pasta is the perfect base for any sauce, lean meat, or plant-based protein and gives your meal a nutritious kick that you won't find in other pasta brands.

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