EatingWell Taste Test: The Great Whole-Wheat Pasta Challenge

By EatingWell Editors, "The Great Whole-Wheat Pasta Challenge," February/March 2005

Tasting whole-wheat spaghettis.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Well, I'll admit it, I buy the Great Value brand whole wheat pasta from Wal-Mart. It's 88 cents a package and the flavor is mild so it doesn't overwhelm or have to be drowned in a heavy sauce to mask the taste. We really like it in our...

Recipes to Try
Low Calorie Pasta Recipes
Quick and Healthy Pasta Recipes and Cooking Tips
Alpine Mushroom Pasta
Classic Lasagna
Old-Fashioned Spaghetti & Meatballs
Baked Mac & Cheese

Also of Interest
5 Star Chefs & Their Best Pasta Sauce Recipes
Homemade Potato Gnocchi

There’s no question that whole-wheat pasta is the better choice as part of a healthy diet: a good source of dietary fiber, it hasn’t been stripped of the grain’s important trace nutrients and phytochemicals. The problem is that whole-wheat pasta has a checkered, often less than palatable past. Fortunately for consumers, today there are numerous new choices to be found, some of which are strong and “wheaty” and some that will please the most hard-core whole-wheat skeptics.

What tastes best?

We gathered a selection of nationally available whole-wheat and whole-wheat-blend spaghettis and presented them to a panel of lifelong pasta eaters. Samples were served dressed only with mild olive oil and a touch of salt. Our tasters included the owner of a pasta-sauce manufacturing company as well as other food professionals and a few “lay” spaghetti eaters. For the most part our panel seemed interested in the spaghetti as a vehicle for the toppings, so the most neutral-flavored fared the best. Some liked a robust whole-wheat flavor while others preferred the mildest of tastes. The good news is that there seems to be a whole-wheat spaghetti to please just about everyone. See what pastas we liked best: