The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes

Pasta is such a difficult food for people with diabetes. While a slice of regular bread will pack 16 grams of carbs or more, a serving of pasta is no joke! At 40+ grams of carbs for one cup of pasta, it is not easy on the blood sugar! And it’s almost impossible to eat regular, high-carb pasta in moderation.

There are plenty low-carb bread options out there nowadays, but what do you do about those pasta cravings?

Fortunately, the creators of food are listening to your demands, because more and more low-carb pasta choices continue to pop up. Our staff has tasted many options in the hopes of finding that perfect pasta replacement.

Here are 6 enormous low-carb pasta choices that we’ve found so far:

1. Black Bean Pasta from Explore Cuisine: This pasta is a favorite of ours because it cooks nicely (in about 5 to 7 minutes), and it holds together well. The only ingredients are black beans and water, making this a very clean and healthy choice (no weird chemicals or preservatives). It has a ton of fiber, which should affect your blood sugar less than regular carbohydrates, and possibly not at all. It’s also chock full of protein. After subtracting the 11 grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrates, you’re left with 8 grams of healthy carbohydrates per serving! Feel free to have two servings at that count! The black noodles look pretty great in tomato sauce, by the way.

2. Edamame Pasta from Explore Cuisine: A second choice from the Explore Cuisine team, this green edamame pasta has even fewer net carbs than the black bean variety: 7g (20g total carbs minus 13g fiber) per serving. The edamame pasta is also packed with plant-based protein. It’s got a slight vegetal flavor, in comparison to the black bean noodles, which actually tastes pretty good with a light herby sauce like pesto. “Edamame,” if you’re unfamiliar with it, is immature soybean, the little pods that are often served steamed as an appetizer in Japanese restaurants. It’s about as healthy an ingredient as you can find.

3. Palmini Low-Carb Linguini: Palmini is a unique option made from hearts of palm; it made a splash on the TV product-pitching show Shark Tank. If you’ve enjoyed hearts of palm already, you already have a good idea about the flavor and texture you’ll find with palmini noodles. Hearts of palm do have a subtle fruity tropical flavor, but it might not be strong enough to distract from a classic pasta sauce. If it does bother you, the packaging suggests that you soak the noodles in milk first to remove that flavor. The texture, though, isn’t soft or slimy, even if it’s not exactly as toothsome as pasta. The best news with palmini noodles is that they don’t need to be cooked at all: just drain and add to your warm sauce. Like zoodles, palmini noodles are extremely low-carb and low-calories, just 4g of total carbohydrates, 2g of which are fiber. The texture might set some people off – this is a love-it-or-hate-it option.

4. Carba-Nada Low-Carb Egg Fettuccine: This pasta is arguably borderline as a “low-carb” ingredient – and it definitely won’t work for committed keto dieters – but its authentic flavor and texture might make it worthwhile for some. Carba-Nada’s noodles are made with traditional durum wheat, but have extra eggs, soy protein, and some other ingredients that boost the fiber and protein counts. The total? 24g of total carbs with 6g of fiber, for 18g net carbs – that’s about 60% less than most traditional pasta.  Because this noodle actually has wheat in it, it’s the most authentically flavored and textured option on the list. Is it diabetes-friendly? That’s up to you.

5. The Only Bean Soybean Spaghetti: This business with smart design is trying to beat Explore Cuisine at the soybean pasta game. The Only Bean’s product is a little bit carbier, with 9g net carbs per serving, but it has one welcome difference: it isn’t black or green. Maybe it’s just our imaginations because of the color, but the Only Bean noodles seem to have a less pronounced beany flavor (though the company does make colored black bean and edamame options too). All in all, this is a go-to alternative.

6. innovative or Frozen Zoodles: Probably the best-known low-carb option, zucchini noodles are now available in most supermarkets, often both in the fresh and freezer aisles. Zoodles are undoubtedly extremely healthy, green veggies that are not just low-carb but low-calorie too. They also tend to be significantly less expensive than the other options above. They need to be handled very carefully though: it’s extremely easy to overcook a zoodle (we dunk them in boiling water for barely a minute), and even if you cook them perfectly, they might not be stout enough to stand up to a heavier sauce like a meaty ragu or a rich cheese sauce. Choose zoodles for fresh, light, summery preparations: dress simply with pesto or butter and basil.

…and 1 to avoid!

Shirataki & Konjac Noodles. We were excited to try this zero-carb noodle type, but the Diabetes Daily Staff was unanimous in disliking multiple versions.

With essentially zero calories, carbs, fat, or protein (in other words: void of nutrition whatsoever), these noodles are made with yam flour (konnyaku / konjac) and water. What’s the downside to a pasta that has basically zero carbs? They smell gross. They taste gross. The texture is gross. Ick. You’re encouraged to rinse them thoroughly in an effort to rid them of their funky taste and smell, but we found that no amount of rinsing was good enough. But you probably should try it yourself just in case you’re one of those few who like them.

Skinny Pasta, a shirataki noodle brand that has a little bit of oat fiber and a bit more texture, is a slight improvement – it doesn’t smell as bad, either – but we’re still not fans.

Have a favorite option? Please let us know!

Diabetes Daily

The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes