What's your favorite whole wheat pasta?

[applecrisp]

I try to use whole wheat pasta most of the time.... although I do prefer the white stuff.

I was just wondering if anyone had any new (or old favs) of whole wheat pasta?

I've tried a few different brands and I find the taste varies quite a but. Some are definitely too chewy (even with a longer cooking time for me) or too wheaty).

I probably buy the Bionaturae brand the most.

I've moved basically 100% to brown rice with no prob, just not really loving many of the whole wheat pastas. I'm fine using my ol' favs from time to time (especially in some recipes), but for regular recipes I'd like to use whole wheat.

Thanks,

[Canice]

Another for Bionaturae!

[funniegrrl]

After years of trying various WW pastas and just not being thrilled, I finally decided compromise was OK and now use Barilla Plus. I really, seriously enjoy brown rice and 100% whole wheat bread, etc., but could just never get to the point where I enjoyed WW pasta. An added advantage of Barilla Plus is that it is high-protein -- I don't have to use as much meat or cheese to get my needed protein for the meal, and it's more filling.

[memartha]

I really like Barilla Whole Grain pasta. I can only get spaghetti, penne and rotini around here, but they are not as gummy/wheaty/heavy as the kind of whole wheat pasta found in the natural food stores.

Now that I'm looking at the label, I suppose this is because it's a blend. The ingredients are: whole durum wheat flour, semolina, durhum wheat flour, oat fiber. But it's got 6 g. of fiber, which is better than standard white pasta.

[Aninha]

After years of trying various WW pastas and just not being thrilled, I finally decided compromise was OK and now use Barilla Plus. An added advantage of Barilla Plus is that it is high-protein -- I don't have to use as much meat or cheese to get my needed protein for the meal, and it's more filling.

What she said, I love Barilla plus! And I don't like regular pasta, nope don't like it, even when DH makes it homemade. I can't find joy in pasta, it is really bland to me.
However I like Barilla Plus, it is nutty and hearty, it has texture and flavor as well, and it is high in protein, which I appreciate for the same reasons as Funniegrrl mentioned. I even love it with just salt, pepper and olive oil, which is my favorite way of eating barilla plus pasta, any shape!
Ana

[VictoriaL]

Barilla Whole Grain is all I buy any more, even for a DH who claims to "hate" whole wheat pasta.

[Gail]

I'm honestly not sure what brand I have-- Ezekiel, maybe? and I confess to have only purchased the one brand. It seems to have a vague pumpernickle-ish quality to the taste I rather like.

[sunnyshine]

Barilla Plus here as well.

Has anyone tried the Quinoa pasta? I was about to pick up a box to try today but decided I didn't want to spend $4.00 on pasta if it wasn't any good.

[applecrisp]

Thanks everyone. I will check out the Barilla brand and see it compares in taste etc to Bionaturae.

[avariell]

Dittos!
Barilla Plus and Barilla Whole Grain are tasty - they are the only ww/health pastas I will eat.

[jjsooner73]

Another Barilla Plus fan. I haven't seen the Barilla Whole Grain around here.
I like Barilla plus better than regular pasta these days. It has more of a 'bite' to it.

[vbak]

we don't have pasta too often, but when we do I use Ronzoni WWW. I have never seen the other brands mentioned here.

[Valerie226]

After years of trying various WW pastas and just not being thrilled, I finally decided compromise was OK and now use Barilla Plus. I really, seriously enjoy brown rice and 100% whole wheat bread, etc., but could just never get to the point where I enjoyed WW pasta. .

We're at the same point... whole grain products in almost everything but pasta. I tried several kinds but ended up dumping them when I met total resistance. DH is not usually that firm about food things, but he refuses to eat ww pasta. I'm not quite as decided but what I tried I didn't like very much and would use pasta a lot less often.

I like brown/ white rice and use them to best suit the dishes they are in, but pasta has been a stucking point. I know I can get Barilla. so far neither the taste nor the texture seem right and somehow clash with the sauces. a while ago I decided it wasn't worth another fight and went back to regular Ronzoni.

[Sheila in MD]

I like the Ronzoni Smart Taste...I used to use Barilla Plus but switched to this. I don't like the "traditional whole wheat" pastas at all!

Sheila in MD

[Jessica]

We like the bionaturae and the Trader Joe's. My dad is a health nut who refused to eat WW pastas because of the taste and texture until I convinced him to try TJ's. I also buy the Barilla on occasion.

[TieKitty]

I'll use any ww pasta if it's on sale. We've adapted to it pretty well, but it is just DH and me. I think Barilla Plus is our favorite, though.

[ClaraB]

I like the Ronzoni Smart Taste...I used to use Barilla Plus but switched to this. I don't like the "traditional whole wheat" pastas at all!

Sheila in MD

I also use Ronzoni Smart Taste, but consider it a compromise between whole grain pastas and white. It does have a lot of fiber and is fortified with calcium and some other vitamins, but I don't think it's classified as "whole-grain". The nice thing is that you can't tell the difference beween it and white pasta.

[jellyben]

And I don't like regular pasta, nope don't like it, even when DH makes it homemade. I can't find joy in pasta, it is really bland to me.

Ana

Does. Not. Compute.

I am a pasta addict. When I am feeling virtuous I go with Barilla Plus. Haven't tried any of the others but might follow some of the recs here!

[heavy hedonist]

there's an italian brand here called Gia Russa that i really like. Also enjoy the DeColes brand of grain pastas, and occasioanlly Barilla. My usual store doesn't sell it much, though.
Aldi's fit-n-active WW pasta is pretty decent, though, especially the penne. I'm not as fond of the rotini.

[Robyn1007]

I've actually switched mostly to brown rice pasta. I started because some friends of mine are gluten free and I found it to work fine for me so I've just stuck with it.

[Linda in MO]

I also use Ronzoni Smart Taste, but consider it a compromise between whole grain pastas and white. It does have a lot of fiber and is fortified with calcium and some other vitamins, but I don't think it's classified as "whole-grain". The nice thing is that you can't tell the difference beween it and white pasta.

Another thumbs up for the Ronzoni Smart Taste. That's the kind I always buy. It looks and tastes like regular pasta but has 6 gm of fiber/serving.

[apple*tart]

I haven't found a true WW pasta that I like or that my husband will tolerate (he's really good about WW bread and other stuff). For now I buy Barilla Plus (a compromise is a good way to put it!). I don't even miss regular white pasta now. I'd love to find a true WW that we like.

[nanetteb]

I used to buy Bionaturae but I'm in love with the Whole Foods 365 brand. It is inexpensive (maybe $1.69 a lb) and never too wheaty. My store sells penne, rotini, macaroni and spaghetti in the whole wheat version. It is so good my husband finally decided to make the switch to 100% whole wheat.

Also, I have tried the quinoa pasta which I liked but you have to be careful not to overcook it.

[KristiB]

Another passenger on the Barilla Plus love train.

Safeway's store brand version of BP is also pretty good and sometimes it's on sale. I think the nutritional profile is a little better too.

[margeslp]

I found the hardest part of transitioning to WW pasta was the density of the macaroni. I use Barillia Plus also but have stocked up on angel hair. I have convinced a number of friends who wouldn't/couldn't try it again converted to WW angel hair. I find making a switch to angel hair vs penne, etc. is easier than switching from white to ww

[SusanMac]

No one has mentioned the Whole Foods brand yet. I love, love their WW pasta. We get the linguine, in particular, b/c I find the spagetti to be too thin & stringy in texture. DH likes it, but still prefers the white pasta. So, I typically make 1/2 WW and 1/2 white in a single dish.

Haven't tried Trader Joe's WW yet, but will check it out! They have a lemon sage pasta that rocks! (not WW, but very tasty :-)

[PurrPg]

No one has mentioned the Whole Foods brand yet. I love, love their WW pasta. We get the linguine, in particular, b/c I find the spagetti to be too thin & stringy in texture. DH likes it, but still prefers the white pasta. So, I typically make 1/2 WW and 1/2 white in a single dish.

Haven't tried Trader Joe's WW yet, but will check it out! They have a lemon sage pasta that rocks! (not WW, but very tasty :-)

We really enjoyed the 365. DH, a seriious Italian, was hard to convert, but he really was pleasantly surprised. We had the spaghetti. I am ready to try the others.

[applecrisp]

Reporting back. I bought a box of the Barilla Plus Thin Spaghetti, and I thought it was quite good. I had it with some great homemade spaghetti sauce so that might have covered up some of the pasta taste.

Margeslp -- thanks for the suggestion on trying the thin pasta. I think that made a big difference.

I will buy if again, and try some of the other brands suggested.

Thanks again.

[blazedog]

I'm pretty happy with the TJ whole pasta -- I just had their Penne and it is quite dense.

I confess that I wouldn't sub WW pasta for some dishes or occasions just as I wouldn't sub brown rice for certain dishes and I actually like brown rice more than white rice.

For me, the WW seems suited for more peasanty robust types of dishes.

[applecrisp]

Does anyone know if there is a whole wheat brand of the no-boil lasagna noodles? I would think with all that sauce, cheese etc... it could be a great sub.

Blazedog -- I have basically switched to brown rice, and fine with that switch. But like you said, for certain dishes I rather use white rice.