Dietitian Product Review: Barilla Protein+ Pasta

Disclaimer: As much as I would love the opportunity, I am (unfortunately) NOT sponsored to write this post. All thoughts about pasta in this article are my own.

TLDR: Overall, I would recommend giving the Barilla Protein+ Pasta a try if you were looking for something to feed your family for dinner because it tastes very similar to regular pasta. But, if you are looking for a pasta to meal prep, I would stick to other brands.

Ever since marrying an Italian, the amount of pasta I’ve consumed has increased exponentially. It used to take me a whole week to get through one box of pasta and now 2oz as a serving size seems laughable.

So when I heard that Barilla started making protein pasta, I knew I had to check it out!

…just kidding, it’s been out for a long time now. In reality, I knew that when it went on SALE that I had to check it out!

So let’s go through my very honest review of Barilla Protein+ Pasta as a dietitian!

Barilla Protein+ Pasta Ingredients and Allergens

According to the ingredients on the box, Barilla Protein+ Pasta is made with semolina (wheat), durum wheat flour, lentil flour, pea protein, chickpea flour, barley flour, spelt flour, vitamin B3 (niacin), iron (ferrous sulfate), vitamin B1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and folic acid.

Barilla Protein+ Pasta does contain wheat. It is free from peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, fish, molluscs, crusteacean and soy.

Barilla Protein+ Pasta Nutrition

A 2oz portion of Barilla Protein+ Pasta (penne shape) has 190 calories, 1g fat, 39g carbs, 4g fiber, 2g sugar, and 10g protein.

My Review of Barilla Protein+ Pasta

Honestly, I really like this pasta! I like my pasta al dente and I find that there is a really good bite to this pasta that may be attributed to the extra protein.

I will say one very big con is that the pasta really doesn’t taste that great heated up. I’ve read from other reviews that the pasta also doesn’t taste good cold either. I can’t weigh in on that because I am personally not a fan of cold pasta so I haven’t tried it.

Barilla Protein+ Pasta VS Regular Pasta

On it’s own, I do taste a little bit of the lentil flavor from the protein pasta BUT it is so subtle that you may not notice it. And once you put the sauce on top it is nearly identical to regular pasta. Especially if you’re going in with a heavy sauce like vodka sauce, I promise you will not taste the difference.

In terms of the difference in nutrition, Barilla Protein+ Pasta typically has more protein, less calories, less carbs and more fiber. For example, in looking at the difference in nutrition between regular Barilla penne and Barilla Protein+ penne for a 2oz portion:

• Regular penne has 200 calories while protein penne has 190 calories
• Regular penne has 42g carbs while protein penne has 38g carbs
• Regular penne has 3g fiber while protein penne has 5g fiber
• Regular penne has 7g protein while protein penne has 10g protein

Barilla Protein+ Pasta VS Banza Pasta

To be honest, I am NOT a fan of Banza pasta. I feel like it tastes too…chickpea forward? Like you can really taste that it’s made from something different. And I am one of those types of people that won’t eat something just for the health benefits. If it isn’t delicious, I am not eating it.

So while Banza may have more protein, more fiber, less carbs and less calories than Barilla Protein+ pasta, I would still choose the Barilla Protein+ Pasta based on taste alone. I think the Barilla pasta is a happy medium between the regular pasta and the “healthier” protein pastas.

What shapes are available for Barilla Protein+ Pasta?

The current lineup of shapes available for Barilla’s Protein+ Pasta are as follows:

• Angel hair
• Cellentani
• Elbows
• Farfalle
• Penne
• Rigatoni
• Rotini
• Spaghetti
• Thin spaghetti

Is Barilla Protein+ Pasta healthy?

Because of the increased protein and fiber and decreased calories and carbs, I would say the Barilla Protein+ Pasta is a better choice than regular pasta.

I would also argue that while the differences might be negligible for a small portion size, it can add up if you’re having two or even three times the serving size on the box. A protein difference of 2g for one portion isn’t that much, but a 6g difference could be!

Is there a gluten free version of Barilla Protein+ Pasta?

While the pastas in the Barilla Protein+ lineup are NOT gluten free, Barilla does have a lineup of chickpea and red lentil pastas that ARE gluten free.

The shapes that are currently available in the Barilla Chickpea and Red Lentil Pasta lineup are:

• Orzo (chickpea)
• Penne (chickpea)
• Rotini (chickpea)
• Spaghetti (chickpea)
• Penne (red lentil)
• Rotini (red lentil)
• Spaghetti (red lentil)

And because those pastas are made with just one ingredient (either chickpea or red lentil flour), they will not only be naturally gluten free but will also have that extra protein as well.

Personally, I have not tried any of the pastas from Barilla’s chickpea and red lentil lineup. I imagine it would taste more similar to Banza pasta than the Protein+ lineup. So, I don’t think I would like those pastas as much as the protein one.

Conclusion

I eat a lot of pasta. Honestly, I would say I probably eat more pasta than rice at this point. And because I eat so much pasta, I think it’s important to thoroughly research all the options that are available out there!

I hope you enjoyed my review on Barilla Protein+ Pasta. I highly recommend you give these products a try for yourself and let me know what you think!

Further Research

For a full list of what Barilla has to offer, I would suggest heading over to their website, linked here.

If you enjoyed this food review, you may like my other product reviews that you can find in the nutrition section of my blog, linked here!