A Must-Read Guide to the Best Keto Pasta
The post A Must-Read Guide to the Best Keto Pasta appeared first on Keto Summit.
Does following a Keto diet mean you have to give up all your favorite pasta dishes? Not necessarily!
With a few clever twists, you can stay in ketosis while still enjoying classic pasta dishes like lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, and chicken noodle soup.
By using low-carb alternatives instead of traditional grain-based pasta (aka pasta made with wheat or rice flour), you can create Keto pasta dishes which are naturally low in carbohydrates and Keto-friendly.
There are plenty of possibilities! You could add your Keto-friendly pasta to a comforting noodle casserole, top it with a hearty helping of bolognese, or keep it on stand-by for when you want to throw together a tasty pasta salad.
Here’s our easy guide to the best Keto-friendly pasta:
This article will show you easy ways to make Keto-friendly pasta at home – while also introducing you to the ready-to-eat Keto pasta options available at your grocery store. Then, we’ll run through what types of pasta you need to avoid.
And we’ll finish with some of our favorite Keto-friendly pasta recipes. So you can start using these tips and tricks at home!
What are the Best Keto-Friendly Pasta Alternatives?
1) Spiralized Veggies or Vegetable “Pasta”
Spaghetti squash, cucumbers, and zucchini all make great veggie noodles. And eggplant or cabbage can both be a tasty stand-in for lasagna sheets!
Wondering how to prepare these veggies? And how to serve them? Have a read through this detailed summary of the 6 best types of vegetables to turn into Keto pasta:
1. Spaghetti Squash
This is one of the most common Keto pasta alternatives, and with good reason! It’s super easy to prepare and you can top it with a variety of different sauces.
Spaghetti squash naturally forms thin spaghetti-like strands when cooked. All you have to do is bake your squash and then use a fork to gently scrape the strands off. Add a hearty marinara sauce to your plate, and dinner is served!
As you’ll notice when you eat it, spaghetti squash is on the sweeter side. It has about 2 grams of sugar and 3 grams of net carbs per 1/2 cup of spaghetti squash (1).
How to Make Spaghetti Squash Pasta
- Microwave it! One of the easiest ways of preparing spaghetti squash is to microwave it – for step by step instructions, check out our post How to Microwave Spaghetti Squash.
- Roast it! Pop your squash in the oven to give it a delicious and delicately sweet flavor. This cooking method will also crisp up your squash strands. For step by step instructions, check out our post on Coconut Oil Baked Spaghetti Squash.
2. Zucchini
Zucchini noodles (aka “zoodles”) are often a go-to for those in need of a pasta fix because their consistency so closely mirrors traditional wheat-based noodles.
Another big benefit of zucchini noodles is that you don’t have to cook zucchini before using it as a noodle, unlike spaghetti squash. Plus, the mild taste and texture of zucchini can easily be disguised with a richly-flavored pasta sauce like bolognese. This is useful if you’re preparing dinner for picky eaters!
A spiralizer is the easiest way to make zucchini noodles. But if you don’t have one, there’s no need to fret: a simple vegetable peeler will also do the job. And if you want to make things even simpler, you can just cut the zucchini into slices to make thick “rounds” of pasta.
For an easy dinner dish, top your zucchini pasta with a delicious sauce or serve it alongside grilled chicken.
How to Make Zucchini Pasta
- Use a Spiralizer. Spiralizers are cheap and useful kitchen utensil to invest in. You can use them to make zucchini pasta or noodles out of other vegetables, too.
- Use a Potato Peeler. No spiralizer? No problem! You can create thick fettuccine-like zucchini noodles simply and easily by using a potato peeler.
- Use a Julienne Peeler. A julienne peeler is a little different from a potato peeler. Using it will give you lots thin strands of zucchini, instead of one long thick strand. Think “angel hair pasta” rather than “fettuccine”.
- Use a Food Processor Shredding Attachment. Have a food processor with a shredding attachment? Then you’ve got another easy method for creating zucchini noodles – although the strands will be shorter than if you use a peeler or spiralizer.
3. Cucumber
Cucumber noodles are very similar to zucchini noodles. However, the higher water content in cucumbers means you may end up with a slightly softer and wetter pasta.
When you’re creating your noodles, it’s best not to use the center seed part of the cucumber, as it contains a lot of water. That’s also why using a potato peeler (rather than the spiralizer or food processor) works best when you’re creating these noodles.
Cucumber noodles are especially great for creating salads. Chill the cucumbers in advance to create refreshing noodle salads in the summer months.
4. Bean Sprouts
Haven’t got time to spiralize your vegetables? Then bean sprouts are an ideal way to get your Keto-friendly pasta fix!
They already have a natural noodle-like shape and they’re fantastic at soaking up the flavor of any sauce, just like traditional pasta.
Try adding bean sprouts to your next batch of chicken soup or use them to bulk up a batch of sauteed zucchini noodles. With only about 3.5 grams of net carbs per cup (2), they’re a great way to add variety to your dish!
5. Eggplant (Aubergine)
Eggplant is a great choice when you need large lasagna noodle sheets.
Simply slice your eggplant lengthwise into thin sheets. You’ll find the eggplant sheets soften nicely with a quick parboil, and then you can use them as a base for your Keto-friendly version of lasagna.
Eggplant sheets will soak up the flavor of the tomato sauce they’re cooked in without imparting very much of their own flavor. So you’ll get all the zest of traditional lasagna, but with far fewer carbs!
6. Cabbage
Cabbage’s thick leaves make a great substitute for larger and wider noodle shapes, like lasagna. And they’re also a great way to add some bulk to your Keto pasta dishes.
Try using white, green, or red cabbage to bring new colors and textures to your favorite pasta recipes. It’s ideal for a Keto-friendly take on traditionally noodle-heavy casseroles or layered pasta dishes, like lasagna and ziti.
2) Shirataki Noodles
What’s better than a low carb noodle you don’t even have to cook? That’s exactly what makes shirataki noodles the ideal Keto “fast food”.
These thin and translucent noodles are a staple of traditional Japanese cuisine. They’re made from the root of the konjac plant (also known as devil’s tongue yam or elephant yam).
You can find shirataki noodles in many Asian or Japanese supermarkets – and you’ll often have the option to buy them either “dry” or “wet” (i.e. packaged in liquid).
The dry variety requires a quick parboil before eating, but wet shirataki noodles are ready to eat! You’ll find that the liquid they come in has a strong and distinctly fishy aroma, so be sure to rinse them well before using them.
3) Kelp Noodles
Kelp noodles are very similar to shirataki noodles, but with one important difference: despite their seaweed origins, they don’t have a fishy smell!
These Keto-friendly noodles are made from an edible seaweed. And just like shirataki noodles, you can buy both dry and wet varieties. You’ll find them for sale in many Asian grocery stores, as they’re popular throughout Asian cuisine (particularly in Japanese dishes).
Most kelp noodles only need a quick rinse or a quick parboil, and then they’re ready to eat, which makes them perfect when you’re in a hurry! They’re also a great go-to for anyone craving the firm, chewy texture of traditional wheat pasta.
4) Chicken Pasta or Noodles
That’s right: you can even make noodles from chicken itself! It might not be the most common option on this list, but it’s definitely a great way to create a high-protein pasta dish.
Here’s one recipe you can use to transform chicken into Keto-friendly pasta. Why not try it yourself next time you need a post-workout boost of protein?
What Types of Pasta Should You Avoid?
Most of the pasta you find in stores (like Italian spaghetti or Asian noodles) use grains, starches or rice as their main ingredient. Which means they’re high in carbohydrates and not keto-friendly. So you’ll need to steer clear of them!
These are the 4 main varieties of pasta you should avoid on a Keto diet:
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- Wheat Flour-Based Pasta (all forms)
Italian-style pasta is made with a specific type of wheat flour, known as durum. You might also see it referred to as pasta flour or even macaroni flour. The high carbohydrate content of durum wheat means that any traditional wheat-based pasta cannot be considered a Keto-friendly food.
Products made with durum wheat also have a relatively high glycemic index – which means they cause your blood sugar to spike. For example, durum wheat spaghetti has a Glycemic Index of 71 (3) – anything over 70 is considered high (4). And that’s all the more reason to avoid them.
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- Rice-Based Pasta
This type of pasta is commonly used in Asian cuisines. The most popular forms are Chinese mei fun (aka rice vermicelli) and ho fun (aka noodles). All types of rice-based pasta are naturally high in carbohydrates, whether they’re made with white, brown or wild rice. And that means they’re not Keto-friendly.
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- Egg Noodles or Pasta
Despite their name, egg noodles are not Keto. Almost all egg-based pasta still contains high levels of traditional wheat or rice flour. A higher proportion of the pasta dough is made of eggs (which is where the name comes from), but it’s just as unfriendly to a Keto diet as the other types of pasta we’ve mentioned on this list.
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- Couscous
Many people don’t realize couscous is actually a type of pasta, but it is! It’s made from small balls of traditional durum wheat flour. So couscous is just as high in carbohydrates as any other traditional wheat flour-based pasta (like ziti, linguini, or spaghetti).
What About Gluten-Free Pasta?
Just because a food is labeled gluten-free, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Keto-friendly.
Unfortunately, most of the gluten-free pastas you see in the stores will have to be avoided on a Keto diet. They might not contain gluten, but they do still contain carbs – they’re typically made with high carbohydrate flours, like rice flour. So you’ll need to keep them out of your shopping basket.
If you’re looking for store-bought Keto-friendly pastas, the two options you’ll generally be able to find are kelp noodles and shirataki (or Miracle) noodles. We covered both of these in detail earlier in this post.
Keto Pasta Recipes
Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
– Keto Summit
Ingredients: spaghetti squash, ground or minced beef, onion, tomato, fresh basil, garlic, coconut oil, salt, pepper.
Spaghetti bolognese is one of those meals that instantly brings comfort, but it definitely doesn’t have to be full to the brim with carbs to taste absolutely amazing. Using squash to create the spaghetti is the perfect alternative and is perfect for anyone with a gluten intolerance. Just remember to add your garlic and basil leaves right before you finish cooking the bolognese – they really make the flavors pop.
Autoimmune Paleo Pesto Chicken and Spaghetti Squash
– Empowered Sustenance
Photo Credit: Empowered Sustenance
Ingredients: spaghetti squash, boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, coconut oil (or other cooking fat), basil, arugula, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt.
Once again, squash comes in to save the day (or should we say save the dish?) by providing a brilliant “pasta” base for a tasty meal. You may also think of pesto with having pine nuts in the ingredients, but you won’t find those here! This yummy chicken pasta dish is completely gluten and nut-free so you can keep everyone happy around the dinner table.
3-Ingredient Creamy Keto Salmon Pasta Recipe
– Keto Summit
Ingredients: coconut oil, smoked salmon, zucchinis, mayo.
Get a good dosage of salmon and all of its tasty health benefits with this creamy keto salmon pasta dish. Using only 3 ingredients (+ coconut oil to cook with) you can have dinner ready within minutes – perfect to prepare after a busy day at work. Instead of using squash, this recipe uses zoodles (zucchini noodles) to make a stand-up replacement for pasta which is also packed with way more healthy nutrients!
Pan-Fried Tuscan Chicken Pasta
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: chicken breasts, egg, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, olive oil or avocado oil, zucchini.
This recipe is perfect for those who might not have a Spiralizer at hand – simply use your peeler to create ribbons of zucchini. Top these zoodles with tasty Tuscan chicken for a quick and easy dinner-time meal. Flavored with garlic, tomato, basil and Italian seasoning, your whole family will be asking for you to make this again! If zoodles aren’t your thing, try this recipe with a different pasta alternative.
Keto Crockpot Beef Stroganoff Recipe
– Keto Summit
Ingredients: beef roast, onion, garlic, parsley, white mushrooms, Kettle & Fire mushroom chicken bone broth, salt, pepper, cucumber, coconut milk/cream, Dijon mustard.
Who doesn’t love a crockpot recipe? This lip-smacking beef stroganoff recipe will definitely be getting added to your keto cookbook, with hearty ingredients and a warming satisfaction after eating. Traditional stroganoff has a whole bunch of non-keto ingredients which can be easily switched out and still yield ultra-yummy results. Popping ingredients into a crockpot is so simple, you’ll definitely want to try this recipe at least once!
Thai Chicken Pad See Ew
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: chicken breast, green onion, broccoli florets, ginger, tamari sauce, garlic, cilantro, coconut oil, cucumber, salt.
Noodle dishes can be some of the tastiest meals but many noodles just aren’t great for a keto diet – here’s where cucumber comes in. Use a Spiralizer or shredder to create cucumber strips which are the perfect replacement for rice noodles. This Pad See Ew is full to the brim with nutritious, healthy goodies, with protein, vitamins C and K, folic acid and even anti-inflammatories – not to mention it’s super colorful, so it is pleasing to the eye as well as the stomach!
Asian Garlic Beef Noodles
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: onion, beef, avocado oil or coconut oil, tamari sauce, garlic, fresh ginger, cilantro, zucchini or shirataki noodles.
After a busy and stressful day at work, coming home and making a noodle dish is the perfect option – quick and easy, you’ll have a yummy meal ready in no time. These garlic beef noodles are super flavorsome, with garlic, ginger and cilantro and also so easy to whip up in your frying pan (less washing up). You can choose to use zoodles or shirataki noodles for this recipe – whichever takes your fancy.
Shirataki Noodle Macaroni and Cheese (Contains Dairy)
– Low Carb Yum
Photo Credit: Lisa from Low Carb Yum
Ingredients: shiratake ziti Miracle Noodles, cheddar cheese, coconut milk, heavy cream, egg, Dijon mustard.
If there is one food which springs to people’s minds when you say comfort food, then mac ‘n’ cheese is probably it. If you’re allowing dairy in your diet, then why not try out this recipe? Shirataki noodles make a brilliant pasta substitute, but you have to make sure you prepare them perfectly to get maximum enjoyment. Low Carb Yum’s recipe is a definite family dinner winner which will keep every tummy happy.
Lasagna with Eggplants
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: ground pork, ground beef, onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, fresh thyme, fennel seeds, eggs, coconut oil, salt, eggplant.
Using eggplant to replace lasagna sheets is pretty much a stroke of genius and makes for one taste-filled dinner. Many other ingredients in a traditional lasagna are just not keto-friendly, so I took out sugar and dairy to create my eggplant lasagna. Eggs made the perfect replacement for cheese and if you have more time, you could use soaked cashews to add a different texture.
The post A Must-Read Guide to the Best Keto Pasta appeared first on Keto Summit.
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