Barilla Protein+ Pasta Review
Pasta and carbs are our weakness in this household, and we won’t do anything to try and hide it. That said, it can be a little rough to enjoy your pasta always when you know you aren’t getting all the nutrients your body needs. My least favorite thing on the entire plant is to eat pasta for dinner, head to the gym for a workout, and then come back and have to drink a protein shake still because I know I didn’t get anything with my main meal.
That’s why when we saw Barilla Protein+ Pasta, we knew we had to try it. We expected it to have a small amount of protein, but we were blown away by the amount it actually had. At 10 grams of protein per serving, and seven servings per box, we were getting much more protein than we expected.
Let us walk you through the meal we made, using the full box for ease of numbers. We didn’t eat the whole thing, don’t worry. 70 grams of protein from the Barilla Protein+ Pasta, 35 grams of protein from our pasta sauce, 63 grams of protein from shredded chicken, and around 30 grams of protein from parmesan cheese. With some added ingredients, and a large amount of protein from the Barilla Protein Pasta, we had a meal that would allow us to skip the post-meal protein shake. .
For context on how much extra protein you are getting, we decided to compare the protein amounts of Barilla spaghetti. Here is the amount of protein in a full box of various types of Barilla spaghetti. FYI - we’ll use the Barilla spaghetti for all of our comparisons throughout this article to help keep things consistent.
Gluten Free Spaghetti: 28 grams of protein
Spaghetti: 42 grams of protein
Whole Grain Spaghetti: 56 grams of protein
Protein+ Spaghetti: 70 grams of protein
You are getting a nice increase in protein of course, but that isn’t all of the benefits. Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti has less carbs, less calories, and more fiber than traditional Barilla spaghetti. It is still definitely pasta, and won’t be the most traditionally healthy meal you could possibly have, but it is perfect for those of us that love pasta and just want it to be a bit healthier.
We have already established that the Barilla Protein+ Pasta is a healthier alternative than traditional pasta. However, there are still many important questions. Is Barilla Protein Pasta actually good? Is it still easy to make? Should you try it? We’re here to answer all of that and more.
Let’s get the price out of the way first. Barilla Protein+ Pasta is a bit more expensive than normal Barilla. 16 ounces of Barilla Spaghetti is currently $1.89 at our local Walmart, while 14.5 ounces of Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti is currently $2.79 at our local Walmart. That makes Barilla Spaghetti about 12 cents per ounce, and Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti about 19 cents per ounce.
The Barilla Protein+ Pasta cooks just as fast as other Barilla. In fact, the Spaghetti cooks in one minute less. Not a huge difference either way, but worth noting in case that one minute really matters to you. Once cooked, we honestly couldn’t even tell a taste difference between the Barilla Protein+ line and the traditional Barilla. If you already like Barilla pasta, you should like this as well, and if you don’t like Barilla pasta, you probably won’t like this version.
One note here is that if you are familiar with the popular Banza protein pasta, you may know that it tastes different from traditional pasta. We personally think it is fine, but recognize some differences in taste and texture. We did not pick up on these differences between the different types of Barilla. This gives the extra protein without a difference in taste.
Past what we have already mentioned, it’s tough to find any additional differences. All Barilla products are NON GMO Project Verified, all Barilla are free from most major allergens, most are kosher certified, and all promise an “al dente” texture. All of these facts remain true for both traditional Barilla spaghetti and Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti.
So should you try Barilla Protein+ Pasta?
For our diets and what we hope to get out of a pasta meal, we are fans of the Barilla Protein+ Pasta. If you are like us, and willing to pay a ~58% increase in price for a food that is probably ~30% healthier, then the Barilla Protein+ Pasta is probably perfect for you. We are struggling with rising grocery bills like the rest of the world, so we recognize that this significant cost increase isn’t worth it if you don’t value the grams of protein the same way we do. It’s not much different, and is substantially more expensive.
What is an alternative to Barilla Protein+ Pasta?
As we aren’t wholeheartedly recommending Barilla Protein+ Pasta for all of our readers, we want to have an alternative for those of you that still want something healthier than traditional Barilla Spaghetti, but aren’t looking to spend more money.
Great Value Whole Wheat Spaghetti may be the solution for you. Whole wheat spaghetti has a slightly different flavor, but if you are using a strong pasta sauce, you probably won’t notice the difference anyway. Whole wheat spaghetti has a similar amount of protein to the Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti, and is far cheaper. At our local Walmart, Great Value Whole Wheat Spaghetti is currently only $1.00. This makes it less than half the price of Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti, while being roughly 15% less healthy.
For now, we think that Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti is probably the best “healthy” pasta on the market. That said, we will continue our search to find you the absolute healthiest pasta that doesn’t break the bank. If you liked reading about the healthiest pasta, you may also enjoy reading about the best toasted ravioli. Checkout out Aldi vs. Trader Joe's: Toasted Ravioli Comparison for more!