Paleo Alternatives to Pasta
Pasta is one of the un-Paleo foods there is! Mainly made of the grain wheat, pasta generally contains gluten, which many people don't tolerate well. The lectin in the grains has an inflammatory effect on the gut, upsets the acid balance in the body and of course results in a spike in blood sugar levels. All in all, pasta is definitely one to avoid.
However, so many popular dishes contain or are based on pasta. But this doesn't mean you have to go without when you start eating a Paleo diet. There are lots of ways to substitute pasta with some great paleo friendly alternatives.
Noodles & Spaghetti
Kelp noodles are available in some health food shops. These seaweed noodles look just like regular noodles, but are far more nutritious.
Sweet Potato Vermicelli is found in some Asian stores. Made from sweet potato starch, it is more processed than other pasta alternatives, but a better option than regular pasta.
Zucchini noodles can be made yourself using a zucchini and a mandoline slicer, a julienne peeler or a spirooli spiralizer and cooking in some oil over a medium heat.
Spaghetti can be made from the spaghetti squash fruit. When this particular variety is cooked, a fork can be used to scrape out the flesh into spaghetti like ribbons.
Lasagne
A paleo lasagne can be made with alternating layers of zucchini (courgette) and eggplant instead of pasta sheets. Alternatively, try using alternating layers of sliced meat, such as ham or turkey for an extra meaty lasagne.
Ravioli
Use thin ribbons of zuchini or summer squash to wrap around your raviloi filling
Gnocchi
Use some mashed sweet potatoes, eggs and sweet potato flour to make your own gluten-free gnocchi.
Not quite pasta, but another SAD alternative is to replace rice with cauliflower rice.
Do you miss pasta? What do you use to replace pasta in your favourite recipes? I'd love to see you pasta replacement tips in the comments below!
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I do miss having pasta I think mainly as a quick easy filler. Rather fancy trying out the seaweed pasta, an Aunt of mine lives in Wales (UK) and they eat seaweed a lot.
I haven’t tried it yet, but this lasagne from Against All Grain uses coconut flour tortillas instead of the lasagne noodles, and it looks delicious! http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/06/29/grain-free-lasagna-with-noodles/
I have seen lasagne being made with blanched leeks cut in half and laid flat out exactly like pasta sheets. Not tried it but the reviews were great.
We like to sub French cut greenbeans for pasta. I know it sounds a little weird, but it’s pretty good – as long as you try it knowning it’s not going to taste like pasta.
We are investigating the almond-based pastas. They are rather spendy, and we are under a vow of poverty here. I’m just hypothesizing at this point, but a combination of almond, coconut and dried mushroom flours bound with egg seems like it might work.
I’m missing conventional pasta very much but managing to resist eating it. The vegetable pastas are OK, but they are just veggies cut differently. They do not satisfy the desire for carby conventional pasta.
Good luck everyone, and good eating!
A couple of other alternatives that we use in our home are shiritaki noodles and black bean noodles.
The shiritaki noodles are a good alternative for those following a low carb version of Paleo and go well with sauces.
Black bean noodles are not strictly Paleo but can be an option for those who like noodle and are high in protein and fibre.
Great idea – thanks Neal