A Paleo diet and pasta don’t usually go together, so what is a Paleo pasta lover to do? We’ve rounded up six Paleo-friendly pasta alternatives so you can replace regular wheat pasta with!
Some Paleo-friendly pasta alternatives include:
- Almond flour pasta
- Cassava pasta
- Hearts of Palm pasta
- Kelp noodles
- Shirataki noodles
- Spaghetti squash
- Spiralized veggie pasta
To learn more about these interesting Paleo pasta alternatives, read on!
Paleo diet basics
The Paleo diet (short for Paleolithic; also called the caveman diet) is an eating style meant to mimic what people could hunt and gather millions of years ago before farming began.
The Paleo diet is pretty strict in comparison with a typical Western diet and avoids many of today’s more common foods.
Some foods avoided on a Paleo diet aren’t very nutritious (like refined sugars), but some are considered healthy by non-Paleo dieters, like whole grains and legumes.
Some of the foods that are avoided in a Paleo diet include:
- All grains, including gluten-free and “ancient” grains
- “Pseudocereals” like quinoa (though some Paleo dieters eat them; it’s a somewhat controversial topic)
- Dairy products
- Refined sugar/sweeteners, as well as artificial sweeteners. Honey is allowed.
- Legumes (beans, peanuts, soy, etc.)
Which pastas are Paleo?
Since most pasta is made from wheat, most types of pasta aren’t Paleo. Even grain-free pasta made from things like edamame (soy), chickpeas, and lentils aren’t Paleo since they are all legumes, which aren’t Paleo-approved.
There are a few choices for Paleo pasta, but you won’t have a lot of choices compared to non-Paleo options.
7 Paleo pastas
Since there aren’t too many Paleo pastas out there, we had to get a bit creative to offer Paleo options. That means that several of these “pastas” aren’t really pasta, but are vegetables that have a pasta-like texture and can act as a pasta substitute.
Fun fact – all of these pastas are also gluten-free!
Almond flour pasta
Almond flour is a Paleo favorite, so it’s no surprise that almond flour pasta makes the list of Paleo pasta! Also containing tapioca starch (another Paleo ingredient), almond flour pasta is higher in fat and calories than the other options on this list. (Sorry, it’s not keto-friendly because of the carbs in tapioca starch!)
Cassava pasta
This grain-free Paleo-friendly pasta is probably the closest thing to regular pasta on this list. You can find it in most stores (the most popular brand is Jovial) and it’s dried like regular pasta.
What sets cassava pasta apart from regular pasta are the ingredients. It’s made from cassava flour, which is from the cassava plant. Cassava is a root vegetable that is Paleo-friendly and an ingredient in many gluten- and corn-free products (tapioca flour and tapioca starch are derived from cassava).
Hearts of Palm pasta
This “pasta” is made from hearts of Palm, a type of vegetable from the core of certain types of palm trees. This pasta alternative has a noodle-like shape, making it a Paleo-friendly pasta alternative.
Kelp noodles
Kelp noodles are a far cry from normal pasta, but they are noodle-like so you might be intrigued enough to try them on your Paleo diet. Kelp noodles are semi-transparent and crunchy in texture. They are made from a jelly-like extract that remains after steaming edible kelp and are incredibly low in calories (over one cup of kelp noodles only provides 6 calories!).
Shirataki noodles
Also popular among low-carb dieters, shirataki noodles are made from the konjac plant. They have a much different taste and texture compared to regular pasta, but they are a bit more pasta-like than kelp noodles.
Spaghetti squash
Spaghetti squash is unique because when you cook the flesh, it turns into spaghetti-like strands that you can use as a grain-free Paleo-friendly pasta alternative. It’s a bit higher in carbs compared to other Paleo pasta (but not high in carbs for a “regular” diet), so might not be super keto-friendly depending on how much you eat.
Spiralized veggie “pasta”
Similar to spaghetti squash, spiralized veggies aren’t technically pasta but are nutritious and as natural as you can get! To make spiralized veggie pasta, all you need are vegetables (zucchini, carrots, and sweet potatoes are some of the most popular ones) and a spiralizer, a tool that turns the vegetables fresh into spirals.
We suggest looking up a spiralized veggie pasta recipe the first time to make sure you’re set up for success taste and texture-wise!
Nutritional comparison of Paleo pastas
| Pasta | Calories | Total fat (saturated) | Total carbs (fiber) | Protein |
| Almond flour pasta (1 cup) | 360 | 20 g (2 g) | 39 g (3 g) | 12 g |
| Cassava pasta – 2 oz. | 200 | 0 g | 49 g (4 g) | 1 g |
| Hearts of Palm pasta – ½ cup | 20 | 0 g | 5 g (3 g) | 1 g |
| Kelp noodles – 1.2 cups | 6 | 0 g | 3 g (1 g) | 0 g |
| Shirataki noodles – 100 grams | 5 | 0 g | 4 g (2 g) | 0 g |
| Spiralized veggies (zucchini) – 1 cup | 21 | 0.4 g (0 g) | 3.9 g (1.2 g) | 1.5 g |
| Spaghetti squash – 1 cup | 31 | 0.6 g (0.1 g) | 7 g (1.5 g) | 0.6 g |
FAQs:
A few Paleo-friendly pasta alternatives include cassava pasta, hearts of Palm pasta, shirataki noodles, and spiralized veggie “pasta”.
Chickpea pasta isn’t Paleo because it’s made from chickpeas, a type of legume. Legumes aren’t allowed on a Paleo diet.
Regular spaghetti isn’t Paleo-friendly because it’s made from wheat. Opt for Paleo-friendly pasta alternatives like hearts of Palm “pasta” and shirataki noodles instead.
Most types of dried veggie pasta sold in stores are regular wheat pasta with vegetables added, so it’s not Paleo. True veggie “pasta” (DIY spiralized veggies) is always Paleo-friendly!
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