Pasta Made from Beans Nutrient Contents Compared

Nutrients found in beans can help the body heal from injuries and reduce back pain, as an acupuncturist in Chapel Hill, NC can explain. Beans of all varieties are loaded with vitamins and minerals, fiber, healthy fat, and protein. Many people nowadays choose pasta made from bean flour over traditional pasta made from Durham wheat. Bean flour pasta has more fiber and protein than the product we ate as children, and it arguably tastes pretty good. It costs 2-3x as much as regular pasta, but it seems worth it to many health-conscious consumers. As I reviewed my bean pasta options at Whole Foods today, however, I became intrigued with the single ingredients listed under most of the bean pasta choices- how is bean pasta made with only flour when most wheat pasta has egg and oil as part of its ingredient list? Many people who visit my chiropractic and acupuncture of at Acupractic Natural Healing Center want to know how to improve their health holistically- food choices play a significant role here.

Online recipes for home-made garbanzo (chickpea) pasta using garbanzo bean flour vary in their ingredients; some include eggs, oil and garbanzo bean flour in addition to other flours such as tapioca or wheat. Other recipes only include the bean flour itself. The high protein content of garbanzo bean flour obviates the need for the addition of egg protein to hold the pasta together. The addition of egg and oil likely end up with a richer tasting product, but these rich ingredients are not required to hold the flour together in pasta form. Egg and oil add fat and protein to the pasta. 

The ingredient list/nutrition content photos below of cooked garbanzos (chickpeas), chickpea flour and chickpea pasta demonstrate that for a serving size of about 50 g, garbanzo beans, flour made from garbanzo beans, and garbanzo bean pasta all share similar nutrition contents- apparently the process of making pasta doesn’t remove anything. Those for pasta made from durum wheat (regular pasta) and egg noodles are below the page for comparison as well- bean pasta is significantly more nutrient rich.

 Cooking instructions for bean pasta suggest shorter cooking time than traditional white flour noodles so keep that in mind while preparing this noodle, as well. If noodles from bean flour cook too long, they become mushy more quickly than `regular` pasta. The taste of bean pasta is grittier than the durum wheat varieties which may not bode well for more delicate dishes; for regular pasta with tomato sauce, however, it works well.  Some people prefer the bean noodle taste with vegetable dishes such as vegetarian pasta primavera as the gritty noodle texture compliments vegetables, especially if they are not overcooked. You can add a bit of olive or avocado oil to improve the texture of the pasta if desired. 

Pasta made from bean flour is a beneficial nutrient-rich product that can fill a niche in the diet conscious palate.

Thanks to Acupractic Natural Healing Center and Acupuncture for their insight into natural health.