Expo East 2022 Standout Brand: NuPasta

NuPasta: Plant-Based Pasta Alternative

A decade ago, we probably would have beelined it to the NuPasta booth sheerly on the basis that they are offering a plant-based alternative to pasta, but it takes more than that to win us over in the current plant-based, gluten-free, and/or low-carb pasta market.

And sure enough, more was delivered by NuPasta Marketing Director Jonathan Leung, who explained to us what differentiates NuPasta from the other guys. And the other, other guys. Too many guys.

“A lot of the gluten-free [plant-based pasta] products on the market are soft,” Leung explained, “but we are very firm.”

Indeed, the tough and very fiber-rich roots of the konjac plant—a starchy perennial native to China and grown in several Southeast Asian countries—are far from mushy.

And though NuPasta doesn’t shine a candle to the protein content of a chickpea-based competitor like Banza (11g of protein per 2oz serving), the measly five calories per ounce is almost 20 times lower than Banza’s 95 calories per ounce. 

But enough of the dry stats—okay, last one, NuPasta has 6 grams of fiber per serving—how did the noodles actually taste and feel compared to regular pasta?

Texture first: the claim of firmness was definitely true, but at the same time, these noodles almost had a “bouncy” squishiness to them, somewhat akin to spaghetti squash noodles.

A lot of the gluten-free [plant-based pasta] products on the market are soft, but we are very firm.

Jonathan Leung, Marketing Director at NuPasta

Overall, the texture was very close to standard pasta; we don’t anticipate too much of a shock on that front for first-time customers.

The taste was also very, very close to the mildness of wheat pasta, offering very little in the way of an overtly bitter or earthy taste associated with many plant-based pastas.

NuPasta is definitely in the top tier of plant-based pasta alternatives we’ve tried.