The Best Whole Wheat Pasta (Spaghetti, Fusilli, and More)

Ah, whole wheat pasta. We’ve all had it, few prefer it, some fear it. But we braved the vast world of whole wheat pasta and whole grain pasta to give you, the people who want higher fiber options but still want to eat pasta, the full rundown of which whole wheat pasta tastes the most like, well, pasta.

What’s the difference between whole wheat and whole grain pasta?

A few of the pastas on our list are labeled “whole grain” instead of “whole wheat”—so, what’s the difference? Like, whole wheat pasta, whole grain pasta contains more fiber than regular pasta (three times more, in some cases), which can purportedly help lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. Ingredients-wise, there doesn’t seem to be a difference—the “whole grain” pastas on this list are made with whole grain wheat flour.

What we were looking for in the best whole wheat and whole grain pasta

The best whole wheat pasta shouldn’t be stiff or brittle or taste like cardboard. It should have a nice, bouncy chew and either taste like regular pasta or regular pasta with a nice nutty, toasty note to it. We tried everything from spaghetti to rotini, to fusilli, to penne, from more expensive to budget brands, and let me tell ya, there’s some real rootin’ tootin’ gluten-filled bangers in this here list.

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Best Store Brand Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Great Value Whole Wheat Spaghetti

Instacart

Great Value Whole Wheat Spaghetti—which has 4g of fiber per serving, versus 2g a serving in regular Great Value Spaghetti—isn’t the best whole wheat spaghetti we tried, but it’s perfectly pleasant. It’s nice and thick compared to other spaghettis we tried, it has good chew, and the flavor is pretty neutral. It’s a perfect blank slate. Once we added sauce, the pasta blended right into the background and was a great vehicle for flavor. If you happen to be in Walmart and want whole wheat spaghetti, this will not disappoint.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Whole Grain Penne for Nutty Flavor

Ronzoni Whole Grain Penne Rigate

Instacart

Ronzoni Whole Grain penne is pretty standard stuff. It has a bit more whole wheat flavor than the best penne option (see #4) and it’s a little bit brittle and less bouncy than regular pasta, but it doesn’t taste like cardboard, which we appreciated. The pasta is thick and a little nutty, and while we liked some of the other Ronzoni offerings more, this one tis no slouch.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Whole Grain Rotini

Ronzoni Whole Grain Rotini

Instacart

Ronzoni makes excellent whole grain rotini (and, yes, it’s whole wheat). The pasta has a good, neutral, pasta-like flavor (you’d think that would be a given, but man, some brands really forgot that part) and it’s only ever so slightly gritty. The flavor has a nice, subtle nuttiness we appreciated.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Whole Wheat Penne

Great Value Whole Wheat Penne

Instacart

This is the best penne we tried, and yes, it’s also the cheapest. Sometimes the world just sends you a win in the form of perfectly priced pointy pasta tubes. The pieces of penne are only very slightly gritty, have a very neutral, very “normal pasta” flavor, and do a good job of holding onto sauce. No complaints here—this penne pleased the people.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Whole Wheat Pasta Texture

Delallo Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli

Amazon

Delallo makes the best fusilli we tried, and their pasta also has the best texture overall. This pasta—which has 4g of fiber per serving—is thick and chewy, with a nice nuttiness that reminded us of fresh whole wheat bread. If you want to taste the fact that you are eating whole wheat pasta, you should go with this bad boy right here. Plus, it isn’t ridiculously expensive, but it’s organic, made in Italy, and the packaging looks nice, so if you want your dinner guests to think you are fancy without breaking the bank, then this is the best whole wheat pasta to serve.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Spaghetti

Ronzoni Whole Grain Spaghetti

Instacart

Surprise! It’s Ronzoni again—turns out, Ronzoni just knows how to do a good whole wheat pasta, and their whole grain spaghetti is no exception. Ronzoni spaghetti is nice and thick, and has a subtle nuttiness and a good bouncy chew to it. It’s not brittle or grainy—promise. It is a bit thinner than the Great Value Spaghetti but a bit more flavorful, so really it just comes down to preference at that point. If you see this and want thick whole wheat spaghetti, we think you should buy it.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Overall

Ronzoni Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti

Kroger

This was the best whole wheat pasta we tried, hands down. It’s almost like angel hair pasta, and the thinness makes it perfect for scooping up whatever sauce or topping we threw at it. Butter, salt, pasta sauce, syrup and candy (for the fiber-craving Elf crowd)—you name it, it clung to this pasta and we, as clingy people ourselves, could relate. This has all the positive attributes of the regular Ronzoni Whole Grain spaghetti (nuttiness, bouncy chew, no cardboard flavor, no grittiness), but has the additional perk of being a more fun (in our professional opinion) noodle shape.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other whole wheat and whole grain pastas we tried

DeCecco Whole Wheat Fusilli, Barilla Whole Grain Penne, Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti