Nutrition for Pasta

Calories, Protein, Vitamins and More


image of pasta source

Pasta Nutrition Summary

One pound of pasta (456 grams) contains 1692 calories and 59.5 grams of protein. Pasta consist of 10% water, 75% carbohydrates, 13% protein, and 2% fat.

Pasta is an excellent source of many nutrients, including carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate. It also contains significant amounts of pantothenic acid, choline, selenium, zinc, manganese, copper and phosphorus.

In one pound of pasta:

  • Calories: 1692
  • Protein: 59.5 g
  • Sugar: 12.2 g
  • Dietary fiber: 14.6 g
  • Fat: 6.9 g, (Saturated: 1.3 g)
  • Sodium: 27.4 mg
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol in pasta.

See the Pasta Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Pasta, dry, enriched.

Calories in Pasta

Pasta has 1692 calories per pound or 371 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from carbohydrates and protein.

82% of calories in pasta are from carbohydrates, 14% of calories are from protein and 4% of calories are from fat.

Calories from Carbs

The majority, or 82% of the calories in pasta are from carbohydrates. The carbs in pasta are mostly in the form of dietary fiber, sugar and starch (5%, 4% and 91%). An excellent high-fiber food, a single pound of pasta contains 58% of recommended daily values or 14.6 grams of dietary fiber.

  • Dietary fiber: 14.6 g
  • Sugar: 12.2 g
  • Starch: 284.8 g

Calories from Fat

A small portion, or 4% the calories in Pasta are from fat. Pasta has a moderate amount of total fat, with 6.9 grams or 11% of recommended daily values per pound. Most of the fat in pasta are healthier unsaturated fats.

Pasta is cholesterol free and trans-fat free.

  • Total fat: 6.9 g
  • Saturated fat: 1.3 g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 0.8 g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 2.6 g
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol or trans fat in pasta.

Omega-6 in Pasta

A good source of omega-6 fatty acids, every pound of pasta contains a total of 2.5 grams of omega-6. In addition, a large portion of the omega-6 in pasta comes from linolenic acid - the only essential omega-6 fatty acid. [2]

  • linoleic acid: 2.46 g

Calories Similar to Pasta

Some other grains or pasta with similar calories to pasta by weight:


Protein in Pasta

An excellent source of protein, a single pound of Pasta contains 119% of recommended daily values or 59.5 grams of protein. In addition, pasta contains significant amounts of all 9 essential amino acids.

  • Protein: 59.46 g
  • Tryptophan: 0.84 g
  • Threonine: 2.11 g
  • Isoleucine: 2.33 g
  • Leucine: 4.51 g
  • Lysine: 1.36 g
  • Methionine: 0.67 g
  • Phenylalanine: 3.05 g
  • Valine: 2.68 g
  • Histidine: 1.36 g

Protein Similar to Pasta

Some other grains or pasta with similar amounts of protein to pasta by weight:

Vitamins and Minerals in Pasta

An good source of many nutrients, pasta contains abundant amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate. In fact, a single pound of pasta contains 369% of recommended daily values or 4.1 milligrams of thiamin. Also an excellent source of iron, a single pound of pasta contains 84% of recommended daily values or 15 milligrams of iron.

Vitamins in pasta (1 pound):
  • Thiamin: 4.1 mg
  • Riboflavin: 1.8 mg
  • Niacin: 32.7 mg
  • Vitamin b6: 0.6 mg
  • Vitamin e: 0.5 mg
  • Folate: 1080.7 ug
  • Vitamin k: 0.5 ug
Minerals in pasta (1 pound):
  • Calcium: 95.8 mg
  • Potassium: 1016.9 mg
  • Iron: 15 mg
  • Magnesium: 241.7 mg
  • Zinc: 6.4 mg
  • Selenium: 288.2 ug
  • Phosphorus: 861.8 mg
  • Copper: 1.3 mg
  • Manganese: 4.2 mg
  • Choline: 68.9 mg
There is no significant amounts of vitamin a, pantothenic acid, vitamin c or vitamin b12 in pasta.

Similar to Pasta for Thiamin (Vit B1)

Here are some other grains or pasta with similarly abundant amounts of thiamin (Vit B1) to pasta:

Flavonoids and Carotenoids in Pasta [3]

Pasta contains a couple of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants, specifically carotenoid lutein + zeaxanthin. In one pound of pasta:

  • lutein + zeaxanthin: 82 ug

Pasta Nutrition Chart

Pasta:

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iron
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thiamin (Vitamin B1)
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riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
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pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)
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folate (Vitamin B9)
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leucine
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lysine
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methionine
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phenylalanine
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threonine
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tryptophan
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valine
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choline
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Nutrition calculations are from Harvard Medical's nutrient guidelines [1] and USDA's food central database (2019) [2].
We calculated values from 2000 kCal daily recommended diet.

Pasta in Cooking

Pasta is in the top 25% most popular ingredients for recipes. Most recipes call for one or two pounds of pasta.


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