Is Pasta Vegan?

[Joe]

I am not a vegan, but I am part of an environmental group whose president (John) is vegan. We bring food to meetings and eat dinner first, then have our business meeting. I'd like to bring something John could eat.

This may be a dumb question but is the standard pasta people buy in a box at the supermarket (spaghetti, macaroni, whatever) vegan? Or do they use eggs or other animal products in making the pasta dough?
If it is not vegan, are there alternative brands or types of product you can recommend?

BTW, I live in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

 

[shyvas]

I am not a vegan, but I am part of an environmental group whose president (John) is vegan. We bring food to meetings and eat dinner first, then have our business meeting. I'd like to bring something John could eat.

This may be a dumb question but is the standard pasta people buy in a box at the supermarket (spaghetti, macaroni, whatever) vegan? Or do they use eggs or other animal products in making the pasta dough?
If it is not vegan, are there alternative brands or types of product you can recommend?

BTW, I live in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Not all pasta is vegan as you have an egg version. You have to check the list of ingredients on the back of the pack. However, when pasta contains egg it is usually called ' egg pasta'.

I prefer the non egg variety and find that it tastes far better.

Buy Sainsbury's Wholewheat Fusilli (500g) online in Sainsbury's at mySupermarket

 

[Calliegirl]

Most pasta in the supermarket is vegan, with a few exceptions. Egg noodles (as shyvas said above) has egg in it, and there are a few new specialty varieties out which may contain animal products, and tortellini often has cheese in it. As long as you stick to regular, plain pasta, you should be fine, but it's always good to check the ingredients to be sure.

 

[shyvas]

Apparently all Wallmart and TJ's own brands are egg free.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I bought some noodles that had egg in them, and boiled them up(years ago). They stank of eggs, in a really unpleasant way....I just chucked them away.

 

[Joe]

Thanks shyvas and Calliegirl for the information. Now I'll know what to look for.

Someone else usually brings some sort of pasta to our group meetings. But I was just thinking of adding some noodles or something to a soup or stew.

 

[KLS52]

Barilla pasta has egg in it. Made that mistake early on. I think a majority of the other brands are safe.

You could use elbow pasta or tubettini in a soup or stew if you can't find vegan noodles. They should work well.

 

[Blobbenstein]

people in the US talk about ramen noodles....is that a brand.? is that vegan?

If it comes in a packet, you could just use the noodles, and not the sachet.

..I see it isn't a brand...maybe there are some quick noodles, in a pack that you could us though...

 

[shyvas]

Ramen noodles are Japenese and are often used for making soup. I prefer soba noodles as I don't like white ones.

 

[GingerFoxx]

Be careful with some of the omega 3/ extra protein pastas. Some of those have egg or fish oil added. I think Barilla brand does this, which was mentioned above. When in doubt, go for a nice simple kind with ingredients that just read, semolina/whole wheat flour, and maybe salt.

 

[Ann Chovie]

Often the rule is that the cheap , own brand pasta is Vegan as it rarely contains egg, while the luxury pasta contains egg.

As stated previously some carry the title 'egg pasta' but not all do and I too have been caught out by this . You definitely need to scrutinise the ingredient panel!

 

[Mikkel]

I think tagliatelle contains often egg. Even the glutenfree does it.

 

[Joe]

Thanks for all the tips.

Would I/Might I have better luck if I avoided wheat-based semolina pasta? I think they make pasta from rice or other grains (aimed at people with gluten problems).

 

[Joe]

Barilla pasta has egg in it.

I think this is the brand I normally use myself. They carry it at Kroger, where I usually shop. Thanks for pointing this out. I will read the package carefully, and won't serve it to a vegan.

You could use elbow pasta or tubettini in a soup or stew if you can't find vegan noodles. They should work well.

Thanks. I have a package of orzo I am thinking of using in a soup. I'll read the ingredients first, though.

 

[Mikkel]

Most oft the allegy pasta doesn't contain egg, do you will find a type there without egg. In Norway/Sweden it's only a few sorts and not all the crazyones.

 

[Joe]

I stopped off at Kroger and looked at the pasta. They have four (!) different kinds of Barilla pasta for each type of pasta. One is a "plus" version that definitely and clearly has egg. But even the kinds that don't list egg as an ingredient have a statement below the ingredients list that says "product manufactured on equipment that processes products containing eggs."

My vegan friend John says he is not "fussy" so doesn't care about something like this, but I am wondering how people reading this thread might feel.

 

[Second Summer]

But even the kinds that don't list egg as an ingredient have a statement below the ingredients list that says "product manufactured on equipment that processes products containing eggs."

My vegan friend John says he is not "fussy" so doesn't care about something like this, but I am wondering how people reading this thread might feel.

I don't mind that. If I had the choice between two otherwise vegan-friendly and similar products where one was produced on equipment that processed eggs and one that didn't, I would choose the "egg-less" product, but I won't go out of my way to find such products. It's similar to cooking vegan food at a non-vegan friend's house.

 

[Blobbenstein]

what if the line handled meat as well? I just thought they might not have to put that, if meat isn't an allergen.

 

[Calliegirl]

I don't worry about the allergen statements, they do a pretty good job of cleaning the equipment between uses.

 

[Second Summer]

what if the line handled meat as well? I just thought they might not have to put that, if meat isn't an allergen.

I think for me the "yuck" factor then definitely comes into play. There is also the risk of meat-borne pathogens to consider. It would be a bit silly if a vegan died from BSE due to contamination from processing equipment. Of course, eggs can be contaminated as well.

That said, I'm sure I've eaten vegan food in restaurants many times where they use the same cooking facilities as for meat products. I just hope they clean their equipment properly.