I bought a box of Great Value Whole Wheat Penne Pasta this past weekend for review, and I can honestly say that this wheat pasta was a delicious and healthful taste sensation. I truly enjoy most any pasta, more or less refined, but have turned it down in recent decades because of the high content of refined carbs, which emerging science suggests may be bad for us. However, this Great Value penne pasta is less refined than the bleached flour pastas; it contains mostly whole wheat. So it’s probably more nutritious. Great Value whole wheat pasta also provides an appetizing and pleasant, mild taste. It’s delicious.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- Penne pasta texture can be crunchy, chewy, or very soft, depending on how long you cook it. So Great Value whole wheat penne pasta behaves, while cooking, and afterwards during the eating, similarly to more highly refined pastas. Yet its whole-wheat grain content makes it healthier.
- You sacrifice no taste when you switch to Great Value Whole Wheat Penne Pasta, but gain some naturally-occurring nutrition for your “effort.” Try mixing this pasta with steamed carrots and broccoli for an even more filling meal.
- A whole 13.25 Oz. box of Great Value Whole Wheat Penne Pasta cooks up in about 23 minutes on my stove. Smaller amounts finish more quickly; the box says 10 to 12 minutes cooking time.
- During cooking, the pleasant but subtle whole-grain wheat smell fills my lower house level.
- Also, the boiling water remains moderately clear; not much of this whole wheat product dissolves into the water, which means more nutrition on your plate, and less product poured down the drain when you strain this penne pasta product.
- This penne pasta is a good source of protein (7 grams per 1/4 cup. serving), and it has low per-serving fat and sugar (1.5 grams and 2 grams respectively).
- Not only are Great Value whole wheat penne pasta noodles a decent source of protein, but the whole-wheat flour used within makes them a great fiber source as well (5 grams of fiber).
- Just look at the ingredient (from the box): Durum whole wheat flour. That’s it! What a nutritious yet extremely short list.
- Great Value whole wheat penne pasta has a mild flavor which resembles more traditional pastas. So, this pasta readily compliments cheeses and sauces as flavor enhancers.
- Great Value whole grain pasta products are easy to find as long as you can get to a Walmart grocery store or super center.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, Drawbacks, and Concerns
- This penne pasta required more time to soften and cook than do pasta elbows or spirals, as each noodle is somewhat thicker. No problem really however. I just wash a few more dishes until the penne cylinder-shaped noodles finish cooking.
Our Rating
To wrap up: I’d recommend Great Value Whole Wheat Penne Pasta to those who love pasta, but who, like me, wish to find healthier pasta alternatives to white flour. I’d rate this whole grain pasta at 92 out of 100.
Where To Buy Great Value Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
Look for this healthful product in the white box with the blue and brown letters at Walmart exclusively. The box includes a little window on the front to let you actually see the noodles.
References
Revision History
- 2015-01-24: Added References section and whitespace, fixed typos, updated content, adjusted ad placement, and rearranged tag and category assignments for this post.
- 2012-03-19: Originally published.