Spelt pasta, you see it more and more. Spelt has many health benefits and is also very tasty. But how many calories does spelt pasta contain? In this blog we answer this question.
How many calories are in spelt pasta?
On average, there are 358 kcal in spelt pasta. This calorie count is from 100 grams of uncooked spelt pasta.
There are many different types of spelt pasta. To know exactly how many calories there are in spelt pasta, we compared 5 different types of spelt pasta. We tell you more about our findings
What is spelt?
Spelt is an ancient grain; it belongs to one of the very oldest grains. It is related to wheat, but is not a wheat variety. Spelt is less processed than wheat, which is why many people label it as pure food.
You can recognize spelt by the husk, which are several sheaths that surround the grain. The husk makes the grain less susceptible to disease. Spelt has a different gluten structure than wheat, for example, making it easier for many people to digest.
It may sound like a complicated story, so we will summarize it for you. Because of its gluten structure, spelt is often more tolerable for people with sensitive intestines. Because of its nutritional value, it also ensures that you are satiated a little longer.
These nutrients are proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Spelt is rich in vitamin B3 and contains more minerals such as copper, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and zinc. All of these nutritional values are more present in spelt than in wheat.
Spelt was substituted for wheat years ago because of its greater economic returns. Wheat has evolved a lot over the years, changing its properties. As a result, some people react sensitively to it.
Spelt pasta has plenty of advantages. But beware: although spelt is easier to digest, it is not suitable for people with a wheat or gluten allergy. In that feeling, rather choose a gluten-free pasta.
What is a calorie?
What is a calorie and what does it do for your body? Before we go into the amount of calories in spelt pasta, we want to clarify for you what a calorie is.
When we talk about calories, we actually mean nothing else than the amount of energy you take in. So a calorie is a measure of the amount of energy. The amount of energy is calculated in kilocalories. Kilocalories are often shortened to kcal. 1 kcal is 1000 calories.
To give an example: There are about 380 kcal in dried pasta. So this written out would be 380,000 calories. These are pretty impressive amounts to list on the back of the package. Since the nutrition table is often very small, and those big numbers can come across as rather daunting, the amount of calories is always listed in kcal.
And let’s face it, the feeling is different when you see 380 kcal instead of 380,000 calories on the package!
The calories per 100 grams of dry spelt pasta
Now that we’ve told you a bit more about calories, it’s time to look at the calories in spelt pasta.
These days, spelt pasta comes in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, we have put five of our spelt pastas side by side. We compared them and finally calculated an average.
These are the spelt pastas that we use to calculate the average number of calories:
Spelt gnocchi
Spelt trivelline
Spelt tortiglioni
Spelt penne
Spelt spaghetti
All pasta types contain the same ingredients, namely organic spelt. As a result, the number of calories per pasta is similar. Yet we see small differences in the number of calories.
After comparing the spelt pasta, we came to the following conclusion: spelt pasta has an average of 358 calories. In the table below you can see exactly how many calories are in each type of pasta.
| Pasta type | Calories |
| Spelt gnocchi | 376 Kcal |
| Spelt trivelline | 349 Kcal |
| Spelt tortiglioni | 343 Kcal |
| Spelt penne | 364 Kcal |
| Spelt spaghetti | 356 Kcal |
| Average | 358 Kcal |
Calories per 100 grams of spelt pasta
The calories we have named are about 100 grams of dry spelt pasta. This means that the pasta has not yet been prepared and therefore not cooked. We chose 100 grams because this is the general quantity that is used to indicate the nutritional value.
The average number of calories (358) is therefore about the product unprepared.
In terms of calories, there is no difference between dry and cooked pasta. The main difference is that cooked pasta is a lot heavier than dry pasta. This is because it absorbs a lot of water during cooking. This means that there is much more water in cooked pasta than in dry pasta. This is why it is important to always start from 100 grams of uncooked or dry pasta.
Calories per serving of pasta
We have explained to you how many calories there are in 100 grams of uncooked spelt pasta. But of course it is also very nice to know how many calories there are on average in a serving of spelt pasta.
How many grams of pasta there are in a serving varies from person to person. One person can eat a lot more than the other. We use 125 grams of pasta per person. This is how much pasta we think an average adult eats as a main course.
If you want to use spelt pasta for a starter, use less pasta. 80 grams of pasta is a good starting point. Would you like to know exactly how much pasta you should use for each occasion? Then take a look at our blog “How much pasta to cook per person” so you know exactly how much pasta you can use in each situation.
We calculate the amount of calories per serving of spelt pasta using the following formula:
358 calories x 1.25 = 447.5
So a serving of spelt pasta without sauce contains 447.5 calories. Want to know more about the calories in other pasta types? Read it in our blog ‘Calories in pasta’.