Cooking Your Pasta Al Dente Isn’t Just Tastier, It’s Better for You

Here’s how this one simple change can make your pasta dinner healthier—and save time! 

When you hear about cooking pasta al dente, the conversation is usually about authenticity. Italians consider most of the pasta that is served in the U.S. to be overcooked and downright mushy. They prefer a firmer noodle that offers just a little resistance when you bite in (hence the meaning of al dente, “to the tooth”), and Giada agrees. But there’s another good reason to cook your pasta a little less: it’s actually better for you! 

That’s thanks the glycemic index (GI), a 0-100 scale that measures how quickly your body absorbs carbohydrates. The higher a food is on the glycemic index, the more quickly its carbs are converted into glucose, which enters your blood stream. Rapid spikes in your blood glucose level, also called your blood sugar, can create major stress on your system, making you feel sluggish, causing sugar cravings, and leading to Type 2 diabetes over time. They can even impact your mood and sleep! 

Foods that are low on the glycemic index, on the other hand, are converted more slowly to glucose, giving your body a steady, controlled release of the energy it needs. Low-GI foods include natural health-food favorites like chickpeas (10) and quinoa (35), while highly processed carbs like white bread (90) are highest on the GI scale. Al dente pasta made with semolina wheat, like our Giadzy Pasta, has a GI score of 40, while overcooked semolina pasta can score as high as 60.  

But wait, how does something as simple as shaving off a few minutes of cooking time affect pasta’s glycemic index? As pasta boils, it absorbs water. The starch in the pasta gelatinizes, turning that hard, dry noodle into a soft, flexible one. The more gelatinization that happens in your pasta before you eat it, the more quickly your body can turn it into glucose. When you eat pasta that has spent less time in boiling water, your body has to work harder to break those carbs down, lowering the GI level and making you feel full longer.  

Al dente pasta is also higher in resistant starch than overcooked pasta, feeding the good gut bacteria we need to keep our digestion running smoothly. It all adds up to one reason why many Americans find it physically easier to eat pasta when they’re traveling in Italy, and why you should make this easy switch the next time you cook pasta at home!