Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
pasta
versus
almonds
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in pasta and almonds:
Both pasta and almonds are high in calories. Almond has 56% more calories than pasta - pasta has 371 calories per 100 grams and almond has 579 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, pasta is much heavier in carbs, much lighter in fat and similar to almonds for protein. Pasta has a macronutrient ratio of 14:82:4 and for almonds, 14:14:73 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
Pasta | Almonds | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 14% | 14% |
Carbohydrates | 82% | 14% |
Fat | 4% | 73% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Pasta is high in carbohydrates and almond has 71% less carbohydrates than pasta - pasta has 74.7g of total carbs per 100 grams and almond has 21.6g of carbohydrates.
Both pasta and almonds are high in dietary fiber. Almond has 291% more dietary fiber than pasta - pasta has 3.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and almond has 12.5g of dietary fiber.
Pasta and almonds contain similar amounts of sugar - pasta has 2.7g of sugar per 100 grams and almond has 4.4g of sugar.
Both pasta and almonds are high in protein. Almond has 62% more protein than pasta - pasta has 13g of protein per 100 grams and almond has 21.2g of protein.
Pasta has signficantly less saturated fat than almond - pasta has 0.28g of saturated fat per 100 grams and almond has 3.8g of saturated fat.
Both almonds and pasta are low in trans fat - almond has 0.02g of trans fat per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Almonds and pasta contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - almond has 0.6ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Almond is an excellent source of Vitamin E and it has 232 times more Vitamin E than pasta - pasta has 0.11mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and almond has 25.6mg of Vitamin E.
Pasta and almonds contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - pasta has 0.1ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and almond does not contain significant amounts.
Pasta has more thiamin and folate, however, almond contains more riboflavin. Both pasta and almonds contain significant amounts of niacin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
Pasta | Almonds | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.891 MG | 0.205 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.4 MG | 1.138 MG |
Niacin | 7.177 MG | 3.618 MG |
Pantothenic acid | 0.431 MG | 0.471 MG |
Vitamin B6 | 0.142 MG | 0.137 MG |
Folate | 237 UG | 44 UG |
Almond is an excellent source of calcium and it has 11 times more calcium than pasta - pasta has 21mg of calcium per 100 grams and almond has 269mg of calcium.
Both pasta and almonds are high in iron. Almond has 12% more iron than pasta - pasta has 3.3mg of iron per 100 grams and almond has 3.7mg of iron.
Both pasta and almonds are high in potassium. Almond has 229% more potassium than pasta - pasta has 223mg of potassium per 100 grams and almond has 733mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids, both pasta and almonds contain small amounts of lutein + zeaxanthin.
Pasta | Almonds | |
---|---|---|
lutein + zeaxanthin | 18 UG | 1 UG |
beta-carotene | ~ | 1 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, pasta has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than almond per 100 grams.
Pasta | Almonds | |
---|---|---|
alpha linoleic acid | 0.024 G | 0.003 G |
Total | 0.024 G | 0.003 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, almond has more linoleic acid than pasta per 100 grams.
Pasta | Almonds | |
---|---|---|
linoleic acid | 0.54 G | 12.324 G |
other omega 6 | ~ | 0.002 G |
Total | 0.54 G | 12.326 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Pasta g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Almonds g
()
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||