Meal Pattern Minute: Bean Flour Pasta

With the growing popularity of alternative pastas like those made from chickpeas, lentils, or black beans, many Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) providers are asking:  Can these trendy, protein-packed noodles count toward meal pattern requirements? And if so, do they credit towards the grains component like pastas made from wheat or brown rice? 

Watch this Meal Pattern Minute, a short, one-minute video, where Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, provides the answer. Then, read the rest of this blog for a deeper explanation, helpful references, and official USDA resources to guide your menu planning. 

 ANSWER: 

The answer is no. Pasta made from 100% bean flour may not credit towards the grains component. However, this type of pasta can credit towards the vegetables or meats/meat alternates component but cannot credit as both components in the same meal.   

For more detailed information on how to credit 100% bean flour pasta, refer to the USDA memo Crediting Pasta Products Made of Vegetable Flour in the Child Nutrition Programs. 

• Crediting pasta made of 100% vegetable flour (including beans, peas and lentils) as a vegetable component: 
  • ½ cup of vegetable pasta credits as ½ cup vegetables 
• Crediting pasta made of 100% bean, pea or lentil flour as a meat/meat alternate: 
  • ½ cup of cooked bean, pea or lentil pasta credits as 2 ounce equivalents of meat alternates. However, this type of pasta must be offered with an additional meat/meat alternate such as tofu, cheese or meat. 
  • You can also refer to the Meal Pattern Minute on Crediting Bean/Pea Noodles as a Meat/Meat Alternate where more info is provided. 

Need a quick reference?  The Crediting Handbook for CACFP provides an explanation on how bean pasta credits as a vegetable or as a meat/meat alternate. 

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