What to Eat at Noodles & Company: Healthy Menu Choices and Nutrition Facts

With noodles as the primary ingredient, Noodles & Company delivers carbohydrate-rich dishes in a fast-casual environment. But if you're watching your carbohydrate intake, don't assume that Noodles & Company isn't for you.

Along with classic comfort foods, many of which cost less than $10, you'll find tasty dishes made with zucchini and cauliflower noodles. Noodles & Company offers several ways to customize your meal to different dietary preferences. Checking the nutritional information before you order can help you make the right choice based on your fitness goals and any dietary restrictions or allergies.

Navigating the Menu

Noodles & Company entrees come in regular and small sizes. There's a selection of kids' meals and desserts. You can also add a side soup or salad and appetizers to enjoy on your own or share with friends.

Most Nutritious Option

Enjoy a nutritious meal at Noodles & Company by ordering the pesto cavatappi with parm. While it's still high in carbs (since it is pasta), it provides protein and fiber as well.

Classic Noodles

Noodles & Company's menu starts with a range of familiar comfort dishes loaded with pasta, sauce, and toppings. Most items are close to 1,000 calories per "regular" serving, heavy on the carbs with minimal veggies. If you're craving a classic pasta dish, consider sharing your plate with a friend, choosing the "small" size option, or bringing half home for a second meal.

✓ Pesto Cavatappi

Pesto cavatappi provides 760 calories, 32g total fat, 11g saturated fat, 97g carbohydrate, 22g protein, and 1,000mg sodium in the regular-size serving. This dish is lower in calories and sodium than most in its category and includes the added benefit of 7g of fiber.

✗ Alfredo MontAmore with Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

Alfredo MontAmore with parmesan-crusted chicken provides 1,410 calories, 84g fat, 40g saturated fat, 110g carbohydrate, 52g protein, and 2,170mg sodium. Although this dish is super high in protein, it's also loaded with saturated fat and sodium, making it a less heart-healthy choice than other options.

If you're looking for a classic noodle dish with meat, consider the chain's popular spaghetti and meatballs, which delivers 980 calories, 48g fat, 18g saturated fat, 102g carbohydrates, 35g protein, and 1,580mg sodium.

World Famous Macs

The chain's mac and cheese options are among its most popular dishes. You can get your cheesy noodles plain or topped with added proteins.

✓ Gluten-Sensitive Pipette Mac

Gluten-sensitive pipette mac provides 850 calories, 34g fat, 19g saturated fat, 105g carbohydrate, 33g protein, and 1,550mg sodium. With only 5g of sugar and a decent dose of protein, this dish gives you the taste of mac and cheese with some substance to help you stay full. And the noodles are gluten-free.

✗ BBQ Chicken Mac

The BBQ chicken mac provides 1,190 calories, 44g fat, 20g saturated fat, 129g carbohydrate, 69g protein, and 2,320mg sodium. Along with a high sodium and calorie count, this dish has more sugar than the others in its category (18g).

The buffalo chicken mac—the other meat-topped mac and cheese option—has slightly fewer calories and less fat and sugar, but is higher in sodium. It comes in at 1,100 calories, 39g fat, 18g saturated fat, 128g carbohydrates, 59g protein, and 3,180mg sodium.

Asian Noodles

Noodles & Company's Asian noodle dish options feature popular and classic favorites, including pad Thai, Japanese pan noodles, grilled orange chicken lo mein, and spicy Korean beef noodles.

✓ Japanese Pan Noodles 

The Japanese pan noodles dish provides 640 calories, 12g fat, 4g saturated fat, 114g carbohydrate, 20g protein, and 2,010mg sodium. The reasonable calorie count and protein content of this meal help it fit nicely into a healthy meal plan (you can also add additional lean protein, including grilled chicken or tofu). This dish also provides 6g fiber per serving.

✗ Pad Thai

The pad Thai provides 1,040 calories, 42g fat, 8g saturated fat, 143g carbohydrate, 20g protein, and 2,020 mg sodium. With over 1,000 calories and 44g of sugar per serving, it's probably best split between two meals or with a friend.

Zoodles and Caulifloodles

For people following a low-carb diet, Noodles & Company zoodles and caulifloodles are great go-to dishes. These dishes replace traditional pasta with spiralized vegetable noodles, so you get an extra helping of veggies on your plate.

✓ Zucchini Orange Chicken

A small zucchini orange chicken dish provides 450 calories, 9g fat, 2g saturated fat, 23g carbohydrates, 30g protein, and 2,110mg sodium. With grilled chicken, snap peas, cabbage, and zucchini noodles, it's packed with healthy protein and little fat.

✗ Cauliflower Rigatoni Fresca with Shrimp

A regular-size serving of the cauliflower rigatoni fresca with shrimp delivers 880 calories, 39g fat, 8g saturated fat, 102g carbohydrates, 35g protein, and 1,940mg sodium. High in calories and carbohydrates, this dish can be ordered in a small portion to almost halve the nutritional count.

Salads

Noodle & Company's salad menu consists of only three options, but the chain does deliver in regard to vegetable-forward and low-calorie salads. Watch the sodium count on these dishes, which can be higher than pasta-based dishes.

✓ Med Salad with Chicken

Noodle & Company's Med salad with chicken provides 430 calories, 17g fat, 6g saturated fat, 32g carbohydrate, 37g protein, and 1,710mg sodium. The vitamins in the Tuscan greens and kale and the protein in the chicken make this choice a winner.

✗ Chicken Veracruz Salad

The chicken Veracruz salad provides 680 calories, 48g fat, 8g saturated fat, 28g carbohydrate, 41g protein, and 1,570mg sodium. While the chicken Veracruz salad is a healthier choice than most pasta-based meals, it's a bit higher in sodium, saturated fat, and sugar (7g) than other choices from this category.

Soups

The Noodle & Company soup menu has only two options: chicken noodle soup and tomato basil bisque. With limited options, choose the one that's most appealing to your palate.

✓ Chicken Noodle Soup

The chain's chicken noodle soup provides 360 calories, 10g fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 41g carbohydrate, 30g protein, and 2,320 mg sodium. There's quite a bit of protein in this hearty soup, making it a filling choice for under 400 calories.

✗ Tomato Basil Bisque

The tomato basil bisque provides 430 calories, 28g total fat, 14g saturated fat, 37g carbohydrate, 8g protein, and 1,450mg sodium. While this soup is lower in sodium than the chicken noodle, it has 31 g of sugar compared to just 9g in the chicken noodle.

Shareables

Noodles & Company's appetizers are called "shareables," and these bite-sized dishes are best shared with the table.

✓ Potstickers 

The potstickers shareable provides 380 calories, 10g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 54g carbohydrate, 16g protein, and 1,820mg sodium. One serving comes with three or six potstickers, totaling just over 60 calories each.

✗ Korean BBQ Meatballs

The Korean BBQ meatballs dish provides 870 calories, 67g total fat, 28g saturated fat, 32g carbohydrate, 33g protein, and 2,680mg sodium. It's a bit high in saturated fat and sodium to be considered a healthy choice, even when shared with a group..

Kids' Meals

With an included vegetable side, Noodles & Company's kids meals make for a complete dish that's nutritious for kids and adults alike.

✓ Kids' Grilled Chicken Breast with Dipping Marinara

The kids' grilled chicken breast with dipping marinara provides 170 calories, 5g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 3g carbohydrate, 27g protein, and 640mg sodium. You can't go wrong with this kids' meal. Choosing applesauce and broccoli as your sides helps to boost the overall fiber and vitamin content of the meal.

✗ Kids' Spaghetti & Meatballs

Kids' spaghetti & meatballs provides 450 calories, 21g fat, 8g saturated fat, 50g carbohydrate, 16g protein, and 710mg sodium. An easy way to improve the nutritional value of this meal is by subbing in cauliflower rigatoni noodles or zucchini noodles for the pasta.

Sides

The restaurant's side dish options include soup, salad, and mac and cheese options, which allow you to sample your favorite dishes at smaller portion sizes.

✓ Caesar Side Salad

The Caesar side salad provides 210 calories, 20g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 5g carbohydrate, 3g protein, and 400mg sodium. The romaine lettuce offers natural vitamins and antioxidants, making this a great addition to any meal.

✗ Wisconsin Mac

The side-sized Wisconsin mac provides 270 calories, 12g fat, 6g saturated fat, 31g carbohydrate, 12g protein, and 550mg sodium. Although this has more saturated fat and sodium than other sides, if you have a craving for mac and cheese, making it your side order rather than your main dish is a great nutritional strategy.

Desserts

There are three dessert options at Noodles & Company: the rice crispy, chocolate chunk cookie, and snoodledoodle cookie. All three have 450 calories or more, with little nutritional value to offer.

Having dessert once in a while isn't going to make or break your health goals. So, if you choose to indulge, go ahead and pick your favorite based on taste alone.

Diet-Specific Options

Noodles & Company offers several ways to tailor your meal based on your individual needs and preferences. It has meals for gluten-free, low-carb, diabetes-friendly, low-fat, vegetarian, and vegan meals. But it does not have options for low-FODMAP and low-sodium diets.

Gluten-Free

Noodles & Company's gluten-sensitive dishes use modified pasta or rice noodles, offering the texture of pasta without gluten. Or, substitute zucchini or cauliflower noodles for any dish.

• Any classic noodle dish (with gluten-sensitive pipette noodles, zoodles, or cauliflower noodles) except the Alfredo MontAmore
• Any mac & cheese (with substitute noodles)
• Pad Thai
• Any zoodle or caulifloodle entree
• Tomato Basil Bisque
• Chicken Veracruz Salad (no crispy jalapeños)
  

Choose the chicken Veracruz salad—just make sure to order without the crispy jalapeños—for the added fiber and vitamin boost from the vegetables.

Low-Carb

Noodles & Company's zoodles and cauliflower noodles menu give options to those following a low-carb diet. For the biggest nutritional punch, order the zucchini shrimp scampi, which is not only low in carbohydrates but also calories and sodium. Other choices include:

• Zucchini pesto cream with grilled chicken
• Cauliflower rigatoni in roasted garlic cream sauce
• Grilled chicken Caesar salad
• Korean BBQ meatballs
  

Diabetes-Friendly

Stick to a diabetes-friendly meal plan by opting for the Med salad with chicken to take advantage of high protein (37g) and low calories (430). Other diabetes-friendly options include:

• Cauliflower gnocchi with roasted garlic cream
• Med salad with chicken
• Chicken Veracruz salad
• Zucchini Alfredo Montamore with grilled chicken
• Zucchini in roasted garlic cream sauce
  

Low-Fat

Keep your meal low-fat by ordering the Japanese pan noodles, which contain only 6g fat per serving. Or, some other low-fat choices are:

• Chicken noodle soup
• Zucchini scampi
• Kids grilled chicken
• Potstickers
  

Vegetarian

At Noodles & Company, you can request that any meal be prepared with vegetarian substitutions. Out of these choices, the zucchini in roasted garlic cream sauce is a lighter option with just 400 calories in the regular-size meal.

• Penne Rosa
• Buttered noodles
• Pesto cavatappi
• Japanese pan doodles
• Zucchini in roasted garlic cream sauce
  

Vegan

Pasta dishes at Noodles & Company can be customized to fit a vegan diet. For a nutrient-packed dish, order the classic penne rosa pasta dish, but make sure to ask for no shrimp and no cheese.

• Penne Rosa (no cream, no cheese)
• Cauliflower rigatoni fresca (no shrimp, no cheese)
• Japanese pan doodles
  

Food Allergies and Safety

Noodles & Company is generally safe for diners with the following dietary restrictions: dairy, eggs, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, wheat, wine, and gluten. Noodles & Company has a clear disclaimer regarding food allergies, and several ingredient modifications are available on its flexible menu. You can view an interactive allergen chart online.

While it is committed to accommodating patrons with allergies, Noodles & Company doesn't assume liability for allergic reactions or food sensitivities. Letting the manager know about your concerns before you order will help ensure a safer dining-out experience.

A Word from Verywell

Customizable menus at restaurants like Noodles & Company let you add nutritious ingredients to improve upon any meal. However, if you aren't in the mood to do so, that's okay. Remember, it's the overall habits we practice, not the occasional choices, that have the greatest impact on our long-term health and well-being.