Review: Mrs. Leeper's Corn Pasta

The last time we were at the Green Grocer stocking up on gluten-free pastas and other goodies, a package of corn-based pasta caught our eye: Mrs. Leeper’s Corn Spaghetti. It’s a pasta made from 100% organic corn flour. Curious, we picked up a package to try for dinner.

Now, we’re usually devotees of Tinkyada’s brown rice pasta, but once in a while it’s interesting to try something new. At the very least, it’s content for the blog, right? :-) Anyway, the first thing that struck me about the pasta was the color. Plain corn pasta – uncooked or cooked – reminds me of Kraft Mac and Cheese.

I followed the directions on the package and cooked the pasta for 9 minutes. Sampling a piece of cooked pasta, Vince and I both agreed that it was a little al dente, almost rubbery, but tasted very good. I added Ragu meaty pasta sauce and served the dish with green peas, and while it tasted good – there was no discernible taste, similar to wheat pasta – overall it was a little too rubbery for our tastes. However, when we microwave the leftovers the consistency might improve.

Overall, the verdict is: it was an interesting experience, and we’ll definitely use the leftovers, but we might be hesitant to buy it again.

Update: Well, it looks like we spoke too soon. Vince heated up the leftover pasta for lunch and was very impressed. He said the consistency and taste were comparable to regular wheat pasta, and he really couldn't tell much of a difference - that's pretty impressive. So the verdict is - we'll buy Mrs. Leeper's again, but might cook it for a little longer than the recommended time on the package!

That said, it wasn't as filling as wheat pasta - I think the next time I make it I should use it in something with meat and/or cheese to add protein. I could see their corn elbows working nicely for homemade macaroni and cheese, or perhaps we'll try their cheeseburger mac hamburger mix!