We scored all 6 entree-style items on Noodles & Company's menu for how well they fit a diabetes-friendly meal -- glycemic index, carb and calorie load against a standard 60g-carb / 600-calorie budget, and how processed the item is.
Best choices
Ranked by GlucoBeacon's own scoring formula -- glycemic index, carbs and calories against a standard 60g-carb / 600-calorie per-meal budget, and how processed the item is -- highest score first.
| Item | Category | Carbs | Calories | Est. GI | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar Salad | Salads | 18g | 360 | 40 | 76 |
| Chicken Noodle Soup (regular) | Pasta | 25g | 150 | 50 | 70 |
| Buttered Noodles (regular) | Pasta | 80g | 490 | 60 | 29 |
| Wisconsin Mac & Cheese (regular) | Pasta | 77g | 580 | 60 | 27 |
| Japanese Pan Noodles (regular) | Pasta | 95g | 660 | 58 | 26 |
| Penne Rosa Chicken (regular) | Pasta | 79g | 780 | 58 | 26 |
How we score it
Each item gets up to 30 points for glycemic index (lower is better), 30 points for staying under a 60g carb budget, 15 points for staying under a 600-calorie budget, and 25 points for being minimally processed -- the same formula GlucoBeacon's in-app Restaurant Advisor uses, just run here against a generic budget instead of your own goals. A higher score means an easier fit into most diabetes meal plans; it isn't a guarantee for any individual, since real blood sugar response depends on portion size, what else you eat with it, and your own physiology.
The full Noodles & Company menu -- all 10 items -- is searchable in the GlucoBeacon app's Restaurant Advisor, scored live against your own carb and calorie goals instead of a generic budget, with one-tap logging straight to your blood sugar history. Download GlucoBeacon on Google Play →