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Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese

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I only discovered Palmini a couple of weeks ago when a member of our Facebook group (Thank you Nellie!) posted a meal with something that looked like the perfect low-carb pasta alternative. I was intrigued so I checked online and ordered a batch of Palmini Linguine and Palmini Lasagne, two of the three types of Palmini available. The only one I haven't tried yet is the Angel Hair.

The first recipe I made with Palmini is this Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese recipe which I kept super simple. You will only need palmini, ground beef, homemade pasta sauce (or any sugar-free store-bought pasta sauce) and an optional sprinkle of grated Parmesan and fresh basil.

What Is Palmini?

Palmini is a pasta substitute that is made out of a natural plant known as hearts of palm. When sliced and cooked in the right way, it resembles pasta and can be used to replace noodles, linguine and lasagne.

Canned Palmini is already cooked so all you need to do is to rinse it and warm up. I like mine al dente so I usually skip the heating and just mix it with the warm sauce and meat like I did in this recipe.

How Many Carbs in Palmini?

Palmini is very low in carbs and calories which makes it ideal for a healthy low-carb and keto diet, and more importantly — for weight loss.

The net carb count in Palmini is about the same as the net carb count in zucchini (courgettes). Compared to zucchini, there is almost three times more fibre in Palmini.

According to the label, one can of Palmini contains 3 servings (75 g/ 2.7 oz each) and each serving is only 4 grams of total carbs, 2 grams of net carbs and 20 calories.

I personally found the 75-gram serving to be a too small so I ended up using half a can (113 g/ 4 oz) per serving which still adds up to only 3 grams of net carbs and 30 calories per serving.

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How Does Palmini Pasta Alternative Taste?

The taste is somewhat similar to canned bamboo shoots or marinated artichokes which I love. Ideally, look for brands with no unnecessary additives. The only ingredients should be hearts of palm, water, salt and citric acid which gives them a slightly sour, marinated taste.

If you want them to taste plain, simply wash the Palmini thoroughly under running water and briefly cook in a pot of boiling water for just 30 to 60 seconds.

What is the Texture of Palmini?

At first I was skeptical as I was expecting texture similar to zucchini. Well, it's much better than zucchini! It's less mushy and watery, possibly thanks to the slightly higher fibre content.

The Linguine Palmini are not as long as regular spaghetti but that's actually better because it's easier and less messy to eat.

The Lasagna Palmini sheets taste fantastic and have a sturdier texture compared to Eggplant Lasagna or Zucchini Lasagna, probably the closest I ever got to real pasta sheets by using a vegetable. I shared a recipe using palmini lasagna sheets here.

Where to Buy Palmini

I bought my Palmini at Amazon UK and they seem to be stocking it in the US and Canada too. You may want to check other online health stores in case they have special offers if you buy in bulk. Amazon is convenient but it doesn't always have the best deals.

Do you live in the UK? This is where I get my Palmini from (no affiliation).

Hands-on Overall

Serving size about 1 cup meat sauce + 1/2 can palmini linguine

Allergy information for Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free

Nutritional values (per serving, about 1 cup meat sauce + 1/2 can palmini linguine)

Net carbs6.3 grams
Protein25.3 grams
Fat37.2 grams
Calories474 kcal
Calories from carbs 5%, protein 22%, fat 73%
Total carbs10.4 gramsFiber4.1 gramsSugars2.5 gramsSaturated fat11.1 gramsSodium444 mg(19% RDA)Magnesium27 mg(7% RDA)Potassium438 mg(22% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

  • 2 cans palmini linguine noodles, drained (450 g/ 1 lb)
  • 500 g ground beef (1.1 lb)
  • 1 1/4 cups Homemade Marinara Sauce, 1 recipe (300 ml/ 10 fl oz)
  • Optional: 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese or more, to serve (20 g/ 0.7 oz)
  • Optional: fresh basil leaves, to serve

Instructions

  1. Open the Palmini cans and drain the liquid by pouring the content of both cans in a colander. Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese
  2. Rinse with water and set aside. The noodles can be eaten as they are or you can place them in a pot with hot water to heat up for 30 to 60 seconds, or heat in a microwave for 30-60 seconds. If you want to warm them up, do that just before serving.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the Marinara Sauce and the beef. Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese
  4. Place the ground meat in a cast iron skillet or a non stick pan. (If using cast iron, add a few tablespoons of water.) Cook over a medium-high heat until browned and opaque, for about 10 minutes. Add the Marinara Sauce and cook to heat through. Take off the heat. Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese
  5. Place the marinara flavoured meat in a serving bowl and top with the noodles.
  6. Optionally serve each with 1 to 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan and a few basil leaves.
  7. To store, refrigerate the meat mixture for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Palmini are best prepared fresh — it only takes a minute! Keto Palmini Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, about 1 cup meat sauce + 1/2 can palmini linguine)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Beef, minced (ground), raw, grass-fed
0 g21.5 g25 g318 kcal
Marinara sauce
3.3 g0.8 g12.2 g127 kcal
Hearts of Palm, Linguine (Palmini)
3 g3 g0 g30 kcal
Total per serving, about 1 cup meat sauce + 1/2 can palmini linguine
6.3 g25.3 g37.2 g474 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (18)

Just found YumSu Skinny Spaghetti and Skinny Noodles. OMG - only 1.3grams of carbs per 125g serving and now got the rest of the family on it!! Looks like spaghetti and tastes amazing with meatballs in a tomato sauce!

Are those shirataki noodles? They are amazing! How To Cook & Like Shirataki Noodles

No, these are a plant based Konjac Pasta, according to the packet. It says  Konjac has been consumed in Asia for centuries.  It is made with Konjac flour.

Yes, it's the same. These are the same names for the same ingredient (konjak = shirataki = zero noodles).

Palmini is SUCH a game changer and I loooooove that it is 100% natural 😊 We made this Bolognese for a quick weeknight dinner and it so totally hit the spot, thank you so much! I have previously used palmini with basil pesto, a Carbonara, an alfredo, and a truffle pesto too,  and it is delicious in every way. I don't eat palmini very often but when I do, it's a real treat and a trip down memory lane to the good bits of my carby days 😊

Me too! My favourite are the lasagna sheets, truly the best keto lasagna I've had and they keep the carbs per serving really low too! 😊

I have missed pasta so much... can not wait to try this!

I hope you like it! It's definitely my favourite veggie pasta replacement 😊

Given that this is heart of palms, is it actually from palm trees? And if so, do we know that these palms are grown sustainably? I don't want to try a new product I might end up loving only to find I'm depriving orangutangs of their home... 😞

Hi Maibritt, I wasn't sure so here's what I found:
Palm oil is usually from the fruit of oil palms of the Elaeis genus species. Hearts of palm are the growing leaf buds of many other species of palm tree, such as Euterpe edulis, Euterpe oleracea and Bacteris gasipaes.
Harvesting is not necessarily damaging if palm trees are grown on farms (instead of wild harvesting) and not if such harvesting doesn't result in the death of the tree (multi-stems harvesting): https://www.pacificheartofpalm.com/sustainability/
More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_palm

For people in the US, Trader Joe's recently started carrying their brand of Hearts of Palm Pasta which comes in linguine shaped (and also lasagna I think). I've tried the linguine and it's very good, and quite a bit less expensive than the options I found on Amazon (although that was 2-3 months ago and prices may have changed since then). I think you can also buy the canned hearts of palm and cut it in the shape you need, but since the packets from TJs are so easy, I haven't tried that yet.

I think you're right. At least in the UK Amazon doesn't have the best prices (or at least not at this point) and I get them from another online shop. I'm planning to try some recipes with whole hearts of palm, they are easier to find too.

Hi from France !
I have a Nice tip for delicious zucchini noodles  : put them in a plate, cover with plastic film (not sure it’s called that) and cook them in the microwaves two and a half minutes. It stays firm

Thank you Celine, that's a great tip!

Martina, thanks so much for the tip on the palmini...it is available from Amazon in the US now as well.
Wanted to also share a tip of zucchini "noodles".  When I first tried them I was not a fan of the mushy texture and found the spiralized shape a challenge to deal with.
That all changed with a tip I read in a low carb blog long ago which was:  don't cook them.  Salt them.
Now I cut the zucchini in thin slices on my mandolin (could do by hand), stack them and slice in spaghetti of fettucini widths, then salt and let stand for for 20 minutes.  Rinse and when ready to serve, and blanch 30 seconds in boiling water to warm.  They aren't mushy, are twirlable as pasta, and much sturdier.  This was a game changer for me.  
But a bit more work than opening a can of palmini....so I plan to give those a go.  Hoping Whole Foods might carry them as you have to buy a 3 can set on Amazon.

Thank you so much Deborah! I have always been cooking them for about 30 seconds just to heat up so I totally agree, much better when they are raw. Great idea on salting the thicker noodles/fettuccine!
I'll soon be sharing a lasagna recipe with palmini sheets and I have to say they are even better than the noodles. So if you're not sure which ones to get, try the lasagna sheets!

Thanks for the tip!  Will definately do that...may want to try both.  I am also intrigued as to whether using a can of hearts of palm as a base might allow you to make a low carb pasta by hand.  Have had some luck with one of the glucomannan recipes that also includes some oat fiber....would love to be able to make my own pasta if possible.  Hoping one of you low carb jedi out there might come up with something.  Fingers crossed.

That's a great idea worth trying, I haven't thought of that. Indeed I've been working on a pasta recipe but it's not quite there yet, almost! The ingredients to make it are right but the quantities and process needs fine tuning. I can't wait to share it! 😊