Is couscous and pasta vegan?

[berta_the_aspie]

This might be the stupidest question ever. I was about to make some dinner and then I though.....:

But pasta contains eggs right..? And both pasta and couscous are made of a special type of wheat/flour, but it doesn't say anything on the packet about what it is made of, only that its made of wheatflour.(Dunno what its called, but in norwegian it says: "durumhvete" or something like that.)

By the way I am talking about normal products, not vegan ones, so my question is: Can I eat pasta, rice and couscous and all that other stuff?

[Tigerlily]

Can I eat pasta, rice and couscous and all that other stuff?

I never had couscous but I know of lots of vegans eat it, I'm sure it's vegan.

Not all pastas contain eggs. I've noticed, it's only the "fresh" pastas that do. All the dried pasta doesn't have it, except maybe for egg noodles (obviously). Try whole wheat pasta; tastes the same and much more healthier.

All plain rice should be safe as well. Now, flavoured instant rice might contain dairy derived ingredients or chicken base for "flavours". Just read the ingredients. Or avoid all instant rices anyway. There's more nutrition in the box it comes from than in the rice! Brown rice is the healthiest. Eat that.

[cedarblue]

you should read the packet of couscous, some are vegan some contain milk powder etc

also if pasta contains egg it should state on the packaging 'egg noodles' or 'egg pasta'. if it contains just durum wheat and salt then its fine

another way to try different foods is to get involved in an exchange care package with someone from another country... you will get some good guaranteed yummy vegan treats to eat with no worries

for the care package thread see here

[Kumem]

This might be the stupidest question ever. I was about to make some dinner and then I though.....:

But pasta contains eggs right..? And both pasta and couscous are made of a special type of wheat/flour, but it doesn't say anything on the packet about what it is made of, only that its made of wheatflour.(Dunno what its called, but in norwegian it says: "durumhvete" or something like that.)

By the way I am talking about normal products, not vegan ones, so my question is: Can I eat pasta, rice and couscous and all that other stuff?

Before I became vegan I asked exactly the same question about pasta and bread. As others have said, just check the packets in case, as most prepackaged stuff will have dairy derivatives in them. I just bought some cous cous and it is fine. At a guess, "durumhvete" is durum wheat, which is fine I think. It's just a type of wheat. We eat cous cous a lot and most of it is vegan. The best thing though is to get dried cous cous from a health food store and then make your own varieties of it.

Liz

[Nivvie]

Some stright to wok noodles don't have egg in, but have lactose in instead (!?).

If I remember correctly, Amoy is bad, Blue Dragon is good.

[Kumem]

If I remember correctly, Amoy is bad, Blue Dragon is good.

Rules to live by

[adam antichrist]

I have never seen dry cuscous that was anything but cry couscous but in making it (before I was vegan) I always but butter in it, as did every other non vegan chef so be careful getting when dining out!

[celtic rose]

Yeah, Blue Dragon make really nice vegan noodles. My other half couldn't tell the difference.

[tasha]

I love chow mein noodles and have been making chocolate chow mein stacks....so yummy.

I am such a dork, my husband read the ingrediants and they contain eggs....I am so naive!

[kelly]

blue dragon rice noodles are delicious and dried cous cous is easy to make and you can flavour it with what ever you want

[Troutina]

Eww I just aubergine stuffed with couscous and vegetables, and am now having second thoughts about its vegan-ness.
I'm such a div!

[zorbed]

Plain pasta is right.

It's not even propper pasta if it has egg in it anyways, or so says my Italian auntie. Haha.

Personally, i can't stand cous cous.

[herbwormwood]

cous cous is just little bits of pasta. plain cous cous is fine because all it contains is wheat. however some cous cous mixes are not vegan. There is a brand of cous cous mix called Sammy's, some of them are vegan and some are not. Similarly you would have to check other cous cous mixes ingredients lists.
You can also use bulgar wheat instead of cous cous. It is used in a similar way.

[HappyVegan]

Most pastas & plain cous cous are vegan. Just read the ingredients, if it has egg or dairy in it they will be listed.

Quinoa is also a good substitute for cous cous. I used to eat cous cous all the time and loved it. When I decided to cut pasta out of my diet (strictly for health reasons, nothing vegan related) I switched to quinoa and it's wonderful, and very nutritious!!! Just make sure you wash it really good or it will have a bitter flavor.

[aubergine]

Pearl Barley is also good instead of the usual stuff.

[cheech]

hey everyone! quiniao(said keen wa)is a really nice alternative to cous cous,its a seed not a grain so its alot higher in vitamins and nutrients.Use it just like cous cous,its got a slightly nutty flavour.Really nice cooked with some mushrooms, onions and garlic and topped with a bit of vegan marg mummm lovely1