Every pasta dish across UK restaurant chains broken down by portion, with cream, cheese and tomato-based sauces compared.
The sauce does far more than the pasta. A tomato-based dish and a cream-based dish of the same size can differ by several hundred calories and most of a day's saturated fat.
Carbonara, alfredo and cheese-based sauces carry the majority of their calories as saturated fat. Tomato and vegetable sauces sit substantially lower.
Baked pasta dishes add a cheese layer on top of the sauce, which raises both saturated fat and salt further.
Restaurant pasta portions are commonly double a home serving. The stated dish is the whole plate rather than a stated weight.
Garlic bread and parmesan on the side are ordered by default in many chains and are rarely included in the dish figures.
Each product page includes a full nutrition breakdown per serving and per pack, portion size comparisons, age-adjusted NHS daily reference intake calculations for children aged 4 to 17, an interactive calculator for your child's specific age and gender, and a complete ingredient and allergen guide.
