Noodles & Company has upgraded its most popular dish and expanded its line of award-winning stuffed pasta, the fast-casual restaurant chain based in Broomfield, Colo., said Wednesday.
Noodles is adding 50% more cheese sauce to its best-selling Wisconsin Mac & Cheese and rolling out a new iteration of its stuffed tortelloni, a line that garnered it the Nation’s Restaurant News MenuMasters Award for best new item in 2022.
The new Chicken Prosciutto Tortelloni with Smoked Gouda is Noodles’ first meat-stuffed pasta. It’s made with black pepper flavored tortelloni stuffed with chicken, prosciutto, toasted mushrooms, and spinach, and topped with smoked gouda cheese sauce, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. It was tested with other stuffed pasta dishes last spring in Chicago; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Columbus, Ohio.
“Response from our initial test showed that guests were craving a meat-filled pasta option, so we’re excited to offer more variety with this new menu item,” chief marketing officer Stacey Pool said in a release announcing the new pasta and the change in the mac & cheese build. “We’re dedicated to infusing Uncommon Goodness into our menu and our new Chicken Prosciutto Tortelloni with Smoked Gouda is a testament to that with its premium ingredients and indulgent sauce, all at a great price.”
“Uncommon Goodness” is the name of the chain’s branding initiative launched in May of 2022, and refers to the quality of its food, the service it provides to guests, its commitment to the communities where it operates, and the benefits it provide for its employees.
Noodles’ other mac & cheese items, the Buffalo Chicken Mac and BBQ Chicken Mac, also have been upgraded with 50% more cheese. The Wisconsin Mac & Cheese starts at just over $6, with a premium for added chicken.
Noodles Rewards loyalty program members can order the new tortelloni starting Jan. 31, and it will be available systemwide as a limited-time offer starting Feb. 14. It is $10 for a small bowl and $12 for a regular.
The chain of 468 restaurants did not say how long the pasta LTO would be available.
Noodles & Company hit a rough patch in the second half of 2023, as its guests responded negatively to price hikes in the first half of the year. Then-CEO Dave Boennighausen left the company in November, and board member Drew Madsen was appointed as interim chief executive.
Madsen said he would work on a more nuanced pricing structure for the chain while also tweaking the menu.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]