## 1 Introduction  
Pasta stands out as one of the most widely consumed staple foods globally, valued for its sensory appeal, nutritional benefits, convenience, and versatility [1]. The global production of pasta for 2022 is estimated at approximately 16.9 million tons, with the European Union, including Italy, leading as the top producer, followed by other European countries, Central and South America, North America, and Africa. In terms of consumption, Italians rank highest with an average intake of 23.2 kg per capita annually, followed by Tunisians (17 kg), Venezuelans (13.6 kg), and Greeks (12.2 kg) [2]. According to Italian regulations, \"dried pasta\" must be exclusively produced using water and durum wheat, such as semolina, coarse semolina, or wholemeal semolina. In contrast, many other countries permit the use of common wheat in pasta production [1]. Besides conventional arable crops such as cereals and legumes, researchers and the food industry have become increasingly interested in the use of microalgae, as these are rich in micro- and macronutrients, have a high productivity and the lowest carbon, water, and arable land footprints compared with arable crops [3,4]. The green microalgae _Chlorella vulgaris_ (CV) is 2 to 10 \(\upmu\)m in diameter and can be grown autotrophic, heterotrophic or mixotrophic. In contrast to autotrophic cultivation, heterotrophic growth occurs without light on an organic carbon source in fermenters, to achieve higher growth rates and lower harvesting costs [5]. The protein content of CV dry matter (DM) can reach 20-65%, depending on the growth conditions [6]. Lipid and carbohydrate contents can make up 5-40% and 12-55% of DM, respectively [5,7,8]. To guarantee the microbiological as well as the micro- and macronutrient stability of microalgal ingredients, the usual way of incorporating microalgae into food is in the form of dry powders [9, 10, 11]. However, several studies have shown that the use of microalgae powders is limited to a maximum of 2-3% in many foods, as the effects on sensory properties and acceptance were serious [4,9,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. Moreover, recent studies have shown that European consumers from the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Italy show a higher willingness to try (WTT) and a more favorable perception to microalgal food if they can expect health and environmental benefits [20]. In particular, the perception of products as being rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein increased the WTT of microalgal food, while a positive impact on the WTT of microalgal products that were perceived high in fiber still was given, though much lower [21]. The low concentration limit of microalgae in food, however, makes it difficult to claim nutritional benefits. Nevertheless, for microalgal pasta, the willingness to buy was shown to also be higher if the pasta has organic labeling, followed by a Nutri-Score label and a vegan label [22]. Therefore, added health value (high in protein and/or fiber claims) and the correct labels on the packaging (organic, vegan) could increase the market success of microalgae pasta. As part of the EU funded project ProFuture, the aim of this work was to develop vegan, organic, microalgal-containing pasta (3 and 5% CV). In addition, the pasta should allow for claims of being high in protein and/or high in fiber in order to meet consumers' expectations. For this reason, denatured wheat gluten (dG), which according to the manufacturer is also available as an organic quality variety, and organic apple fibers (AFs) were added to the pasta. Both additives were chosen because their effects on taste and texture were the best in preliminary tests when compared with vital organic gluten and potato and sugar beet fibers, which are also available in high amounts in their organic quality varieties. Studies by [PERSON] et al. [23], who added 2.5-7.5% _Chlorella sorokiniana_ in tagliatelle; [PERSON] et al. [17], who added 0.5-2.0% CV in spaghetti; and [PERSON] et al.