Pasta with Kale Sauce & Nuts
Twenty minutes, an immersion blender, and six ingredients turn frozen kale into something nobody would recognize as kale. The sauce is smooth, green, and sticks to whole wheat penne like it belongs there. Pan-fried chicken and toasted mixed nuts bring the total to 47g of protein and 854 kcal.
The kale disappears into the cream cheese. The nuts crack against something creamy. This is the kind of dinner that tastes like effort without actually requiring much.
Ingredients
- penne, whole wheat 3 ounces
- kale (frozen) 7 ounces
- chicken breast 3 ounces
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- mixed nuts, unsalted 1 ounce
- cream cheese, reduced fat 3 tablespoons
Method
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Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
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Cook the kale until tender according to the instructions on the package.
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Cut the chicken breast into pieces.
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Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken for 10 minutes.
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Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown and chop them coarsely.
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Mix the kale with the cream cheese, pepper and salt. Add the mixture to the chicken and heat for another 5 minutes.
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Serve the pasta with the kale sauce and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top.
Drain the cooked kale well before blending it with the cream cheese. Frozen kale releases a lot of water as it thaws and cooks, and a wet base turns the sauce thin instead of creamy. Press it against a sieve or squeeze it in a clean towel until most of the liquid is gone.
The mixed nuts and olive oil do more than add crunch and flavor. Research found that the type of fat eaten alongside cooked kale changes how much vitamin A the body absorbs from it. In a controlled trial with 37 participants, kale paired with peanut butter produced 51% more vitamin A conversion than the same calories from animal fat. Certain fats help form tiny transport packages in the gut that carry kale’s nutrients into the bloodstream more efficiently. This recipe uses mixed nuts and olive oil, not peanut butter, but they share the same type of fat the study identified as the driver.
Behind this recipe
Is 47g of protein in one meal too much to absorb?
No. The 30g-per-meal protein cap is a myth that research has put to rest. Your body keeps absorbing and utilizing protein above that number for muscle synthesis. The 47g in this plate from chicken, cream cheese, nuts, and pasta all gets used.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use fresh kale instead of frozen?
Yes. Fresh kale works in this recipe. Strip the leaves from the tough stems and cook them until tender before blending with cream cheese. One difference worth knowing: frozen kale has been blanched before freezing, which destroys myrosinase, an enzyme involved in producing sulforaphane (a compound with studied health properties). Fresh kale retains that enzyme. Both versions deliver the same beta-carotene and fiber for the sauce.
Can I make this without an immersion blender?
A regular blender or food processor works for turning the cooked kale and cream cheese into a smooth sauce. You could also skip blending entirely and just stir the kale into the cream cheese by hand. The sauce will have a chunkier texture with visible kale pieces rather than a smooth green, but the flavor stays the same.
