Super Greens Pasta
Eat more greens with this delish veggie pasta!
Dark leafy greens are superstars when it comes to nourishment. They’re densely packed with antioxidants that support our immune health, as well as essential vitamins and minerals for our everyday wellbeing.
The addition of white beans brings fibre and plant-based protein to make this dish well-balanced and super nourishing.
There are so many reasons to love this Super Greens Pasta!
Easy Weeknight Cooking
This pasta sauce comes together in about ten minutes, so it’s nice and quick for a weeknight dinner.
Use Your Leftovers
This is a fabulous way to use up any sad greens you have on their last legs.
Meal Prep Perfection
You can make a double batch of this sauce and freeze the extra portions, ready to go for another night! I distribute the sauce into snap-lock bags, then lie them flat in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, you can stack them side by side. Pop them into warm water to defrost, using the microwave for help if needed.
More Healthy Recipe Ideas
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More Healthy Recipe Ideas 〰️
Recipe Variations
With this recipe you can really choose your own adventure! You can use spinach, rocket, or curly kale in place of cavolo nero.
I love using ricotta to finish the dish, but you can use goat cheese, feta - the sky’s the limit! (Or maybe just the cheese aisle). For a dairy-free or vegan option, try cashew cheese.
When you’re adding some crunch, pine nuts, pepitas and sunflower seeds are all great options - just make sure you toast them to amplify their flavour before sprinkling on top.
Super Greens Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 generous handfuls of cavolo nero (tuscan kale) leaves, washed thoroughly
- 1 handful parsley, leaves picked and washed
- 1 handful basil, leaves picked and washed
- 1 x 400g tin cannelini white beans, drained and rinsed
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 heaped tablespoon ricotta (substitute with cashew cheese for dairy free)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Pasta of your choice
- Ricotta or cashew cheese
- Toasted walnuts
Instructions
- Place a large pot of salted water on to boil. Prepare a large bowl of iced water.
- Blanche the kale until it softens, 30 seconds.
- Add the parsley and basil, then give it a quick stir before scooping the greens out of the boiling water and into the iced water. This stops the cooking process and cools the greens for blending.
- Keep the greens’ cooking water to boil your pasta. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
- Place the cooled greens, white beans, ricotta, olive oil and lemon zest into a blender. Add 1/4 cup of water and blend until smooth, adding extra if needed until you have a sauce that you can pour. Set aside.
- Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large frying pan. Place on a low- to medium-heat.
- Add the minced garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.
- Pour in the green sauce, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add some of the pasta cooking water as needed to thin the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta and toss to combine.
- Serve with extra ricotta and toasted walnuts.
Notes
This recipe makes enough sauce for four portions of pasta, but you can freeze any extra sauce to use another night!
