WW Recipe of the Day: Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage & Kale
I came across this recipe for Weight Watchers Pasta with Chicken Sausage while searching for a kale recipe to make for this week's 38 Power Foods Blogging Group.
Weight Watchers Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale
For the past eight weeks, a group of bloggers, led by Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits, has been posting recipes using the healthy ingredients from Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (affiliate link) by Martha Stewart and the editors of Whole Living Magazine.
We're now up to ingredient #9 in the vegetables chapter: kale, a real nutritional powerhouse, rich in vitamins A, B6 & C, fiber, iron, calcium, and carotenoids.
I was introduced to kale several years ago while attending The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and have been a fan ever since.
Recipe Notes
As soon as I read all the great reviews on weightwatchers.com for this simple pasta with Italian chicken sausage and kale, I knew I wanted to try it.
The recipe suggests you use rigatoni, but any short cut pasta (such as penne or ziti) would work. I think this dish would be tasty with whole wheat pasta too, which I plan to try next time.
Also, I bumped up the amount of kale from 4 cups to six with good results. Who knew such a simple recipe with just 5 ingredients could be so satisfying?
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Pasta?
According to my calculations, each serving has 356 calories and:
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
8 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Recipe Variations
Spicier
Add crushed red pepper flakes in with the sausage.
No Kale
Substitute your favorite leafy green such as spinach, swiss chard, etc.
Vegetarian
Substitute drained canned white beans for the sausage, be sure to bump up the flavor with more seasonings such as garlic, oregano, etc.
More Veggies
Chopped tomatoes would be nice. Add them once the kale has begun to wilt.
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you've made this Sausage & Kale Pasta, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Weight Watchers Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale
Ingredients
- 2 cups short-cut pasta such as penne or rigatoni
- 8 ounces chicken or turkey sweet Italian sausage
- 6 cups kale with tough stems and ribs removed, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and cook in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, breaking up sausage as it cooks, about 3 minutes. Add kale; cook, stirring frequently, until limp, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add broth to skillet and scrape up browned bits on bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon; season with salt and pepper.
- Cover skillet and reduce heat to low; cook until kale is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in pasta and heat through. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Sprinkle each serving with about 2 tablespoons of cheese before serving.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
Source: Weight Watchers
*PersonalPoints® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
For more great delicious kale recipes, check out the blogs of these talented food-blogging ladies who are participating in the Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (affiliate link) group today:
- Alyce @ More Time at the Table
- Ansh @ Spice Roots
- Jeanette @ Jeanette's Healthy Living
- Jill @ Saucy Cooks
- Mireya @ My Healthy Eating Habits
- Sarah @ Everything in the Kitchen Sink
- Casey @ Bookcase Foodie
- Bambi @ Adobo Down Under
Links to more Weight Watchers Friendly Kale Recipes
- How to Cook Kale - A basic 0 Points value recipe
- A Collection of Kale Recipes - from my files and around the Webs, many with Points values
- Raw Dinosaur Kale Salad - colorful and tasty with *1 WW PointsPlus, *3 WW Freestyle SmartPoints
- Lentils with Sausage & Kale - an easy one-dish dinner with *7 WW PointsPlus, *5 WW Freestyle SmartPoints
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Ansh
Delicious, Nutritious and super healthy. Great recipe.
Alyce Morgan
One of my favorite waist-watcher ideas is to give up pork sausage and move on to turkey or chicken. I made a variety of pastas and soups using turkey Italian sausage (including chili), but want to try this one with chicken sausage.
The greens add a great amount of fiber to fill you up,too. Happy Friday.
Mireya Merritt
Oh this sounds good. I have some leftover kale so I'm going to make it for dinner. I'm going to add some fresh tomato too. Yum!
Martha
Alyce, I agree that trading out chicken or turkey sausage is a great way to keep an eye on the waist. My family never objects and likes it just as well.
Mireya, love your idea for adding fresh tomatoes. Will add some halved cherry tomatoes the next time I make it.