Weight Watchers SmartPoints Recipe of the Day: Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale
I came across this recipe for Weight Watchers Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale while searching for a kale recipe to make for this week’s 38 Power Foods Blogging Group. (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,
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.
Weight Watchers Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale
Skinny on Weight Watchers Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale
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? Enjoy!
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 veg – chopped tomatoes would be nice. Add them once the kale has begun to wilt
- 2 cups short-cut pasta such as penne or rigatoni
- 8 ounces chicken or turkey sweet Italian sausage
- 6 cups kale, 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
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and cook in a large nonstick 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.
I like to add some crushed red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning when I add the broth to give the dish a little more zip.
Be sure to remove the tough stems and ribs from the kale before chopping.
For more great delicious kale recipes, check out the blogs of these talented food-blogging ladies who are participating in the 38 Power Foods
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 PointsPlus value recipe
- A Collection of Kale Recipes – from my files and around the Webs, many with PointsPlus values
- Raw Dinosaur Kale Salad – colorful and tasty with 1 WW PointsPlus Value
- Lentils with Sausage & kale – an easy one-dish dinner with 7 WW PointsPlus
*PointsPlus®, SmartPoints calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc.
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Delicious, Nutritious and super healthy. Great recipe.
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.
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!
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.