Creamy Pasta with Kale and Chickpeas
Jan 20, 2021 by erin
This dish was created thanks to my near-empty fridge. All I had was a head of kale. Luckily, my pantry was decently stocked. I had a can of chickpeas, cashews and pasta (as always). Turns out, these four ingredients (plus a few other staples, like salt and garlic powder) can make an amazing dinner. See below!
Sure, this dish doesn’t contain a wide variety of vegetables, but it’s got a whole head of kale. Dark leafy greens tick so many nutritional boxes that I’m okay with the lack of diversity here. Plus, there are chickpeas. Another nutritional heavyweight packed with protein, iron and even calcium.
If you’re looking for something easy to cook, I don’t think it gets much easier than this. And if you’re looking to ditch dairy, this easy creamy nut-based sauce is a game-changer. Just add nuts and water to a blender with a little salt and garlic or garlic powder, blend, and you’re done. I think the hardest part of this whole recipe is washing and chopping the kale? (Not that bad, right?) I hope you enjoy this easy dinner as much as we do.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 red onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 head kale (destemmed and chopped)
- 1 c nuts or seeds (brazil, cashews, macadamia or sunflower seeds)
- 1 c water
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Dairy-free parmesan (optional garnish)
- Chili flakes (optional garnish)
- 1 454g package of linguine noodles (or pasta of choice)
- Start by making your sauce. To a high-powered blender, add nuts, water, salt and garlic powder (if using a regular blender, soak nuts in boiling water for an hour). Blend until smooth (about a minute). Test salt level and adjust if necessary. Set aside.
- Over medium high heat, add oil to a large pan. Once hot (about thirty seconds), add chopped onions and cook until translucent (about five minutes).
- In the meantime, start cooking your linguine according to package directions.
- Back to the pan with onions: add in garlic powder and salt. Stir and cook for another minute, then add in chickpeas and kale. Stir constantly and cook until kale is wilted.
- Once chickpeas are hot and kale is wilted, pour in all the sauce and add your cooked pasta. Stir to combine and garnish with a pinch of course salt and fresh ground pepper or chili flakes. Hope you love!