We eat A LOT of noodles in our house. I liked this healthy pasta recipe a lot, because the beans add a lot of plant-based protein and fiber. It’s also a great use of the chard in our garden! If you don’t have Swiss chard, any dark leafy greens like spinach, collards, etc. will do.
This pasta recipe can be meatless/vegan if you don’t use the turkey bacon and swap the chicken stock for veggie stock or water. IMO, the turkey bacon really makes it though!
I used shell pasta because I thought it’d “grab hold of” the beans and the bacon bits a little better than other pasta shapes, but feel free to use any other pasta shape.
This is such a quick and easy recipe, especially with the canned beans. I had dinner on the table in no time!
Pasta With Beans & Chard
Calories: 383kcal
Ingredients
- 8 ounces small pasta (I used shells)
- 2 teaspoon olive oil (divided use)
- 2 ounces turkey bacon (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard (tough stems removed, chopped)
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 14oz. can low sodium canned white beans (drained and rinsed)
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram or basil
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Cook the turkey bacon until lightly browned.
- Add the minced garlic and stir it around for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the chopped Swiss chard, broth, dried marjoram, black pepper and white beans to the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the whole thing to a boil.
- Put the lid on the skillet, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the chard leaves have wilted down and the beans are heated through.
- Drain the pasta and stir it into the bean/chard mixture.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil just before serving.
