Chard & Ricotta Pasta

Chard is beautiful. Chard is easy to grow. Chard tastes amazing in pasta. That’s why we love this easy Chard & Ricotta pasta!

We love to grow chard – generally the rainbow variety. So when we want a hearty meal in the summer, it’s super easy to run to our garden and cut it fresh for meals just like this Swiss chard & Ricotta Pasta!

When making this, ensure that you are giving the ricotta enough time to melt. You are going to want to keep it LOW and SLOW. It will curdle and burn if heat is too high. Fully take advantage of the salty, starchy pasta water too! Pasta water can really create a silky smooth sauce, especially when the sauce is cream or cheese based.

If you don’t have Swiss chard easily accessible, you can easily swap it out for your other favorite leafy green. I’m thinking… kale, spinach, maybe even bok choy. There are lots of ways to switch this up, you could also try tossing some steamed broccoli in rather than the leafy greens.

If you consume meat, you could top this with a few pieces of grilled chicken breast and you have yourself a delicious, quick, healthy meal in minutes!

Swiss Chard and Ricotta Pasta (with alternatives)

Chard is beautiful. Chard is easy to grow. Chard tastes amazing in pasta! We love to grow chard – generally the rainbow variety. So when we want a hearty meal in the summer, it’s super easy to run to our garden and cut some fresh for meals just like this one!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 4 oz pasta tube pasta works best – any will be delish!
• 1 tsp olive oil plus additional for drizzling
• 1/4 an onion diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup cream or milk
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1 bunch of swiss chard* roughly chopped
• Salt & Pepper
• dried herbs as preferred

Instructions

 

• Begin by cooking pasta according to package, al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.
• In the same pan, add 1 tsp of olive oil and sauté onion until translucent, roughly 2-3 minutes.
• Add the garlic and continue to cook for an additional minute.
• Add ricotta, cream, and Parmesan and continue whisking on lw until well combined.
• Add swiss chard and cook it until the swiss chard has wilted, 2 minutes.
• Add pasta and mix well. If needed, add up to a cup of reserved pasta water, adding a bit at a time to desired consistency.

Notes

When I first published this in 2015, it was prepared similarly, but as lasagna roll ups. To change the recipe into that, double the ricotta, ditch the cream and add an egg. Mix filling well and roll up in lasagna. See picture for inspo!

*Chard = Y U M! However, feel free to swap out your other favorite green veg: spinach, collards, bok choy,…