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Home » Recipes » Dinner » Easy Weeknight Dinners » One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta

One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta

Published on February 4, 2016, Updated November 6, 2018 by Kristin Maxwell | 13 Comments

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This rich and creamy One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta is so easy to whip up. With tender pasta, creamy Ricotta, and vitamin packed kale, it’s a delicious vegetarian meal that’s ready in just 20 minutes, and with just one pan for cooking, clean up is a snap!

One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta

If you happened to see the Turkey, Kale and Rice Soup I posted last week, you read about how I have never been a fan of Kale. And here I am posting about it twice in a week. True, it may have taken me a while to jump on the Kale bandwagon, but I’m slowly opening up to the possibility that this super food might be worth adding to our weekly menu.

As you may know, we love our one pan meals here on the blog, and I’ve been really wanted to add more to our recipe box. We love them because they are so easy! Take this Creamy Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta; it starts with a little garlic, lemon juice, dry pasta and water. Bring it to a boil and add some kale. Cook it for 10 minutes or so, then add some ricotta, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Kale and pasta

Ricotta, Kale and Pasta

It doesn’t get any easier than that. And on a busy weeknight with my busy family, I need things to be easy. This vegetarian dish will become a new favorite for sure. It would serve a lot as a side dish, and makes a great lunch as well as a filling and protein packed meatless meal.

One Pan Creamy Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta

One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta

Kristin
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 11 mins
Total Time 16 mins
Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 1/2 cups small dry pasta (I used mini penne)
  • 2 1/4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 cups kale roughly chopped, packed
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 cup skim Ricotta
  • 2 ounces softened cream cheese
  • Salt & pepper

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a 10-12" saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant; about 45 seconds.
  • Add water, pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest. Bring to a boil and stir in kale and 1 teaspoons of salt. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine Ricotta, Parmesan and cream cheese. Set aside.
  • Check pasta for doneness. Add 1/4 cup more hot water if needed. There should still be some starchy liquid in the pan.
  • When pasta is tender and liquid id reduced, remove from heat and stir in the Ricotta mixture.
  • Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
  • Serve hot.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

For more deliciously easy dinner recipes, try these:

Ground Turkey, Rice and Kale Soup

Turkey, Kale and Rice Soup

Garlic and Lemon Pasta

One Pan lemon Garlic Pasta

One Pan Chicken and Pineapple Rice

One Pan Pineapple Chicken and Rice

Amazing Lemon Garlic Chicken

Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken

For all one pan recipes go HERE, for all dinner recipes go HERE and for all recipes go HERE.

One Pan Lemon, Ricotta and Kale Pasta - Rich and creamy one pan vegetarian meal

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About Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook. Read more about Kristin HERE.

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  1. R. Yacoub says

    February 5, 2019 at 9:18 pm

    Tasty, but don’t use orzo–it gets a little gloppy.

    Reply
  2. Alissa says

    June 6, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    Yum! This was a delicious way to use up some of the extra kale I bought. I used GF pasta, which I find can leave the water very starchy. I was hesitant to cook the ingredients all together, so I cooked the pasta separately and reserved some pasta water to use as needed when I added the cheese. I topped it off with pepper, tobacco salt, and red pepper flakes. Would definitely make again!

    Reply
  3. K says

    February 12, 2017 at 5:35 pm

    How does this dish turn out as a leftover? Wanted to pre make it for lunches thru the week.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      February 12, 2017 at 7:59 pm

      Like most cheesy pasta meals, it’s not the best for leftovers. But if you heat it at 50% and add a little milk or cream to it, it might be great!

      Reply
      • K says

        February 13, 2017 at 1:41 pm

        Thanks Kristin!

        Reply
  4. Chrissy @ Snacking in Sneakers says

    January 30, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    This was great! I used chickpea pasta to make it (had some samples and love it for extra protein/fiber). Loved the lemony flavor with the smooth and creamy ricotta. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      January 30, 2017 at 6:40 pm

      Awesome!

      Reply
  5. Ansley says

    January 2, 2017 at 7:36 pm

    Update…I think I fixed it and didn’t want to leave without rating 🙂

    Reply
  6. Ansley says

    January 2, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    We made this tonight and it is just amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe. In addition to the kale, I had a little bit of swiss chard and fresh broccoli that needed to be used up and it was still great. I served this with tomato bisque and toasted / lightly buttered sourdough bread strips for dipping. YUM!

    P.S., For some reason, it won’t let me rate the recipe, but it’s certainly 5 stars!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      January 2, 2017 at 7:40 pm

      Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thanks for the 5 star rating!!

      Reply
  7. Natasha says

    July 17, 2016 at 2:49 am

    can the kale be substituted for spinach?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      July 17, 2016 at 10:34 am

      Yes, you could swap for spinach. I’d just be careful not to over cook it.

      Reply
  8. Tabitha says

    June 11, 2016 at 9:17 pm

    I made this tonight and it was SO simple and tasted awesome!

    Reply

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Hi, I’m KRISTIN!

I'm a busy wife and mom who loves to cook, bake and create. All of the recipes and tips you will find here are created with your busy family (and mine!) in mind.

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