This chicken ricotta pasta with kale is hearty and delicious, and makes the most of fresh cheese to make a creamy sauce, but with no cream! It's so easy to make on the stovetop as a comfort food family dinner in about 30 minutes.
Now I love a cheesy pasta recipe, and my mascarpone chicken pasta and ricotta pesto pasta are firm reader favorites too. So I am excited to share this easy chicken ricotta pasta recipe to add to the collection!
It has a delicious creamy, fresh cheese sauce with fragrant thyme and nutmeg and a good handful of leafy greens too. And the best bit is that it's a stovetop recipe - no need to turn the oven on.
Have a peek at my red pepper ricotta pepper pasta and whipped ricotta pasta for more fresh ricotta cheese pasta ideas!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
- Fresh cheese sauce. Using fresh creamy ricotta cheese gives us a cheesy, silky sauce and is more appropriate than aged cheese for my low histamine readers.
- Hearty comfort food. Chicken pasta is such a classic, and makes for a hearty family dinner.
- Stovetop recipe. We use easy to find ingredients, and cook it all up on the stovetop rather than having to turn the oven on.
🥣 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Chicken - I suggest to use boneless skinless chicken breast, that we dice into small bite-size pieces. Chicken thighs can be used as a swap.
- Ricotta - the fresh cheese that comes in a tub.
- Pasta - I like to use linguine for this recipe, but you can use other forms of pasta such as penne or fusilli, and swap for a gluten free pasta, spelt pasta or brown rice pasta if they are more suitable for you.
- Kale - this is optional, but add some leafy greens. Curly kale is typically my go-to for adding to creamy sauces.
- Onion - my low histamine readers may prefer to use white onion (scores 0 on SIGHI) rather than brown onion.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap kale for spinach. I've used kale as it is a lower histamine leafy green, but if you're not a low histamine reader you can swap out for spinach.
Make more sauce! If you love pasta with lots of sauce, simply use more ricotta cheese and chicken broth.
🔪 How to make chicken ricotta pasta
Making this ricotta chicken pasta is very simple, uses easy to find ingredients and comes together fast on the stovetop!
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Cook the chicken
Dice your chicken breasts into bite-size pieces and season with salt, half the thyme and, optionally, black pepper. Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and cook the chicken until lightly browned and with an internal temperature of 165F using a meat thermometer (image 1).
While the chicken is cooking, cook your pasta in salted water to package instructions. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water.
Step 2: Cook onion and garlic
Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
If the skillet seems dry, add a little more olive oil. Cook diced onion for 4-5 minutes, then add in the garlic. Add the kale, and pour in chicken broth. Bring to a very light simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, so the kale wilts (image 2).
Step 3: Add ricotta cheese
Reduce the heat, and spoon in the ricotta cheese. Sprinkle in the remaining thyme and nutmeg. Season with salt. Stir the sauce, so the cheese melts into the broth and you have a creamy sauce (image 3).
Step 4: Add pasta and chicken
Use tongs to add the chicken back to the skillet, and add the pasta. Pour about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water into the skillet, stirring so the sauce is creamy and coats the pasta (image 4). Add more pasta water, so you have the consistency of sauce you like. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
💭 Expert recipe tips and notes
- Dice the chicken breast into small pieces of roughly the same size. This will give you an even cook time.
- Use a pasta of choice. I like linguine, but you could swap for spaghetti or a smaller pasta such as penne or fusilli. Use a gluten free pasta or alternative pasta if that works better for you.
- Don't forget to reserve the pasta water! When combined with the ricotta cheese, this gives us a creamy sauce that coats the pasta.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Ricotta cheese is a fresh cheese made from whey. It has a creamy taste, and is quite mild with a touch of sweetness. Ricotta can be used in sweet dishes such as cakes, as well as savory dishes.
The SIGHI list gives ricotta cheese a rating of 0 on their scale of 0-3, meaning it is typically compatible. Please note that they flag up that it is mostly produced with citric acid, so check ingredients labels if you do not tolerate it.
I recommend to cook it fresh as the pasta can go a bit gummy when frozen, and the pasta will absorb some of the sauce.
🍝 More pasta recipes
Find so many fun pasta recipes here, including my broccoli asparagus pasta and artichoke pesto pasta, as well as these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Chicken Ricotta Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts diced into bite-size pieces
- ½ onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1.5 cups kale stems removed, diced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme divided
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- salt
- black pepper optional
- fresh thyme leaved to garnish
Instructions
- Cook your linguine (or other pasta) in salted water until al dente. Reserve half a cup of the pasta water.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt, black pepper and half the dried thyme. Drizzle olive oil in your skillet and cook the chicken pieces for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned, and with an internal temperature of 165F using a meat thermometer. Set aside on a plate.
- If the skillet is dry, add a touch more olive oil. Cook the diced onion for 4-5 minutes until softened, add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Tip in the kale and pour in the chicken broth. Bring the heat up so you are at a very light simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, so the kale is wilted. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to lift the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Reduce the heat and stir in the ricotta cheese, along with the remaining thyme and nutmeg. Season with salt. Keep stirring so the ricotta melts into the broth and reduces slightly.
- Add the chicken pieces and pasta to the skillet and use tongs to coat them in the sauce. Pour in a little of the reserved pasta water, and keep stirring so the sauce is silky and smooth and coats the pasta (add more pasta water until you have the consistency you like). Season with more salt and black pepper, if using, to taste. Use tongs to transfer the chicken pasta to your serving bowls and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
- I use linguine for this ricotta chicken pasta recipe, but you can use other types of pasta such as penne or fusilli. Gluten free pasta alternatives can also be used.
- No need to clean the skillet after cooking the chicken - the brown bits will add extra flavor to the sauce.
- Don't forget to reserve the pasta water to make the ricotta sauce!
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- pasta (wheat) and kale, which score 1.
- white onion scores 0, but regular onion scores 1 and as a liberator.
- garlic, which scores 1 with a note, 'In small amounts, usually well tolerated after cooking'.
- nutmeg, which scores 1 with a note, 'Small amounts are well tolerated'.
- chicken broth will depend upon ingredients used and preparation method. Homemade vegetable broth can be used as a swap.
- black pepper, which scores 2 with a note, 'Small amounts are tolerated'.
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