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Garlic Chicken & Kale Spaghetti

· 41 Comments

5 from 5 votes

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I just spent an hour talking to my husband and then my friend on the phone about what I should name this recipe.

Yes I really did that.

You’d think titles of recipes would come a little more naturally to me, but alas, they do not. Especially when I’m working late into the night when I have a sugar high from the last of the Easter candy I’ve been hoarding sharing with my children.

Creamy Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Baby Kale, Artichoke Hearts and Chicken?

Parmesan Garlic Kale Chicken Pasta?

Baby Kale & Artichoke Heart Whole Wheat Spaghetti?

Creamy Kale Garlic Chicken Pasta?

Do you see my dilemma? Too many ingredients. Or, according to my husband: I’m too indecisive.

After staring at my computer screen at the same words over and over, I eventually decided on Garlic Chicken and Kale Spaghetti because I figured you can all just read the actual recipe and find those extra fun surprises such as: whole wheat spaghetti! Artichoke hearts! Parmesan cheese! Low fat creamy sauce!

Another fun surprise? My daughter seeing this on her plate and saying “I am NOT going to like this dinner.”

Spoiler alert: that’s not the surprise.

After one bite, she said “Wow Mom, I actually like this! Like, WHOA! I LIKE THIS!” as if I never make her edible food. Psh! Child, please.

So she finished her little portion for dinner, Blake threw his on the ground {as per all the food he eats} and I have the leftovers in my fridge. #winning

This easy dinner recipe is packed with flavor, healthy protein and veggies plus is ready in about 30 minutes. Perfect for weeknight meals at home.

I had everything on hand for this meal, so odds are you should have just about everything on hand too which means I’ll be expecting you all to make this immediately.


Ok, you don’t have to make it immediately, but relatively soon works for me 😉 Lol!

But seriously, though. Make this.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Printable recipe below:

5 from 5 votes
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Garlic Chicken & Kale Spaghetti

Course Dinner
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Lauren Brennan

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 1/2 cups chopped baby kale**
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
  • 1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish

Instructions

  1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta to al dente. While pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and chopped baby kale until fragrant and tender, 2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour. Stir and cook 1 minute. Whisk in milk to prevent lumps and reduce heat to medium low. Incorporate bouillon, basil, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Add in cooked, shredded chicken, artichoke hearts and parmesan cheese. Heat 3 minutes or so until sauce starts to thicken and chicken is heated through. Toss with hot pasta to coat, top with more cheese if desired and serve.
  2. **I've seen baby kale and spinach mixes at the grocery store that would work well in this recipe if you can't find just plain baby kale!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek says

    This looks really good and healthy too.

    I’ve always told my youngest (11) that he has a super power. We call it sight taste. He has the uncanny ability to look at something and know how it will taste.

    We had a dog when the boys were in highchairs…..he would hang out around the chairs at dinner time….just waiting for the food to drop. He was a pretty fat dog.

    Reply

  3. Meghan says

    Hi,

    This looks delicious. Can you use chicken buillion powder instead of paste? I couldn’t find the paste. Thanks!

    Reply

  14. Debbie says

    So I made this for dinner last night… Zero complaints!! Win!! It was really flavorful, but I’d like to make a recommendation for the name: Artichoke, Chicken, and Kale Spaghetti. The artichoke flavor was very prevalent and I think it’s a mistake to leave it out of the name!! Yummy!! Thank you for another delicious meal. I prob make at least one laurenslatest meals every week. You and your cute blog are the bestest!!

    Reply

  15. Pam says

    This sounds amazing! I have tried a couple of your recipes so far and have not been disappointed. I am so glad I stumbled upon you! Thank you for all you do!

    Reply

  17. Angela says

    My children LOVED this meal! My 13 yo is my taste-tester, I couldn’t keep him out of the pasta long enough to plate it! I used the kale spinach mix, next time I won’t, spinach stems didn’t get as soft as the kale and spinach leaves.And I believe that next time I will leave out the chicken, for meatless Monday! In other words! It’s a keeper,Loved it!!!

    Reply

  18. Nicole Stovall says

    I just tried this recipe and LOVED IT! I am so excited to try more recipes! Thank you for this little gem!

    Reply

  19. Anne says

    I made this for dinner tonight and it is delicious! I did add onions when I cooked the chicken. I only put two cloves of garlic, I a garlic shy. But it was ver good and we will be having it again!

    Reply

  21. Stephanie says

    We tried this tonight & we loved it! I forgot to get artichokes & bouillon paste but it was still good. Next time I’ll remember all the ingredients. Lol

    Reply

  22. Jacky says

    Made this the first time exactly as indicated in the recipe. Very tasty but I personally found using the milk made the sauce lay heavy on my stomach. I did a test the second time I made the recipe and used stock to replace the milk. I added slightly less flour and slightly less stock/liquid and it was perfect, loved the recipe even more.

    Reply

  23. Kirty says

    This dish was absolutely amazing. I have picky daughters, so I cut up the kale really small so they couldn’t pick it out (hehe) and they said, “that was so good! Can you make that more often??” I also have a husband who works long days and I’m never sure exactly when he will walk through the door. This dish was easy to have everything prepped and then throw together when I heard his work truck pull into the driveway. I used two cubes of powdered chicken bouillon and it turned out great 🙂 new family favorite for us!

    Reply

  24. Bet @ Bet On Dinner says

    I was making my grocery list with this on my meal plan and I realized I’ve never actually bought artichokes before! Do you recommend jarred or canned? Any particular brand? Thanks!!

    Reply

  28. Dawn Williams says

    Going to try the spaghetti, i’ve made the Asian BBQ using wings, very good!! Going to make the pumpkin blondies as well, keep those recipes coming.

    Reply

  30. Sarah P. says


    Thanks for this, Lauren! I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for awhile and finally did yesterday. I love me some pasta! Next time I will add even more kale. I love keeping up with you and your family. Happy blogging anniversary!

    Reply

  32. Carrie says


    We love this recipie! I use spinach instead of kale, because we always have spinach in the fridge.

    I keep cooked chicken in the freezer that makes this the perfect last minute dinner. (I use a rotisserie spice blend in the crockpot for the chicken, then freeze in recipe size portions. )

    We even cooked it up in Yellowstone this summer!

    Reply

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