Pasta with Sausage and Kale

I used Palmini Pasta made with hearts of palm to make a low-carb version of this favorite recipe for Pasta with Sausage and Kale! And this post has instructions to make it with Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti or regular pasta too, so use whichever you prefer for this tasty pasta dish. 

PIN the Pasta with Sausage and Kale to make it later!

Years ago I came up with a recipe for Pasta with Sausage and Kale that was so good I declared it to be one of the best things I’d ever made with kale. But even though it had a lot of sausage and kale and not much pasta, it wasn’t going to work for a low-carb diet.

Then in January of this year a reader named Danielle wrote to me about a new product called Palmini Pasta and I was intrigued! I decided to test out the low-carb pasta on a recipe I knew I already liked, and when we tested this recipe with Palmini Hearts of Palm Linguini, Kara and I absolutely loved it! Since then I’ve made a few other tasty recipes with this amazing low-carb pasta!

And then I discovered Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta (affiliate link) which tastes just like regular pasta but is much lower in carbs due to large amounts of fiber. Now I’m a bit infatuated with this pasta (that’s made in Italy), and if you don’t need this recipe to be gluten-free I think this Sausage Kale Pasta recipe would also be delicious with the Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti or Fiber Gourmet Light Rotini!

What is Palmini Pasta?

Palmini Pasta (affiliate link) is a relatively new type of low-carb pasta made from hearts of palm. The pasta options are Linguini, Angel Hair (which is actually more like thin spaghetti), and Lasagna. Kara and I have been having fun experimenting with the Palmini pasta products, and we really like the flavor of them. (And for anyone who might be wondering, this company hasn’t sent me any merchandise or paid me to feature their products.)

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• hot turkey or pork Italian sausage
• kale (see notes)
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• red pepper flakes
• canned chicken broth (affiliate link), preferably reduced sodium
• ground fennel (affiliate link)
• Palmini Low-Carb Linguini (affiliate link) or use Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta (affiliate link) or regular Rotini Pasta 
• coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Why is this recipe a good way to use Palmini Pasta?

One thing people may have an issue with about the Palmini Pasta is the price; definitely it’s a lot more expensive than regular pasta. That’s why I like it for recipes like this one, where there are a lot of other ingredients in the dish to spread out the pasta. This Pasta with Sausage and Kale makes six servings from one can of Palmini Linguini, which makes it a lot more affordable.

How to make Pasta with Sausage and Kale:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. (IF MAKING WITH PALMINI PASTA) Drain the Palmini Pasta into a colander placed in the sink and rinse well with cold water.
2. (IF MAKING WITH REGULAR PASTA or FIBER GOURMET LIGHT SPAGHETTI OR ROTINI) Cook pasta until barely al-dente, following package directions. Save 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
3. Heat 1 T olive oil in a large heavy frying pan, squeeze sausage out of casings, and cook until sausage is nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. Remove sausage to a bowl.<
4. While the sausage is cooking, wash kale leaves and shake dry. Cut out the inner ribs, then pile up a stack of leaves and then chop them, continuing until you have chopped all the kale. (Sorry, missed taking photos of the chopped kale.)
5. In same large frying pan, put the 3 T olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes and cook until you can barely start to smell garlic.
6. Then add chopped kale and cook 2-3 minutes, turning over several times, until kale is all wilted.
7. Add chicken broth, ground fennel, cooked sausage, and drained Palmini pasta to the kale and turn heat to low. Let this simmer about 8 minutes, or until the Palmini Pasta seems tender when you test a piece.
8. (If you’re using regular pasta, let the other ingredients cook a few minutes before you add the pasta. Then gently mix the cooked pasta into the sausage/kale mixture, and cook 4-5 minutes. Add as much pasta cooking water as you think you need for it to be moist.)
9. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve pasta hot, with extra Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.
10. This will keep well in the fridge for a few days, no matter which type of pasta you use.

More Ways to Love Sausage and Kale:

• Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup
• Sausage and Kale Mock Lasagna Casserole
• Sausage, Kale, and Mozzarella Egg Bake
• Slow Cooker Stew with Sausage, Beans, and Kale

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Pasta with Sausage and Kale

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

I used Palmini Pasta to make a low-carb version of this favorite recipe for Pasta with Sausage and Kale! The recipe still has instructions for the original version with Rotini Pasta too, so choose whichever one you prefer.

Ingredients

• 19.5 oz package hot turkey Italian sausage (see notes)
• 1 bunch kale (see notes)
• 1 T minced garlic
• 3 T + 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• one 14.5 oz. can reduced-sodium chicken broth (see notes)
• 1 tsp. ground fennel
• one 14 oz. can Palmini Hearts of Palm Linguini (or use Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta or regular Rotini)
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Instructions

1. (IF MAKING WITH PALMINI PASTA) Drain the Palmini Pasta into a colander placed in the sink and rinse well with cold water.
2. (IF MAKING WITH REGULAR PASTA or FIBER GOURMET LIGHT PASTA) Fill a medium-large pot half full with water, add a generous amount of salt, and bring the water to a boil. Add pasta, stir, lower heat, and cook until barely al-dente, following package directions for cooking times. Save 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
3. Heat 1 T olive oil in a large heavy frying pan, squeeze sausage out of casings, and cook until sausage is nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. Remove sausage to a bowl.
4. While the sausage is cooking, wash kale leaves if needed and shake dry (they don’t need to be perfectly dry.) Cut out the inner ribs if they're thick. Then pile up a stack of leaves and then chop them, continuing until you have chopped all the kale.
5. In same large frying pan as you cooked the sausage, put the 3 T olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until you can barely start to smell garlic. (Don’t let the garlic brown.)
6. Then add the chopped kale.  Cook kale and garlic 2-3 minutes, turning over several times, until the kale is all wilted.
7. Add chicken broth, ground fennel, cooked sausage, and drained Palmini pasta to the kale and turn heat to low. Let this simmer about 8 minutes, or until the Palmini Pasta seems tender when you test a piece.
8. (If you're using regular pasta, let the other ingredients cook a few minutes before you add the pasta. Then gently mix the cooked pasta into the sausage/kale mixture, adding as much pasta cooking water as you think you need for it to be moist enough.)
9. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve pasta hot, with extra Parmesan cheese to add at the table if desired.
10. This will keep very well in the fridge overnight, no matter which type of pasta you use.

Notes

You can use turkey or pork Italian Sausage, whichever you prefer.

We used about 8 cups of chopped kale. You can also use baby kale, which won't need to be chopped.

Nutritional information is for the dish made with Palmini Pasta.

Recipe originally created by Kalyn with Rotini Pasta. Updated in 2021 to a version with Palmini Low-Carb Linguini.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 280Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4.6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13.5gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 941mgCarbohydrates: 5.9gFiber: 1.8gSugar: .6gProtein: 26g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions: 
Pasta with Sausage and Kale with Palmini Pasta would be suitable for any low-carb diet plan, including Keto. The Palmini Pasta should be fine for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but even with turkey Italian Sausage, this recipe is probably a bit high in fat for South Beach.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Pasta Recipes for more ideas like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Sausage Kale Pasta recipe was first posted in 2011 using Rotini Pasta. It was updated in 2021 with a new low-carb version using Palmini Pasta. In 2023 it was updated again with the option to use Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti.

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