Easy Chickpea Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Chicken Sausage
A quick, healthy weeknight meal rich in fiber and protein
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 2 boxes chickpea pasta
- drizzle olive oil
- 4 links Italian chicken sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 4-6 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 23.5 oz paleo vodka sauce (or favorite vodka sauce of choice)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- sprinkle parmesan cheese (if desired)
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients: dice the onion and peppers and slice the chicken sausage into rounds.
- Set a large pot of water over high-heat and bring to a boil. Add the chickpea pasta and cook according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium-heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the sliced chicken sausage and saute until slices are golden-brown. Remove chicken sausage to a plate and set aside. Keep the pan on the burner.
- To the saute pan, add another drizzle of olive oil and add the onions and peppers. Saute over medium-heat until they are sweating out moisture and getting slightly caramelized.
- Return the chicken sausage to the pan. Add the chicken broth to the pan, which should bubble and steam once it hits the heat of the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan while chicken broth bubbles to remove any flavor (the fond) from the bottom of the pan. Stir throughly.
- Add the baby spinach to the saute pan and stir again. It will wilt and decrease significantly in volume. Once cooked down, pour the vodka sauce over the vegetables and sausage until you reach your desired amount of liquid. Remove pan from heat.
- Once pasta is done cooking, scoop the pasta into the sauce mixture and stir gently but throughly so that everything is coated in the vodka sauce.
- Season the dish with fresh parsley (or other herbs) and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!