Looking for a quick and easy dinner recipe? This simple Swiss chard pasta is just what you need! It's fresh, flavorful, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Did you catch Tuesday’s post? It was all about Swiss chard, one of my favorite leafy greens. After going on and on about how much I love working with this versatile veggie (and why you should love it too!), I thought I owed you another Swiss chard recipe.
So here you are! This lemony Swiss chard pasta is what weeknight dreams are made of. It calls for a short list of pantry ingredients, and it comes together in right around 30 minutes. Still, it’s filled with a delicious mix of textures and flavors. Sautéed chard stems add crunch, while the leaves get soft and silky. I balance their earthy flavor with sweet golden raisins, rich hazelnuts, and salty pecorino cheese. A glug of olive oil and (of course) lots of lemon juice tie it all together.
Swiss Chard Pasta Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy Swiss chard pasta recipe:
- Swiss chard, of course! You’ll sauté the stems and leaves before tossing them with the pasta.
- Fusilli pasta – Or another short, spiral-shaped pasta. I love the nutty flavor of a whole grain noodle in this recipe, but if regular pasta is all you have, that’ll work fine too.
- Garlic – For sharp, savory depth of flavor.
- Fresh lemon juice – It makes the pasta nice and bright.
- Golden raisins – Their sweet flavor and chewy texture pair beautifully with the earthy chard.
- Hazelnuts – For richness and crunch.
- Caramelized onions – Totally optional, but totally delicious! Their sweet, umami flavor adds so much depth to this simple pasta.
- Red pepper flakes – They bring a little heat.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds moisture and richness and helps the flavors in this recipe meld together.
- Pecorino cheese – Its salty, funky flavor takes this pasta over the top.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
If you like, you can garnish the pasta with microgreens just before serving. They’re such a fresh finishing touch!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Tip Alert!
I list the caramelized onions as optional here for two reasons:
- The pasta is still great without them.
- They’re time-consuming to make.
But when I make this quick and easy pasta recipe, I almost always toss them in. That’s because I’m not making them from scratch every time. Instead, I’m pulling them out of my freezer!
The next time you have a spare hour or two on a weekend, make a big batch of caramelized onions and freeze them in ice cube trays. They’ll keep for months. Whenever you feel like a dish could use a punch of umami flavor, thaw them in the microwave, and toss them in. Once you get used to having them on hand, you’ll never go back!
With caramelized onions handy, this pasta recipe comes together in no time.
Start by cooking the pasta. Then, sauté the chard stems and leaves. Finally, toss everything together and season to taste.
That’s it!
Swiss Chard Pasta Serving Suggestions
For a super simple weeknight dinner, I serve this Swiss chard pasta as a meal on its own. But if I have the time to make one, I also like to serve it with a salad on the side. It pairs really nicely with any of these recipes:
- Pear Salad with Balsamic and Walnuts
- Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic
- Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Simple Green Salad
- Kohlrabi Slaw
- Green Bean Salad
Round out the meal with crusty bread for wiping up any garlicky oil at the bottom of your bowl.
Enjoy!
More Favorite Easy Pastas
If you love this Swiss chard pasta recipe, try one of these quick and easy pastas next:
- Artichoke Pasta
- Cauliflower Pasta
- Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe
- Tagliatelle with Asparagus and Peas
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
- Or any of these 25 Easy Pasta Recipes!
Swiss Chard Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces whole grain fusilli pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 bunches Swiss chard, stems removed and thinly sliced, leaves chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup caramelized onions, optional*
- Pinches of red pepper flakes
- â…“ cup golden raisins
- â…“ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
- ¼ cup shaved pecorino cheese
- Microgreens, optional, for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, cooking until al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of the starchy pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chard stems and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add the chard leaves, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the leaves are wilted.
- Add the pasta, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, caramelized onions, if using, red pepper flakes, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water, and toss. Add the raisins and hazelnuts and toss again. If the pasta is dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Top with the cheese, season to taste, and garnish with microgreens, if desired.
This is SO flavorful – a great one to use up the abundance of rainbow chard in my late fall garden. I subbed in chickpea pasta and Manchego cheese (what I had on hand) and it was perfect. The entire family liked it.
I’m so glad you loved it!
this was really tasty! i used rainbow chard (which i usually don’t like) and was hesitant about this recipe but it is really really good!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Mmmmm, yum! I had a bunch of Swiss chard and searched for recipes on your site. I decided to make this one and I’m glad I did. It was delicious. It was a bit off the beaten path of other pasta dishes I make, so that was a nice change of pace. I found it easy to substitute a couple of ingredients for things I had on hand. I also added a little cooked meat I had and that blended in easily. Thanks for posting!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I used sliced almonds instead of hazelnuts and parmesan instead of pecorino. It was delicious!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe last night. It was delicious. Next time, I will be better organized. I made the caramelized onions in the slow cooker on a day I worked from home. Next time, I will toast the hazelnuts before I start cooking. I was preoccupied with the pasta and greens burned the first batch.
I love, love, loved this pasta! I used chickpea pasta and fresh swiss chard from our garden. I also subbed pecans for the hazelnuts. I couldn’t stop eating it.
I’m so glad you loved it as much as we did!
I substituted a few things to get this done last night with what was in the pantry and at the farm stand and it was STILL delicious!
used chopped dates & almonds instead of golden raisins and hazlenutes
Also added some fresh green onions and garlic scapes to the chard saute!
Ooh yum, I’m so glad you loved it!
I did something very similar! I had hazelnuts but I used dates instead of raisins. Had just used my last onion, so I used green onion instead. Added vegan feta and lemon zest at the end! Soooo good.
Yum! So glad you enjoyed it.
This was delicious! Followed recipe exactly.
I’m so glad you loved it!
So. Dang. Delish. Don’t skip the golden raisins- they balance the tang from the lemon and work with the caramelized onions! I changed a few things because of what I had on hand: kale instead of chard, sliced almonds instead of hazelnuts, parm instead of pecorino, then I added blistered cherry tomatoes. Sooooo good!
I’m so glad you loved it!
My family and I loved this pasta. It’s very fresh and colorful.
I’m so happy it was a hit!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Looks like Spring on a plate!