Chicken Penne in a Parmesan Cream Sauce
with Kale
- Milk
- Wheat
We consider pasta night a holiday—one that we like to celebrate at least once a week, if not more. If you agree, you’re in luck. This dish has it all: al dente penne noodles, herby chicken, and tender kale, all tossed in a mouthwatering, creamy Parmesan sauce. Let the carb celebrations commence!
Ingredients
¼ cup
Parmesan Cheese
4 ounce
Kale
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
6 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Remove and discard any large ribs from kale.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain. Keep empty pot handy for step 5.
• While pasta cooks, heat a large drizzle of olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add kale and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5-7 minutes. • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wipe out pan.
• Pat chicken* dry with paper towels. Season all over with half the Italian Seasoning (all for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in pan used for kale over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side.
• Return pot used for pasta to medium-high heat. Stir in cream sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (TIP: For cream sauce, cut top off carton to open fully and transfer contents, using a spoon or spatula to scrape sauce from carton sides.) Bring to a simmer; cook for 1-2 minutes. • Turn off heat; stir in Parmesan and 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) until smooth.
• Stir kale and drained penne into pot with sauce. (TIP: If needed, add reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until everything is coated in a creamy sauce.) Taste and season with salt and pepper. • Slice chicken crosswise. • Divide pasta between bowls and top with chicken. (Alternatively, stir chicken into pasta before plating, adding more pasta cooking water if necessary.) Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy Parmesan sauce, though some found it needed more seasoning or garlic for depth 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, with clear instructions that even kids could follow.
- Suggestions: Consider swapping kale for spinach or broccoli; some found kale tough or bitter.
- Leftovers: Reheats well, though pasta may absorb sauce; adding a splash of water helps.
- Portions: Several wished for more sauce or pasta; chicken amount was good for most.
Reviews from our home cooks
This has such amazing flavor. We used half the kale, because we aren't huge kale fans and it was the perfect amount. The spice on the chicken was amazing. The garlic Parmesan sauce was to die for. I will order this again! So easy and so yummy
My son is a very big Chicken Alfredo fan, and now he said this parmesan cream sauce was even better then alfredo. And he's all about being healthy and the kale was such a compliment to the meal, we all really enjoyed this meal, with garlic bread! Thank you!
This was amazing. I have never had kale before and thought it was perfect with the chicken and penne. Super easy and very flavorful.
I'm typically not a kale fan but this was just so delicious. The cream sauce added the necessary flavor. The chicken was adequate size. The portions were good. Overall, an easy delicious dish.
The Parmesan cheese sauce was simply delicious. Chicken seasoning knocked our socks off! Wow! Really good.
Very yummy! Not a big kale person but it went good with this recipe and the sauce was super flavorful.
The chicken was excellent. My kids stole most of my chicken piece by piece but did comment how delicious it was. The alfredo pene with kale was delicious. I am not a kale person but it really was pretty good.
Loved the creamy sauce. And the Kale with this. Would like to add more kale to this in the future.
Followed directions exactly. The pasta was al-dente and not good, the sauce is way too watery, and the chicken breasts were way too thick to pan fry as directed. I also personally believe spinach would have been a better addition in this dish over kale as it was very bitter.
I enjoyed the cream sauce a lot in this recipe. However, personally, I would have preferred spinach over kale, but otherwise no complaints. The recipe was easy.
