What is hearts of palm?

Hearts of palm is found in the core of certain palm trees. It's high in fiber, iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium. The flavor is fairly neutral, so it's a great vehicle for sauce. I think it tastes like a super mellow artichoke but with a denser texture.

Can I use store-bought pesto?

Yes! Use whatever pesto is your favorite. Just skip step 1 and use your own pesto. Our pesto recipe makes about 1.75 cups.

I can't find hearts of palm pasta. Can I use something else?

You can use regular pasta or zucchini noodles. Just cook them according to package instructions, then add them to the rest of the ingredients at the very end.

Hearts of Palm Pasta with Pesto and Chicken

Description

This hearts of palm pasta is super healthy and tastes so good you'll forget you're not eating real pasta. It's loaded with pesto, bacon, toasted pine nuts, and pesto-marinated chicken. As an added bonus, it's also dairy-free, gluten-free, Whole30, and paleo.

Ingredients

Scale

For the pesto:

6 cups spinach

3/4 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons almond butter

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

For everything else:

1 pound chicken breasts

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts

6 slices bacon, cut into small squares

24 ounces hearts of palm pasta (we use Palmini linguine)

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Instructions

Make the pesto (if you're using store-bought pesto, you can skip this step). Add spinach, basil, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, almond butter, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper to a food processor and blend until combined.
Cut the chicken into thin bite-sized strips. Add them to a bowl with ½ a cup of the pesto, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Set it aside. Reserve the rest of the pesto.
Add the pine nuts to a large pan over medium heat. Cook them for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add the bacon to the same pan over medium heat. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside (leave the grease in the pan).
Transfer the chicken to the same pan. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Add the hearts of palm, remaining pesto (about 1.25 cups if you're using store-bought), pine nuts, and bacon to the pan with the chicken. Stir to combine everything (tongs are useful here), and cook for an additional 2 minutes, until the hearts of palm is warm. Then enjoy!

Notes

If you choose to use store-bought pesto, you'll need about a cup and three-quarters.

Nutritional information is only an estimate.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
Calories: 538
Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 1026.7 mg
Fat: 44.3 g
Carbohydrates: 12.5 g
Protein: 27.7 g
Cholesterol: 73.6 mg