Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese

Swiss Chard with pasta is a classic combination and this Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese is a perfect meatless dinner! And if you make this tasty fall dish with Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti it will be lower in carbs and higher in protein!

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Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese is a recipe that was inspired by my love of Swiss Chard back in the days when I had a garden. Chard was one of those greens I hadn’t tried before I grew it, but I liked the flavor right away. I also loved the way you can snip off chard leaves and the plant will keep producing all summer and well into the fall!

And chard is abundant in stores in the fall as well, and pasta with Swiss Chard is a classic combination! For people who haven’t tried it, the flavor of chard is stronger than spinach, but not as strong as kale, turnip greens, or mustard greens.

For years I made this with whole wheat spaghetti, but now I’m using Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti for a version that’s lower in carbs and higher in protein. And when I found gorgeous Swiss Chard at the grocery store recently, I got inspired to make the recipe and take new photos. So today I’m updating this recipe with better photos and with the recommendation to use my favorite lower-carb pasta, I hope you will try it!

What ingredients do you need for the Pasta with Swiss Chard?

(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 with ingredient amounts.)

• Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti (affiliate link), or use another spaghetti if you don’t mind having a few more carbs
• salt (for pasta cooking water)
• fresh chard leaves
• minced fresh garlic (or minced garlic from a jar, but in this type of dish fresh garlic will be better)
• red pepper flakes
• extra virgin olive oil
• coarsely grated Parmesan Cheese or Pecorino-Romano cheese 
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

What other greens could you use for this recipe?

You could make this recipe with another sturdy type of greens like kale, collard greens, turnip greens, or bok choy. It may take slightly longer to cook the greens for some of those, especially for kale.

What cheese is good for this Spaghetti with Swiss Chard?

For years I made this only with Pecorino-Romano cheese (and may have been a bit of a food snob about using that type of cheese!) But when I updated these photos I only had Parmesan cheese, and I was excited to discover it was equally delicious! Use whichever type of cheese you prefer or have on hand.

How did I make the Swiss Chard Pasta lower in carbs?

I made this recipe with whole wheat spaghetti when I was following the original South Beach Diet. But now I’m infatuated with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta (affiliate link). This is a pasta product that’s made in Italy, tastes just like regular pasta, and has a lot of fiber to reduce the net carbs. Making this recipe with Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti (affiliate link) made it lower in carbs. And I also used a generous five cups of chopped chard, to make it a dish with lots of greens and less pasta.

More about Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta:

Both Kara and I are smitten with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta! This high-fiber pasta made in Italy comes in Penne, Rotini, Spaghetti, and Elbows. It’s a lower carb pasta that tastes absolutely the same as regular pasta made with wheat. I haven’t found it in stores near me, and when I order it from Amazon I’m careful not to choose the option for only one or two boxes of pasta! That makes very expensive, but if you get the pack with six boxes (or even twelve) it’s much more reasonable in price. And sometimes it goes on sale on Amazon too!

How low in carbs is this recipe with Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti?

If you use Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti (affiliate link) for this recipe and divide it into four servings, it will have only 25.2 net carbs per serving, with 15 grams of protein! I’m not tagging the recipe Low-Carb, but if you’re a carb-conscious eater like me who misses real pasta, you might enjoy it for an occasional treat. You can search “Fiber Gourmet” on the website to see other recipes where we have used this pasta.

How to Make Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese:

(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. We used one box of Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti to make 4 main-dish servings of pasta.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add a generous amount of salt. Break spaghetti in half and add to the water, then turn heat to a low simmer and cook until pasta is al dente. (In Utah it takes about 19 minutes for al dente with this pasta, but start with the time on the package and cook until it’s as soft as you prefer.)
3. This is the gorgeous Swiss Chard that was on sale. I bought two bunches of chard and used 5 cups of chopped chard, but you can get away with one bunch if it’s not on sale!
4. Cut away the thick ribs, cut chard leaves into strips, then wash chard in a salad spinner (affiliate link) and spin dry. If you don’t have a salad spinner, just wash in the sink and blot dry with paper towels.
5. Chop enough garlic cloves to make 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic (or use minced garlic from a jar.)
6. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan, add minced garlic (and hot pepper flakes if using), and cook garlic about 1 minute. (Don’t let the garlic brown.)
7. Add chard strips and cook about 1-2 minutes, until chard is about half the size it was.
8. When chard is wilted, add 1/4 cup hot pasta cooking water from the pot, turn heat to low, and keep the chard warm.
9. When the pasta is done but still slightly chewy, drain spaghetti into a colander placed in the sink.
10. When it’s drained, toss the hot spaghetti with the chard. I did that in the frying pan, using two forks.
11. Then add the coarsely grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese and toss again.
12. Season pasta with black pepper, serve hot, and enjoy!
13. Pasta with Swiss Chard is especially good with a little extra cheese to add at the table.

Make it a Meatless Meal:

For a meatless meal this Swiss Chard Pasta would be good with any of these vegetarian dishes:

• Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
• Cabbage Gratin
• Roasted Pepper Salad
• Ottolenghi’s Perfect Lettuce Salad
• Roasted Cabbage with Lemon

More Favorite Recipes with Swiss Chard:

If you’re also a Swiss Chard fan, check out my Savory Swiss Chard Recipes for more ideas!

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 4 servings

Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Spaghetti with Garlic, Chard, and Cheese is a classic combination! And this is a perfect dish for a meatless dinner!

Ingredients

• 8 oz. Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti (see notes)
• salt, for pasta cooking water (I used fine grind sea salt)
• 5 cups sliced chard leaves (see notes)
• 2 T finely minced fresh garlic
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup hot pasta cooking water (remove before draining pasta)
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese (see notes)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, adding a generous amount of salt when the water starts to boil.
2. Break the spaghetti in half and add it to the water, then turn heat to a low simmer and cook until the pasta is al dente. (In Utah where the altitude is high it takes about 19 minutes to get pasta that's al dente, but start with the time on the package and cook until it's as done as you prefer.)
3. While pasta cooks, cut away the thick ribs of chard, cut chard leaves into crosswise strips, then wash the chard in a salad spinner (affiliate link) and spin dry. If you don't have a salad spinner, just wash in the sink and blot dry with paper towels.
4. Chop enough garlic cloves to make 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic (or use minced garlic from a jar.)
5. In the largest heavy frying pan you have, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add minced garlic (and hot pepper flakes if using) and cook the garlic about 1 minute. (Don't let the garlic brown.)
6. Then add chard strips all at once and cook about 1-2 minutes, until chard is wilted down to about half. Stir a few times to get chard coated with olive oil.
7. As soon as the chard is wilted, get 1/4 cup hot pasta cooking water from the pot, add it to the chard, and turn the heat down to low.
8. When the pasta is done, but still slightly chewy, drain the hot spaghetti into a colander placed in the sink. 
9. When it's drained, toss the hot spaghetti with the wilted chard. I did that in the frying pan, using two forks to combine the spaghetti and chard.
10. Then add the coarsely grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese and toss again.
11. Season pasta with fresh ground black pepper, serve hot, and enjoy.
12. Pasta with Swiss Chard is especially good with a little extra cheese to add at the table.

Notes

You can use any spaghetti you prefer if you don't want to use Fiber Gourmet.

You can use less chard if you don't have enough to make five cups.

Use any hard grating cheese with a good flavor such as Parmesan, Pecorino-Romano, or Asiago.

Recipe created by Kalyn when she had lots of Swiss Chard in the garden.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 333Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3.8gUnsaturated Fat 12.7gCholesterol 11mgSodium 873mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 28.8gSugar 3.5gProtein 15g

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.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you make it this pasta with Swiss Chard with Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti (affiliate link) it would be low enough in carbs to not be that huge of a splurge on a low-carb diet, although not low enough for Keto. Use whole wheat spaghetti to make it a great main dish for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
See Leafy Greens or Pasta for more recipes 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 recipe for pasta with Swiss Chard was first posted in the early days of my blog, when I had Swiss Chard Growing in the garden. In 2025 it was updated to a lower-carb higher-protein recipe using Fiber Gourmet Light Spaghetti.

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