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5 Ingredient Healthy Pasta for Meal Prep Lunches

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Lunchtime just got a little more delicious! By making this 5 ingredient healthy pasta for meal prep, you can now look forward to lunches again!

5 ingredient pasta for meal prep lunches

Do you ever get bored with lunch options? I know I really do! I work out in the middle of nowhere, and while there are a few options, I just don’t feel like making the trip (in the snow – or lately, rain) and eating something I’m not really wanting, or that isn’t the best for me health wise.

The only thing that really works for me is planning a little ahead and meal prepping.

This pasta is amazing. It’s so easy to make, flavorful, and filling!

I know you (like me) may have 8 oz of whole wheat pasta leftover from last weeks’ Five Ingredient Friday recipe (this awesome 5 ingredient pancetta parmesan cauliflower pasta recipe) so that is what we’re going to use for this recipe. It’s just 5 ingredients, and the beauty of this recipe is that you can customize it by what you have on hand.

The 5 ingredients in this pasta recipe are whole wheat pasta (you can use any type of pasta), turkey sausage (or chicken sausage, or any type of sausage), swiss chard (or spinach or kale), olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Super easy to make, and when you divide it up, you have 2 ounce portions of pasta, so you’re not sitting there eating more than a serving (which I’m totally guilty of!)

Meal prepping, meal prep recipes for breakfast lunch and dinnerI pack lunches for my hubby and I almost every day. There are some occasions where I haven’t done any meal prepping, and we both can really tell and send each sad face emojis during lunch. What I like to do is to take a few hours on Sunday to meal prep, it ensures that we have something made and ready to eat for the week. Here are some of my favorite recipes for meal prepping:

Recipes for healthy meal prepping

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of my favorite recipes to meal prep, among them is definitely this 5 ingredient pasta with sausage and swiss chard. Do you meal prep? I’d love to know!

Yield: 4

5 Ingredient Healthy Pasta for Meal Prep Lunches

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta - can use any type of pasta you'd like
  • 4 turkey sausage links - can use any type of sausage you'd like (each link should be 2.5-3 oz, 10-12 oz total)
  • 1 bunch of rainbow swiss chard, cleaned and chopped (about 4 cups raw) - can use kale or spinach
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded, divided

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, and divide the pasta into 4 containers (I love these).
  • Meanwhile, in a large skillet over high heat add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the sausage until brown and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes, turning every few minutes to brown. Remove the sausage from the pan and slice and divide among the 4 containers.
  • Next add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and add in the swiss chard. Cook, stirring occasionally until the swiss chard reduces, about 5 minutes (sometimes I add in a few tablespoons of the pasta water if the pan seems to dry). Divide the chard among the 4 containers.
  • Top each container with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
  • Put a lid on each container and shake it a couple of times to mix everything. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy within a week.

    • Notes

    I love these food storage containers
    350-400 calories per serving depending on what type of ingredients you use.

    © Sweetphi

     

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    Comments

    3. Sounds delicious and healthy… question re sausage … whats the ‘weight’ amount of sausage? Recipe sounds adaptable but not sure if u were using breakfast sausage links? Turkey kielbasa? Etc … with a sense of the quantity I can adapt recipe to what I have on hand … thanks much!!

      Reply

      • Thank you for the comment Bridget, I’ve updated the recipe with the weight amount. Total weight of the sausage should be 10-12 ounces. Hope you enjoy this dish

        Reply

    6. Fantastic! We recently discovered some healthy -no dangerous preservatives- fresh sausages in the local butcher, and are really excited to try them in this recipe! It really makes for a yummy, filling lunch! Thank you so much dear!
      xoxoxo

      Reply

      • It’s so great when one finds healthy & non preservative laden sausages, isn’t it? I bet those would work perfectly in this recipe 🙂 Thank you so much for your comments!

        Reply

    7. This is so simple, yet so good! I subbed the chard for asparagus since Trader Joe’s had fresh bundles of it for $1.99. I also used Trader Joe’s chicken apple sausage. ??

      Reply

    8. Love this! Meal prepping can be such a great way to save time and money! 🙂 Your recipes look delicious!

      Reply

    9. Hi! Thank you so much for sharing this great meal prep for lunch. I had it today and I can’t wait to eat it again this week. I made it last night, so do you think it will stay good until Thursday lunch?

      Thanks again!

      Reply

      • Hi Maddie, I have a mix of recipes with a lot of healthy meal prep recipes thrown in, just have a look through my recipe index, there are over 750 recipes to browse 🙂

        Reply

      • Yes! Definitely delicious when reheated (that’s what I do when I make this and then take it to work). Usually only needs about 2 minutes in the microwave 🙂

        Reply

    16. Love this recipe!! Love it even more because it only needs 5 ingredients! Can I sub in a smoked sausage instead of using the turkey sausage links??

      Reply

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