This easy 20-minute recipe for hearts of palm pasta with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan is surprisingly close to the experience of eating real pasta.
I regularly make several pasta alternatives for my family. Our favorites are zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash pasta, and shirataki sesame noodles. While all those recipes are delicious, hearts of palm pasta is especially good. When cooked according to the method outlined here, it is closer to the experience of eating authentic spaghetti than many other options.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on the ingredients.
- Hearts of Palm pasta: I get it at Trader Joe's or Amazon.
- Olive oil: You can use butter instead of olive oil. If you do, use 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to help prevent the butter from burning.
- Garlic: I slice it into thin slices.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, and dried oregano.
- To finish the dish: Grated parmesan, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley. Chopped basil leaves are a flavorful alternative to parsley.
Variations
- Make this a complete meal by stirring in 1-2 cups of shredded cooked chicken immediately after adding the pasta to the skillet.
- Add ½ cup of small cherry tomatoes. This makes the finished dish aesthetically pleasing.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Peel the garlic cloves and slice them thinly. Brown them in olive oil, taking care not to burn them.
Add the noodles, salt, pepper, and oregano when the garlic is golden. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Remove the noodles to a plate. Top them with parmesan, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Cooking the garlic: Cook the garlic until golden brown, then add the noodles. Garlic tends to go from golden to burnt pretty fast, so be vigilant. I usually get it right, but today, I added the noodles when the garlic was too pale. Once you add the pasta, the garlic has less contact with the pan, so it stops browning. The solution: I removed it, browned it in a separate skillet, and added it back to the noodles. So if this happens to you, you'll know what to do!
- Flavor and texture: This pasta is literally made from hearts of palm, so if you eat it straight out of the bag, that's what it tastes like. However, since its flavor is mild, when you cook it with other ingredients, it takes on the flavors of those ingredients. That's why it works so well as a pasta alternative. However, while it's a similar experience to eating real pasta, the texture is different. It's a little chewy.
- Storage tips: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power.
Serving Suggestions
This pasta makes an excellent side dish. Alternatively, as mentioned above, you can add shredded cooked chicken to turn it into a main course, perhaps adding a simple salad (like cucumber tomato salad or arugula salad) to round out the meal.
When I serve it as a side dish, I like to serve this pasta with any of the following main courses:
- Grilled chicken breast
- Grilled skirt steak
- Seafood mix in cream sauce
- Blackened halibut
- Pork medallions
- Pork roast, as shown in the photo below
Recipe Card
Hearts of Palm Pasta Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil - extra-virgin
- 4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
- 1 package hearts of palm pasta - 9 ounces; I use the Trader Joe's pasta
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup parmesan - grated
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons parsley - chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic slices. Cook, stirring often, until golden, about 4 minutes.
- Add the pasta, salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is heated through, for about 5 minutes.
- Remove to a plate. Sprinkle with parmesan, red pepper flakes, and parsley.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- When cooking the garlic, cook until it's golden brown, then add the noodles. Garlic tends to go from golden to burnt pretty fast, so be vigilant.
- You can use butter instead of olive oil. If you do, use 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to help prevent the butter from burning.
- Make this a complete meal by stirring in 1-2 cups of shredded cooked chicken immediately after adding the pasta to the skillet.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them gently in the microwave at 50% power.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Pamela says
Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe! I love heart of palm angel hair and was looking for a different recipe. The only thing I would mention is to rinse the heart of palms really well because it tastes lemony to me.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Thanks for the review, Pamela! It certainly can't hurt to rinse the noodles and dry them before using.
Rose says
I made this recipe- really good!- but for more of a real pasta texture I also combined the hearts of palm angel hair with regular angel hair pasta. It is so good and still lower in carbs and calories than regular pasta used alone.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you liked this recipe, Rose! Thank you for sharing your tweak.
Susan Secord says
Did you precook the noodles or did you add them straight out of the bag?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Susan,
I added them straight out of the bag.