I Gave Meghan Markle’s Viral Pasta Recipe a High-Protein Makeover—and Kept It to Just One Pot

Easy dinner recipes can be your savior on busy weeknights, so it’s no surprise that Meghan Markle’s one-pot pasta recipe from her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, has struck a chord with the masses. On the surface, the creamy tomato dish with citrusy greens has all the makings of a dinner that seems too good to be true—minimal prep, a handful of ingredients, and only one pot to clean up afterward—so naturally lots of folks are skeptical.

To be fair, that’s totally understandable, because who among us hasn’t at some point been burned by a so-called simple recipe? Often they’re either not as much of a no-brainer as they seem or they really are that low-maintenance, but majorly lacking in the flavor or nutrition department. It’s no wonder so many have trust issues surrounding the topic.

For my part, I wasn’t really worried about how Meghan’s pasta recipe was going to taste because it wasn’t the first time I had encountered a dish like it. I’d already tried the version from Martha Stewart, as well as the original Italian dish known as pasta all’assassina (or, more cheekily, assassin’s pasta) which serves as the inspiration for both of those recipes. So when I first made Meghan’s one-pan pasta recipe, I knew that it would deliver on all the important culinary fronts: flavor, texture, and ease of preparation.

What I was worried about, though, was how it stacked up nutritionally. That’s because, aside from a few grams in the Parmesan, the recipe is noticeably lacking in protein, a macronutrient that greatly contributes to satiety. While I was pretty sure the dish would shake out deliciously, I had doubts that it would actually fill me up.

Generally, registered dietitians recommend shooting for at least 20 grams of protein for each meal, though the number can rise depending on factors like activity level, size, or muscle mass. Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, of Street Smart Nutrition, tells SELF that Meghan’s recipe likely comes in just under that, at an estimated 15 grams or so of protein per five-ounce serving. It’s hard to know for sure the exact nutritional profile, though, because Meghan didn’t provide specific ingredient measurements or serving sizes (and the versions online vary in small to large degrees), so keep in mind it’s just an estimation. That being said, odds are this dish isn’t going to leave everyone (myself included) feeling satisfied.

But the allure of a pasta dish that’s quick, easy, and tasty was too strong to move on from. So I got to thinking, What if there was a way to have my pasta—and plenty of protein too?

After all, Meghan’s one-pot pasta recipe was pretty simple, and the blueprint it was built upon is infinitely versatile. So I figured there had to be an ingredient that you could throw in with the others, one that required no additional work or lengthy cook times—a magic bullet, if you will, to round out this otherwise impressively easy dish.