We study gravity coupled to scalar and fermion fields in the Einstein-Cartan framework. We discuss the most general form of the action that contains terms of mass dimension not bigger than four, leaving out only contributions quadratic in curvature. By resolving the theory explicitly for torsion, we arrive at an equivalent metric theory containing additional six-dimensional operators. This lays the groundwork for cosmological studies of the theory. We also perform the same analysis for a no-scale scenario in which the Planck mass is eliminated at the cost of adding an extra scalar degree of freedom. Finally, we outline phenomenological implications of the resulting theories, in particular to inflation and dark matter production.