One of the major struggles of moving into an NSNG lifestyle was that I was going to miss a lot of my ‘yummy’ foods – basically anything pasta! I made it a personal mission to convert my favorite pasta dishes to be NSNG. This is actually one of our son’s favorite dinners, and even our 9 quart Le Creuset (“Moby”) is empty after a couple days! (What are leftovers??)
There was one catch with alfredo sauce: just about all store-bought alfredo sauces had some form of sugar in them. I am finding, through my vain attempts at living this NSNG lifestyle, that sugar is very sneaky and finds itself in almost everything we eat – even when the label claims it’s ‘sugar-free’!
But that is a post for another day…
Therefore, I poured over several different alfredo sauces and pulled inspirations from one of my favorite cooks (Pioneer Woman) and some other delightful home chefs (like Jamielyn of I Heart Naptime) and altered my alfredo sauce to a taste and consistency fit for our family. It seems heavy, but with the amount of food you’re tossing to coat, it ends up being light and delish! Enjoy!
Recipe: NSNG Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Serves 6-8, unless you have an 8-year-old then it’s more like 3.
Tools:
- Large pot
- Large Dutch Oven, or nonstick pot
- Whisk
- Colander
Ingredients:
- Sauce:
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), softened or room temperature
- 8 oz. cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
- 2 C. of heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 tsp. garlic powder OR minced garlic
- ¼ tsp. of Italian seasoning
- Pinch each, Salt+Pep
- 8-16 oz. parmesan, shredded or freshly grated
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Pro tip: Go for the full bag for extra thick and cheesy sauce!
- Dish:
- 16 oz. of chicken, cooked and sliced
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Pro tip: You can also use 1 bag (16 oz.) of Perdue Carved, Grilled Chicken Breast for a quicker dinner prep!
- 12 oz. of broccoli florets
- 10 oz. of grainfree pasta (my favorite is Lensi’s Yellow Lentil Pasta!)
Instructions:
- Fill your large pot with water, add a little bit of salt, and add to stove on High.
- While waiting for the water to boil… Work on your sauce!
- Heat your Dutch Oven on medium low heat.
- Melt down the butter and whisk in the garlic.
- Cut in cream cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Gently whisk in the heavy whipping cream to avoid lumps.
- Add Italian seasoning and Salt+Pep, and stir.
- Bring heat to a light boil and then immediately bring down to simmer for the next 5-8 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering, add pasta to the boiling water.
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Pro tip: Non-grain-based pasta cooks much faster than grain-based pasta! Be sure to read the instructions on the box, and I even suggest pulling it off the heat a minute or so earlier so the pasta is al dente when you add it to the sauce!
- Add the broccoli to the boiling pasta water when you have only have about 2-3 minutes left for the pasta so they finish cooking together.
- While the pasta and broccoli finish, add the parmesan to the simmering sauce and fold in with the whisk until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened.
- Fold chicken into the sauce and lightly stir.
- Drain the pasta and broccoli and immediately add to sauce.
- Gently stir the pasta, broccoli, and chicken so all ingredients are integrated and covered in the sauce.
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Pro tip: If the sauce is very thick, you can add a little more whipping cream or leftover pasta water to thin. The sauce WILL thicken as the meal sits!
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