You know when you just throw what you have left in the fridge into a pan and hope for the best? Well that’s pretty much what I did with this recipe a few weeks ago. And I was pleasantly surprised when it tasted bloody lovely! and It’s now one of our favourites. Comfort food for me, is a big old bowl of pasta. And I love that I can enjoy this without all the guilt. This pesto pasta dish still tastes super creamy but with a lot less calories. It’s also super quick and easy to make and very family friendly!
Ingredients (Serves 4 but can easily be halved and is 3 syns per portion on Slimming World)
- 2-3 Chicken breasts, cut into chunks (you could replace this with any variety of sausages, bacon or even pork loin)
- Half a pack of mushrooms, cut into slices
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
- A handful of baby leaf spinach
- 1 tub of lightest Philadelphia
- 3 tbsps. of green pesto
- 300g – 400g Penne pasta depending on your usual portion size
Method
- Cook the penne pasta as normal
- Whilst your pasta is cooking, spritz a non stick frying pan with some fry light and cook your chicken over a medium to high heat
- Add in the onion, mushrooms and pepper and fry off until soft
- In a bowl mix together the Philadelphia cheese and the pesto, add 1 tbsp. of water to loosen the mix slightly
- Once your pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pan then mix in the chicken, onions, mushrooms and pepper mix followed by the spinach
- Stir the pesto Philadelphia sauce through the pasta then serve with lots of ground black pepper and a side salad / extra veg if you wish!
- ENJOY!
Harriet XO
9 Comments
Emily
Mmm I looovee chicken and pesto and pasta, they are a match made in heaven! The fact that it’s healthy as well is so good too 🙂
January 15, 2016 at 7:12 pmHarriet Lee
I totally agree! I think I was inspired by a dish I had in pizza express once but this is a much healthier version! Thanks for your comment Emily xo
January 18, 2016 at 9:21 amJasmine S.
Love when you’re able to throw together something awesome from the ingredients in your fridge. This chicken pesto pasta looks delicious!
January 15, 2016 at 7:19 pmHarriet Lee
Me too! Sometimes unplanned dinners turn out the best. Thanks for your comment xo
January 18, 2016 at 9:20 amCher|cherthatdish
Is totally know what you mean about throwing whatever’s left in the fridge together to make a dish… I have been doing that for the past week since its been raining and I have no motivation to head out in the rain to buy groceries, your pesto chicken pasta sounds delicious will keep this in mind XD
January 16, 2016 at 2:46 amAntonia Ludden
Had this tonight, it was lovely thanks!
January 25, 2016 at 8:12 pmHarriet Lee
So glad you liked it!! Xo
January 25, 2016 at 8:37 pmKimberley
Hi! could I ask, are the syns for the pesto and the cream cheese or are you using the cream cheese as heA? Ive made this a few times since finding your recipe and I love it! But I don’t use the cheese as my HeA so was wondering if I needed to add syns etc
Thanks! xxx
August 6, 2018 at 9:36 amHarriet
Hello! I thiiiiiink when I wrote it I used the syns for just the pesto and used my hex a for the cream cheese! I am about to give this post a revamp as have changed my method slightly and will take some better photos too. I shall amend the wording too about syns! Hope this helps xx
August 6, 2018 at 9:44 am