Healthy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Healthy Cajun Chicken Pasta uses whole wheat pasta with Bella mushrooms, garlic, and pine nuts. The luscious Cajun sauce has no cream but is made with reduced-fat milk, whole wheat, Cajun spice mixture, and almond flour. The chicken tenders are marinated in lemon juice, and garlic. The chicken tenders are coated with whole wheat flour and bread crumbs and air-fried with olive oil. This pasta dish is diabetic-friendly, and will appeal to those of you looking for healthy meals without compromising the taste!
Equipment
- Stovetop, air fryer
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- 1 lb chicken tenders thin-sliced
- 4 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black peppercorn
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 lemon juice
For the chicken coating:
- 1 egg beaten
- ¼ cup reduced-fat milk
- 2 tbsp white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese grated (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil for air frying
For the pasta sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1½ cup reduced fat milk
- 4 tbsp almond flour
- 1 tbsp white whole wheat flour
- 3 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1½ cup bella mushroom sliced
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning optional
- 1 lb whole wheat penne al dente cooked
- 1 tsp Parmesan cheese optional for garnish
- 2 sprig thyme for garnish
Instructions
How to make the chicken:
- Prepare the ingredients for the chicken marinade and coating.
- Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for 10 minutes.For the coating, take each chicken tender and dip in the milk, then flour, and then the egg and lastly the breadcrumbs. Shake off any excess and coat the tenders on both sides and place them on a foil-lined baking tray. Drizzle olive oil and air fry them covered in foil at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken tenders over and air fry at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes without the foil on top.
How to make the pasta sauce:
- Prepare the ingredients for the pasta sauce.
- Heat a pan, add the olive oil, garlic and pine nuts and sauté for a few seconds on medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until browned on the edges.
- Push the mushrooms to one side of the pan. Add the milk and the almond flour and whisk them. Keep stirring the pan while adding the whole wheat flour, Cajun seasoning, and Italian seasoning until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Turn off the heat.
- Serve the pasta sauce on cooked whole wheat penne and place the air fried chicken tenders on the side. Garnish with thyme and grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- You could substitute white whole wheat flour with red whole wheat flour and almond flour with spelt flour.
- Silpat mats can be used if you want to cut down on the amount olive oil on the air-fried chicken tenders.
Nutrition
Calories: 793kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 49gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 587mgPotassium: 856mgFiber: 13gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1029IUVitamin C: 36mgCalcium: 208mgIron: 3mg
