Lightened-Up Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Grilled Chicken
A healthier take on a classic pasta dish, this lightened-up sun dried tomato pasta with grilled chicken is made with a greek yogurt based cream sauce and whole wheat pasta. It’s the perfect summer dinner for when a pasta craving strikes!
Sometimes, even on the hottest of days the mood for pasta will strike. But it’s hard to bring yourself to make a pot of spaghetti and meatballs or a heavy dish of creamy pasta alfredo. This Lightened-Up Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Grilled Chicken is the solution to all of your summer pasta woes.
In the summer we grill almost all of the meat we eat so adding grilled chicken to this pasta dish not only adds some protein, but also some summer flavor flare! It’s totally optional, but I definitely recommend it!
I chose to use a thin, whole wheat spaghetti as the noodle in this dish because 1. you cook the pasta in the pan so you want to use something that cooks quickly and 2. the whole wheat pasta has a little more nutritional value and seems lighter and more summery – right?!
The sun dried tomato sauce is heavenly, I want to put it on everything! It’s just 4 ingredients – sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, greek yogurt, fresh basil and tomato paste! Seriously SO good. If you aren’t into pasta you can skip it and smoother this sauce on your grilled chicken! But, really? Who isn’t into pasta?
Especially when it looks like this (insert drooling emoji here) !!!
Want to know the best part about this dish? Aside from the food processor to make the sauce, everything else is done in a large skillet. You even cook the pasta in it so you want to make sure you are using a large skillet – I used a 14-inch.
Once the pasta is cooked, you mix in the sauce with some milk and simmer everything together. It’s so flavorful and delicious!
Top your pasta with more sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan cheese!
Lightened Up Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Grilled Chicken
Description
A healthier take on a classic pasta dish, this lightened-up sun dried tomato pasta with grilled chicken is made with a greek yogurt based cream sauce and whole wheat pasta. It’s the perfect summer dinner for when a pasta craving strikes!
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2–3 breasts depending on size)
sea salt
1 8.5 oz can julienne cut tomatoes in olive oil
8 leaves fresh basil
1 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 large cloves fresh garlic, crushed
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1-pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup whole milk*
1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes (dry)
handful fresh basil (for garnish)
parmesan cheese (for garnish)
Instructions
Heat your grill to about 400°F
Sprinkle chicken breasts with sea salt
Grill chicken for about 6-8 minutes on both sides until cooked through (cook time depends on thickness of breasts)
Set grilled chicken aside
Open the can of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, set aside 2 tbsp of oil
Pour remaining oil and sun dried tomatoes into the bowl of your food processor
Add basil, greek yogurt, tomato paste and sea salt
Process on high until mixture is smooth, 1-2 minutes, set aside
In a large skillet** heat the 2 tbsp reserved oil over medium heat
Add the crushed garlic, sauté until garlic is golden brown
Add the chicken broth to the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high
Bring chicken broth to a boil
Reduce heat to medium and add the pasta, stirring consistently so the pasta does not burn cook for about 8 minutes until pasta is al dente and most of the broth has evaporated
Add the sun dried tomato sauce and 1 cup milk, stirring to coat all of the pasta, cook another 2 minutes, stirring
Reduce heat to a simmer and add the dry sun dried tomatoes, simmer for about 5 more minutes
Meanwhile, slice the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, fold into pasta
Remove from heat and serve, garnish with more fresh basil and parmesan cheese if desired
Notes
*you may need to add more milk to get it to your desired consistency
**I used a 14-inch skillet, I would recommend one at least that size or larger so your pan doesn’t boil over.
I really like the idea of this pasta dish, it’s so simple but i bet it packs such a great flavour.
Yes, it does! It has so much flavor!