LEMONY CHICKEN PASTA
This lemony chicken pasta is a creamy pasta meal without cream! Chicken, mushrooms, snow peas and spinach combine with spaghetti in a delicious lemon and hummus sauce.
Who would have guessed that hummus makes such a moreish creamy pasta sauce? The hummus blends in nicely and you can barely taste it in the finished dish.
I got the inspiration for this meal from a delicious no-guilt broccoli fettuccine alfredo recipe over at Half Baked Harvest. I was very doubtful it would work, but ended up being pleasantly surprised! Give it a try and see for yourself!
LEMONY CHICKEN PASTA
A creamy pasta meal without any cream! The hummus blends in nicely and you can barely taste it in the finished dish. Give it a try and see for yourself!
Ingredients
CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS
- 450 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1lb)
- 250 g button mushrooms (8.8oz)
- 100 g snow peas (3.5oz)
- 80 g spinach (2.8oz)
- 1 tsp olive oil
PASTA
- 300 g dried spaghetti (10.6oz)
- 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup plain hummus (150g / 5.3oz)
- 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, divided (60g)
Instructions
PREPARE CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS
Dice chicken thighs and season with salt and pepper. Slice mushrooms and trim the ends off the snow peas.
COOK PASTA
Fill a medium-large saucepan two thirds full of water and bring to the boil. Add spaghetti and leave to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
COOK CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cook chicken until browned all over and virtually cooked through. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until softened. Stir through the snow peas and spinach, until spinach has wilted.
PREPARE PASTA INGREDIENTS
Zest the lemon and squeeze out 1 1/2 tablespoons of juice. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. Return the pasta to the saucepan. Stir in the butter, hummus, 1/2 cup of the pasta water, lemon zest, lemon juice and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Add extra pasta water, if required, to make a smooth, creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chicken and mushroom mixture.
SERVE
Serve pasta topped with cracked pepper and the remaining parmesan.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: Go for a Chardonnay.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use gluten-free spaghetti.
INGREDIENT SWAP: You can replace the snow peas with beans or broccoli. You could also use salmon instead of chicken (cook for less time), or make it as a vegetarian meal.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store individual portions in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave as required.
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2 Comments
I made this recipe sans chicken as a meatless-Monday meal. What an awesome combination of healthy ingredients and a great way to get your vege intake, especially in a pasta dish! My husband, who usually isn’t a fan of hummus, inhaled this dinner. The sauce was lovely and creamy and well balanced with the freshness of the lemon, and you could barely taste the hummus. As Y.U.M recipes serve four and there is just the two of us in our house, we had some left over for lunch the next day. I was super impressed at how well this reheated in the microwave – usually a creamy pasta would turn oily when reheated in the microwave, but this one stayed beautiful and creamy. Will defintely be making this one again! Quick, easy, and delicious!
Thanks so much for your feedback! So pleased to hear this worked well without the chicken, and that you enjoyed the pasta reheated too 🙂 It’s surprising how well the hummus works isn’t it?!