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    Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach in a Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

    By Julia | Updated: Jun 24, 2018 | Published: Jan 21, 2015 | 15 Comments

    73.7K shares
    • Facebook1.2K
    Jump to Recipe Print SaveSaved!
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.

    I have a great recipe for you: Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach in a Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce.  It's a healthier version of a regular fettuccine alfredo: instead of the usual alfredo cream sauce this pasta is coated with creamy, silky, healthy, low-calorie, and low-fat cauliflower sauce - all made with healthy and natural ingredients!

    Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach in a Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce in all-clad skillet

     

    I made this dish for dinner one night, and my husband could not even tell that there was cauliflower in the sauce. He thought the dish was very flavorful - that's why you couldn't even tell there is cauliflower - all you can taste is lot of great flavors, such as sun-dried tomatoes and basil, wonderfully blended together in some sort of delicious creamy sauce.

    But we know it's not just "some sort of delicious creamy sauce" - it's healthy, low fat, low calorie, gluten free, made-completely-from-scratch creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce!

    Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach in a Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce in a large All-Clad skillet

    making cauliflower sauce in a food processor

    What's even better, you can make this creamy cauliflower alfredo sauce a day or two in advance, because it refrigerates really well and reheats beautifully too.

    making cauliflower alfredo sauce in a large skillet with a spatula

    Enjoy!

    4.34 from 3 votes

    Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach in a Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

    Healthier version of a regular fettuccine alfredo.  Low-calorie, low-fat cauliflower alfredo sauce mixed with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, spinach in this delicious chicken fettuccine pasta recipe. 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil , reserved from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes
    • 3 garlic cloves , minced
    • 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil from the jar
    • 1 lb chicken breast , thinly sliced
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1.5 teaspoon paprika divided
    • 3-4 cups spinach fresh
    • 1 cup cauliflower alfredo sauce
    • 1 cup reserved cooked pasta water
    • 1 tablespoon dried basil
    • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
    • 8 oz fettuccine pasta (for gluten free, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions 

    • Drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil and chop them into smaller bits. 
    • In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar) on medium-high heat and saute garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil), and thinly sliced chicken breast (lightly covered in about ½ teaspoon of paprika, for color) for 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through, turning it over a couple of times. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken and more paprika while cooking. 
    • Remove from heat. Immediately add fresh spinach, cover the skillet with the lid, and let everything rest off heat, until spinach wilts.
    • Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water - at least 1 cup (even though you will likely not use it all). Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
    • Add 1 cup cauliflower sauce and ¼ cup reserved cooked pasta water to the chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. Add 1 tablespoon basil, 1 teaspoon paprika, and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper. Mix with the sauce and add more salt and crushed red pepper if needed.
    • Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the creamy sauce, and stir to combine. 
    • At this point, you might have to add more reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once - you might need just a small mount). 
    • Again, taste and season the pasta with more basil and salt, if needed. Add more paprika if you want your sauce to have a nice red-ish color.
    • Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

    Nutrition Disclaimer:

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Keyword chicken with cauliflower sauce, healthy chicken pasta, healthy fettuccine alfredo
    « Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Recipe
    25 Easy Pasta Recipes: Delicious and Simple »
    73.7K shares
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    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Sue s

      November 12, 2024 at 7:24 pm

      Good flavor but my sauce broke. Followed directions so not sure why

      Reply
      • Julia

        November 12, 2024 at 11:23 pm

        Sorry to hear about that! It's one of my older recipes - it's time for me to review it and make a more current version and trouble-shoot it at the same time!!

        Reply
    2. Wendy Graham

      January 09, 2024 at 11:56 am

      It looks like some chopped green onion in this dish?

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 10, 2024 at 12:00 pm

        Wendy, yes, I topped this pasta with chopped green onion - so delicious! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Valeri

      May 11, 2015 at 7:50 am

      I made this last Friday for family, my cousin's husband recently had surgery to repair an aneurysm so he is looking for alternative ways to prepare meals and I felt this would fill that requirement. O M G. They called this "five star". It looked exactly like your photo in this link and everyone enjoyed it very much. We paired it up with a Caesar salad and some artisan bread. Just delicious! Thanks, I have never used cauliflower for anything and am personally not that fond of it myself but when I tasted that Cauliflower Sauce I know I will be able to use it for many flavorful meals to come.

      Reply
    4. Kathy

      April 05, 2015 at 9:41 pm

      Made this for dinner tonight, I was very skeptical of how the sauce would taste, I should not have been. This was one of the best meals I have made in a long time and that sauce was to die for. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

      Reply
    5. Rachelle

      February 17, 2015 at 7:37 am

      Do you have nutritional information?

      Reply
      • Valeri

        May 11, 2015 at 7:54 am

        I put this recipe into MyFitnessPal for 6 servings and got these results:

        Nutrition Facts

        Servings 6.0
        Amount Per Serving
        calories 388
        % Daily Value *
        Total Fat 9 g 13 %
        Saturated Fat 2 g 11 %
        Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
        Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
        Trans Fat 0 g
        Cholesterol 50 mg 17 %
        Sodium 651 mg 27 %
        Potassium 715 mg 20 %
        Total Carbohydrate 47 g 16 %
        Dietary Fiber 8 g 30 %
        Sugars 11 g
        Protein 32 g 64 %
        Vitamin A 56 %
        Vitamin C 131 %
        Calcium 15 %
        Iron 29 %

        Reply
    6. Matt @ Runner Savvy

      January 22, 2015 at 8:24 pm

      This looks so delicious!

      Reply
    7. sue|theviewfromgreatisland

      January 22, 2015 at 6:18 pm

      Of wow, that would keep me happy all week --- what a perfect mid winter comfort dish!

      Reply
    8. John@Kitchen Riffs

      January 21, 2015 at 11:35 am

      I love Fettuccine Alfredo, but if I eat too much, there's too much of me. 🙁 So I love the idea of subbing cauliflower sauce. Very creative -- thanks.

      Reply

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    Julia is the author of JuliasAlbum.com (a food blog focused on easy dinner recipes, pasta dishes, salads made with seasonal ingredients). In this photo, Julia is pictured wearing a yellow sweater against an Autumn background.

    Hi, I'm Julia!

    I am a full-time food blogger living in beautiful Colorado. I focus primarily on savory recipes (protein-based & fiber-rich main dishes, pasta, salads) using fresh & seasonal ingredients. A food blogger since 2012, I help home cooks create well-balanced and visually appealing dinners (many of which are 30-minute ONE-PAN meals). Find out more about me and my cooking philosophy. 

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