RecipesDinner
Dinner
Creamy Protein Alfredo with Chicken
Sliced grilled chicken over fettuccine in a garlic and parmesan sauce blended from cottage cheese, finished with black pepper and parsley.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15min
- Cook
- 20min
- Total
- 35min
Programs: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Lean Bulk and Recomp, Maintenance, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol
Per serving
- Calories
- 684kcal
- Protein
- 69.5g
- Carbs
- 66.6g
- Fat
- 14.6g
- Fibre
- 3.4g
Ingredients
For 4 servings · MetricUS
- 4chicken breastsone per serving
- 500glow-fat cottage cheeseblended smooth
- 60gparmesan, finely gratedplus extra to serve
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 150mlpasta water, reservedstarchy, added gradually
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 320gfettuccine or spaghettidry weight
- 1 tspblack pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 tbspfresh parsley, choppedto finish
- saltto taste
- 4chicken breastsone per serving
- 16 ozlow-fat cottage cheeseblended smooth
- 2 ozparmesan, finely gratedplus extra to serve
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2/3 cuppasta water, reservedstarchy, added gradually
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 11 ozfettuccine or spaghettidry weight
- 1 tspblack pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 tbspfresh parsley, choppedto finish
- saltto taste
Method
Cook the chicken.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and season both sides with salt and black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a griddle pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until cooked through and lightly charred. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice.
Blend the sauce base.
While the chicken cooks, tip the cottage cheese into a food processor or blender with the garlic and 60ml (1/4 cup) of the pasta water (use plain water at this stage if the pasta isn't in yet). Blend for a full 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides once, until completely smooth with no trace of curds. This step is what makes the sauce work, an under-blended sauce turns grainy in the pan.
Cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to pack instructions until al dente. Scoop out the reserved pasta water before draining.
Warm the sauce.
Return the empty pasta pot to low heat and pour in the blended cottage cheese mixture. Warm it gently, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep it below a simmer, a hard boil is what makes a dairy-based sauce split.
Stir in the parmesan a handful at a time until melted through.
Combine and serve.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, loosening with splashes of the reserved pasta water until the sauce runs silky and clings to the strands.
Divide the pasta between four bowls, top each with sliced chicken, and finish with black pepper, a little extra parmesan and the chopped parsley.