Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara

 A lightened up and low fat version of the classic Carbonara pasta dish, including tender chicken breast pieces with crispy bacon strips, so we can eat and enjoy with no guilt — ok, well maybe only half the guilt. But you get what I mean.

I’ve been asked a few times on Instagram to make a Carbonara. So this one has been in the making for a while. And I was just about to turn to evaporated milk, but honestly, I don’t like creamy sauces with that stuff. I just.don’t. It tastes too fake, and I like thick and heavy cream.

So how do I do this? How is this lightened up exactly? Well. No heavy cream. Not as much cheese. And hooray for no evaporated milk nor cornflour! Because I wanted the real deal.

Keeping with the Carbonara flavours, this pasta dish was insane.

The trick was cream cheese. Yes I know! Cream cheese! Not just for cheesecakes and parfaits — which, by the way, I’m a total fan of.

As I contemplated exactly how does one lighten up carbonara, I remembered an olllllllld magazine article I read so long ago, like when I had braces and thought wearing my pants backwards was totally cool…. something about cream cheese in pasta.

But I couldn’t remember what?

So anyway, I pulled out some dusty old Italian cookbooks I have here, like 2 year old ones….held my breath and started creating something so beautiful and so creamy while trying to stick to my low in fat but still incr-edible rule, and this.just.kicked.my.ass.

Face-planting was easy. Because adding chicken into a pasta dish like this means fewer carbs consumed, while needing to unbutton a button or two of those backward pants. And whenever I order carbonara, I order it with chicken.

So I had to do what was right, and make it exactly how I like it. Just without the guilt that usually comes after.

And yes, if you’re worried about the eggs being all slimy and ‘raw,’ (like I was and became a complete eggy snob reading through the cookbooks) I can assure you that they cook perfectly through into such a perfect cream sauce with the heat of the chicken and bacon. Trust me.

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5 from 1 vote

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara

By Karina

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6

A lightened up and low fat version of the classic Carbonara pasta dish, including tender chicken breast pieces with crispy bacon strips, so we can eat and enjoy with no guilt!

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Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 12 oz pack fresh pasta egg parpadelle or fettuccini
• ▢ 8 oz short cut bacon cut into strips
• ▢ 24 oz chicken breast cut into thick 2-inch strips
• ▢ 1 medium brown onion finely chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves fresh garlic crushed or minced
• ▢ 8 oz reduced fat/fat free cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 cup reserved pasta water + 1/2 cup extra just in case

Instructions 

• Cook pasta following packet instructions for about 8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta and return to the pot/pan, reserving 1 cup of water for later.
• While pasta is boiling, whisk cream cheese and eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and lump free. Add the parmesan and set aside.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add onions and bacon. Fry until bacon is crisp (about 6 minutes). Add the garlic and chicken, and cook until chicken is cooked through.
• Reduce heat and pour cream cheese/egg mixture into the pan while stirring quickly and gently to distribute evenly throughout the chicken. Continue to stir gently for a further minute while adding the reserved water (1/4 cup at a time) until sauce has cooked and thickened.
• Add the sauce into the pot of pasta, and toss gently until pasta is evenly coated. (Slowly add the extra water if necessary).

Notes

Please note: no salt was needed to season this carbonara as the bacon releases enough salt with a great flavour, however, feel free to add salt to your tastes if you need.

Nutrition

Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 198mg | Sodium: 1.372mg | Potassium: 763mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 222IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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