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You are here: Home / Dinner / Chicken / Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara

By Karina 4 Comments Filed Under: Chicken

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara

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 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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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 you can see here.

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 long ago….something about cream cheese in pasta.

But I couldn’t remember what?

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Lightened Up Chicken Carbonara

Weight Watchers: 12pp per serve!
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Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 375 g pack fresh pasta , (egg parpadelle or fettuccini)
  • 250 g short cut bacon , cut into strips
  • 700 g | 24oz chicken breast , cut into thick 2-inch strips
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic , crushed or minced
  • 1 x 250g tub/container reduced fat/fat free cream cheese (I used 5% fat), 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: 485kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 48.1g | Fat: 12.6g

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TERESITA NOWAK says

    July 24, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    This recipe was delicious and super easy to make! I added red chili flakes for a little kick.

    Reply
  2. Tara says

    June 08, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    5 stars
    This is our favourite carbonara recipe …. just about to eat it …. again!

    Reply
  3. Christina says

    January 18, 2015 at 3:12 am

    Loved this recipe! It was so so delicious! The only problem was that I ended up eating 3 servings of it…not so ‘light’ for this gal 😛

    Reply
    • Karina says

      January 23, 2015 at 7:41 am

      Hahaha, ssshhh, don’t tell anyone but me too lol. I mean, stopping at one is way too hard 😉 Xxx I so love that you enjoyed all three servings! Xxx

      Reply

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Welcome! My name is Karina and this is my internet kitchen hang-out. A self-confessed balanced foodie sharing some waistline friendly recipes that are full of flavour. Life is too short for bland and boring. …

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