Chicken Basil Pepper Pasta

This dish was flavorful, indulgent, and hit the spot. The Hero Bread elbow pasta was the key to making this keto-friendly for me and my macros, but can easily be made with your favorite low-carb (or regular) pasta!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5-1.75 lb chicken meat (I used chicken tenderloins)

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp Italian seasoning

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

ground pepper

red pepper flakes

1 box of pasta of choice (I used a box of Hero Bread elbow pasta)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

4-5 baby bell peppers, sliced or diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup basil, Julienned

1/4 cup tomato paste

1.25 cup chicken stock or white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

8 mozzarella cheese slices or can use 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (if desired for more cheesiness)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil a pot of salted water for pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain. Set aside.

2. Cut chicken into desired size pieces. I cut mine into bite size pieces, but you can easily leave them whole to cut later.

3. Season with 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Italian season, 1 tsp salt, and ground pepper. Ensure even coverage of chicken meat.

4. In a large, deep skillet, warm 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken and sear until golden brown and cooked through. If left whole, 4-5 minutes each side. If cut into bite sized pieces, stir periodically.

5. Remove chicken from the pan. Drain excess oil. Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock (or white wine) to deglaze the pan.

6. Once the liquid is nearly cooked off, add 2 tbsp olive oil, onion, baby bell peppers, and garlic cloves, cooking until softened. Stir in tomato paste, 1/2 of the basil, 1 tsp Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes (i used 1 tsp). Cook for 1 minute on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining stock/wine. When the liquid comes to a simmer, add the heavy cream and half the basil. Fold in the pasta so that it's coated with sauce and warming up again.

7. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Add additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

8. Place mozzarella cheese slices on top of the pasta. Cover with a lid and allow natural heat to slowly melt the mozzarella cheese.

9. Stir and top with chicken, then the remaining of the basil as garnish. (I chose to add the chicken and mix it all together before garnishing)

This recipe makes 4 servings.

MACRO INFO:

765 Calories, 45g Fat, 13g Net Carbs, 75g Protein