RECIPE| Healthier Creamy Chicken Piccata with Quinoa Pasta

I’ll say it once, and i’ll say it again… LEMON is my favorite ingredient. So when I have a recipe that has a strong lemon presence, then i’m excited.

Honestly, I had never tried or even heard of Chicken Piccata prior to about 10 months ago. I was over at a friend’s house for dinner and she was fixing Chicken Piccata. I was SOLD. What a tasty pasta dish. Plus, my friend Charlotte is a great cook, so she made it very well.

A pasta dish that has a non-tomato sauce is usually my favorite too, so it’s no surprise that Chicken Piccata is my go-to pasta dish now. I’ll caution you though before you embark upon this recipe journey, mentally prepare yourself and clear out your dishwasher because you will use a lot of dishes!

Ok, now that I have warned you, let’s get started on cooking our healthier Chicken Piccata.

Here are a few of the main ingredients needed for the recipe. Here’s the full list and measurements for you at the top of the post. I get so annoyed by the blogs who put it all the way at the bottom. (I’m in digital marketing too, so I get why they are doing it #affiliatelinks but it also annoys me.)

–I N G R E D I E N T S

• 1.5 lbs. chicken tenders
• 2 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3 tbls. plain low fat greek yogurt (I prefer Siggi’s)
• 2 fresh lemons (use 1 for the juice in the sauce and the other for the slices)
• 4 tsp. drained capers
• 2 tbls. olive oil
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, other spices for the flour that you like
• 1 large onion (chop half for the sauce)
• 1.5 tbls. minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (add half in the sauce at the very end, use the other half for garnish)
• Qunioa pasta (the brand in the photo above has been great tasting, but it falls apart very easily. Feel free to use whatever pasta you would like, but the nutrition info. in MyFitnessPal is based on this quinoa pasta)

Anyways, here’s the full Not pictured is the 1.5lb. of chicken tenders, low sodium organic chicken broth, plain Siggis yogurt cup, coconut flour, olive oil and garlic.

Now, traditional Chicken Piccata isn’t all that unhealthy of an Italian dish. It’s made with a lot of butter and not actually served with pasta. So when I say that my recipe is ‘healthier’ i’m saying that in a relative manner.

I’m calling this a ‘healthier’ version of a Creamy Chicken Piccata for a few reasons.

1. I use chicken tenders because they are easier to portion out into 3oz. protein portions (plus they are easier to cook and not dry out)
2. The pasta portion that I pair with it is quinoa pasta, but I also want to try the organic chickpea spaghetti from the photo above. (I’m always on the hunt for pasta-alternatives. Please let me know if you have any you love!)
3. I’m not using any butter OR heavy cream for the sauce.
4. I am substituting coconut flour for regular flour on the chicken. This officially makes the recipe gluten free, plus it adds a lot more nutrients that you wouldn’t get from just traditional white flour. Click the link above to read more on the differences in coconut flour vs. regular grain flours.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming…. here’s how to make the recipe.

–I N S T R U C T I O N S

The Chicken

Step 1: This recipe kicks off 24 hours before you’re going to actually make the dish. MARINATE! I use the low-fat zesty Italian dressing as a marinade on all my chicken. It makes them have a really delicious flavor. Though, one of my goals is to create my own marinades that I can use just as easily. TBD on that. For now, I’m going for the easy + tasty. You can of course use whatever your go-to marinade is and it will be just as good!

Step 2: Now you’re ready to get cooking. First step is to turn your oven on to 375 degrees. Get out your chicken that has been marinating and prepare your coconut flour. I add in garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper and a special spice mixture I got from a local market called Citrus Pepper from C & J Farms.

Step 3: Take the chicken tenders and lightly dredge them through the flour mixture and set them all on a plate. I do a very light coating, almost a dusting of flour. The purpose of the flour on the chicken is to act as a flavor carrier. Suck up all the delicious flavors of the Piccata sauce!

Step 4: Heat a pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Just before you are ready to put your chicken in, add a 1/2 Tbls. of minced garlic. Then start adding your dredged chicken tenders to the skillet and brown the outsides (2 minutes per side or less). Then place on a baking sheet to go in the oven to complete cooking through. Pop all your chicken tenders in the oven for 12-15 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Step 5: Start preparing your noodles according to the box. This is especially important if you use the different pasta alternatives. Quinoa, chickpea, vegetable…. they all will cook differently.

THE SAUCE

Step 1: Chop your onion. I use half the onion. Once you’ve got it all chopped, add another 1/2 Tbls. of olive oil to the pan you just browned the chicken in and toss in your onions to soften. Stir and brown those for about 6 minutes. Then you’ll add 1 Tbls. of minced garlic.

Step 2: Now you can mix in the chicken broth, capers, lemon juice and the yogurt. Bring this all to a simmer. I like to add in additional lemon slices at this point because, again, I love me some lemon, but you do you at this stage.

Step 3: This is whatever your preference is on how you want to plate it, but some like to put the fully cooked chicken back in the sauce pan to soak up the flavors. I prefer to drizzle the sauce over my chicken and pasta on the plate.

Annnnd you’re done! Enjoy.

For those of you who would like the nutrition facts, I have uploaded this recipe to the #cookithealthy MyFitnessPal page. But here’s the breakdown for those of you not on MFP.

xoxo Ashley