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This was one of those recipes that I threw together one night attempting to use only ingredients I had already. Luckily as a food blogger, I tend to always have the pantry staples at hand! Curious what those are? Check out my post on Pantry Staples from Trader Joe’s!
Ok, so back to the Chicken Parmesan.
Traditional Chicken Parmesan is made with fried chicken, mozzarella cheese, linguini noodles and of course, marinara sauce! My version here on Cook It Healthier takes all those delicious traditional elements but makes them, you guessed it, healthier!
In this version I used baked breaded chicken tenders from Trader Joes, Banza Chickpea Pasta
For this recipe, here’s what you will need:
To start, you'll want to cook the Banza chickpea pasta according to the package instructions. Once it's cooked and drained, you'll add it to a saucepan with the oil and garlic over medium heat.
While your pasta cooks, go ahead and heat up your oven and follow the instructions to bake the Trader Joe's Chicken Tenders!
In your saucepan with the pasta, oil and garlic, add in the crushed tomatoes and all the seasonings. Stir together for 2-3 minutes until combined. Then add in the can of diced tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir once.
Now you will add in the fresh chopped basil and lemon juice! The lemon is optional, but I think it really brightens up the flavor profile just enough to make each flavor stand out and pop! Stir together and turn down the heat to low.
Once the chicken tenders are finished baking, turn your oven on broil. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese over each tender and if you're using the basil pesto, dollup it on top of the mozzarella. Pop the tenders back in the oven under the broiler for about 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly!
Add the tenders to your sauce pan and get ready to ENJOY!
Serving Size 1/2 cup pasta + 1 chicken tender
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 350
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 13.9g22%
- Saturated Fat 4.9g25%
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 50mg17%
- Sodium 597.8mg25%
- Total Carbohydrate 35.3g12%
- Dietary Fiber 6.2g25%
- Sugars 6.8g
- Protein 25.6g52%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
To start, you'll want to cook the Banza chickpea pasta according to the package instructions. Once it's cooked and drained, you'll add it to a saucepan with the oil and garlic over medium heat.
While your pasta cooks, go ahead and heat up your oven and follow the instructions to bake the Trader Joe's Chicken Tenders!
In your saucepan with the pasta, oil and garlic, add in the crushed tomatoes and all the seasonings. Stir together for 2-3 minutes until combined. Then add in the can of diced tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir once.
Now you will add in the fresh chopped basil and lemon juice! The lemon is optional, but I think it really brightens up the flavor profile just enough to make each flavor stand out and pop! Stir together and turn down the heat to low.
Once the chicken tenders are finished baking, turn your oven on broil. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese over each tender and if you're using the basil pesto, dollup it on top of the mozzarella. Pop the tenders back in the oven under the broiler for about 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly!
Add the tenders to your sauce pan and get ready to ENJOY!