This is the perfect weeknight meal for you lemon lovers out there. Lovely creamy lemon chicken pasta is made a little healthier by using fresh ingredients, and replacing the cream for creme fraiche. Yum!
We love creamy pasta dishes, and you can find other versions on the blog. Creamy fajita pasta with chicken is one of my favorite dishes, but there’s also pasta with broccoli and chicken, and salmon and creme fraiche pasta. All with reduced calories by using creme fraiche instead of cream.
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Ingredients for creamy lemon chicken pasta
Chicken breast fillets: This is the leanest cut of chicken. It cooks really fast in a pan, making it ideal for quick and easy weeknight dinners.
Pasta: Use your favorite! I’m a fan of whole wheat pasta, which has more fiber and is more filling, but you can use white pasta of any shape if you prefer.
Creme fraiche: This is the creamy base of our dish. Creamy pasta dishes are commonly made using heavy or double cream, but this version uses creme fraiche which reduces the calorie count.
Lemon juice: The main flavor component! Use freshly squeezed lemon if possible, but the condiment kind that you buy bottled works fine as well.
Dill: Dried dill is great with lemon, and really makes this dish something special. Can be substituted with thyme if you don’t have dill available.
Coriander: This garnish is completely optional, but it looks nice. The flavor also compliments the lemon very well.
How to make this dish
Boil some water in a pot, and cook your pasta according to package instructions. The rest of the dish takes approximately 10 minutes to cook. Ideally, you want the pasta and the chicken sauce to finish at the same time, or for the pasta to finish first. If you’re using regular, white pasta, you can start both at the same time. If using whole wheat pasta, leave the pasta to cook for a bit before you continue. Drain the pasta when it finishes, and leave it on the side while you finish the sauce.
Dice the chicken breast fillets. Heat some one calorie cooking spray in a large frying pan, then add the chicken and garlic. Leave it to cook while you stir occasionally until the chicken has cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the dill, lemon and salt and pepper. I usually use quite a bit of pepper in this dish; pepper and lemon are lovely together. Leave to cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the creme fraiche. Stir to combine the ingredients, and let it simmer for about 3 minutes until the sauce is warm and flavorful. That’s our creamy lemon sauce done.
Add the drained pasta to the creamy chicken sauce, and stir to coat the pasta completely. Allow the dish to rest, and make sure that the pasta has heated through in the sauce before plating up the finished creamy lemon chicken pasta to serve. Optionally, garnish with some fresh lemon slices and fresh coriander.
Side dishes
Creamy lemon chicken pasta don’t really need a side, but I like to add a little more vegetables to my meals. Try oven roasted green beans, or keep it simple with tomato and cucumber salad. Some nice buttered bread is also great with any pasta dish.
Tips for great results
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. This dish is not suitable for freezing.
- Whole wheat pasta takes longer to cook than white pasta, so if using you might want to let the pasta cook for a while before starting on the creamy lemon chicken sauce.
- This dish can be made dairy-free with a dairy-free or vegan creme fraiche substitute.
Creamy lemon chicken pasta
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 150 g pasta
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dill
- juice from 1 lemon
- lots of pepper, some salt
- 150 ml low fat creme fraiche
Instructions
- Boil some water in pot, and cook your pasta according to package instructions.
- Finely mince the garlic, and dice the chicken fillets. Heat some oil or cooking spray in a pan, and add both the garlic and chicken to cook until the chicken has cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the dill, lemon, salt and pepper. I go quite heavy on the pepper in this dish. Leave to cook for a minute.
- Add the creme fraiche. Stir to combine the ingredients, and let it simmer for about 3 minutes until the sauce is warm and flavorful. That's our creamy lemon sauce done.
- Add the drained pasta to the creamy chicken sauce, and stir to coat the pasta completely. Allow the dish to rest, and make sure that the pasta has heated through in the sauce before plating up the finished creamy lemon chicken pasta to serve. Optionally, garnish with some fresh lemon slices and fresh coriander.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. This dish is not suitable for freezing.
- Whole wheat pasta takes longer to cook than white pasta, so if using you might want to let the pasta cook for a while before starting on the creamy lemon chicken sauce.
- This dish can be made dairy-free with a dairy-free or vegan creme fraiche substitute.
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