Monday's Menu:

Print the Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Pasta with Italian Chicken recipe here!

Happy Monday everyone! Welcome back from the weekend. I hope it was a relaxing one for you.

Today I'm sharing a recipe that is Whole 30 and Paleo friendly. You can easily make this recipe Vegan as well by skipping the chicken and perhaps adding some roasted vegetables to your pasta. I got creative with the "pasta" noodles using half of a carrot and half of a potato because I needed to save the other halves for another recipe. It's hard to tell though because the sauce itself it the same color as the carrot noodles. =)

The menu (Whole 30 and Paleo): Roasted red pepper & basil pasta with baked Italian chicken.

Shopping List: Serves 2

Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Sauce:

1 large or 2 medium red bell peppers
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp. pure almond butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp (fresh) basil

Spiralized Pasta:

1 to 2 large carrots, 1 potato, 1 sweet potato, 1 to 2 zucchinis, 1 to 2 parsnips, 1 turnip, or 1 daikon **you only need one vegetable of your choice, and perhaps 2 of them depending on the size of the vegetable to make "noodles"
1 tbsp. olive oil, optional/as needed

Italian Chicken

2 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground thyme
Salt

Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Sauce:

1) Turn on the oven to the broiler setting. Wash and slice the red bell peppers into halves, removing stems and seeds. Place on a greased, foil lined baking sheet and broil until blackened spots appear on the skin. Turn the peppers over until all sides have been blackened. Let them cool and remove the blackened skin.

2) Add the peppers and the rest of the sauce ingredients to the food processor and puree until the sauce is smooth and creamy. You may want to use less almond butter and more almond milk depending on the consistency you prefer.

Spiralized Pasta:

1) Wash the vegetable you've chosen to use for the "pasta", peel if needed. Cut off the ends to create a flat surface.

2) Place the vegetable onto the Spiralizer and using blade C (if you have a 3 blade spiralizer), turn the handle to create the noodles.

3) Saute in a nonstick pan with a little bit of olive oil, or if you have a Copper Chef pan you do not have to use oil if you do not want to.

4) As the chicken is finishing baking, add the sauce to the saute pan to warm it up with the noodles.

Baked Italian Chicken:

1) Preheat oven to 350* F

2) Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, ground thyme, Italian seasoning, and salt.

3) Place on a greased, foil lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Cut into the center to check for no pinkness before serving. Serve over the pasta.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe idea. Don't forget that you can get creative with it and puree in other vegetables like eggplant, or saute/roast vegetables to add to the pasta dish itself either with or without a protein. I think this pasta would pair well with a small steak or a piece of simple, grilled fish. I used the left over sauce to add to my scrambled eggs the next morning for a tasty and hearty breakfast to keep me full for a LONG time.

Please make sure to share this recipe and my blog if you've enjoyed it. There's only one way for me to continue to grow and that's by YOU sharing and helping me to spread the word! If you haven't signed up already, please subscribe below to receive the latest blog posts. I share a new recipe every Monday!

You can view my previous recipe posts here, and filtered to Whole 30 recipes here and Paleo recipes here. Note that most of the Whole 30 and Paleo recipes overlap, but on occasion some are truly Paleo and not Whole 30 allowed.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and productive week!

XOXO

Every Piece Fits