THM Chicken Carbonara Recipe ~ Trim Healthy Mama S

My Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara Recipe has an unexpected protein hidden in it, low-fat cottage cheese. If you have any leftovers, you can heat them up in the microwave with a little bit of added water.

Today I’m sharing my Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara Recipe.  It has a hidden protein in it, that you’ll never guess. Cottage cheese.

Traditional pasta carbonara has eggs and pancetta in it.  But given the amount of bacon and grease, I changed this up to use cottage cheese. I like to add pan-fried chicken breasts or tenders to get even more protein.

But let’s talk about the pasta…

The Dreamfield Pasta Debate

There has been much debate on whether Dreamfields is really much different than regular pasta.

Apparently, there was even a lawsuit against Dreamfields.  In the end, Dreamfields was forced to change its label to remove “low-carb.”  I won’t go into all the details but you can read about the lawsuit here.

Still, I will say that we have been using Dreamfields for many years.  The flavor is great and it contains prebiotic fiber, which we could always use more of in our diet.

Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara Sauce

As I said before, traditional carbonara includes an egg mixed with hot pasta and fat from the pancetta.

To up the protein content, I use low-fat cottage cheese instead of egg.

However, I will say that if you prefer a more saucy carbonara, you can add some pasta water back into your cooked carbonara once you’ve melted all your cottage cheese.

It’s been many years since I first shared this recipe back in 2012.  Though we no longer follow THM, we still love this pasta dish for our entire family!

With all of that out of the way, let’s get to making some Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara!

Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara

My Trim Healthy Mama Chicken Carbonara Recipe has an unexpected protein hidden in it, low-fat cottage cheese. If you have any leftovers, you can heat them up in the microwave with a little bit of added water.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Chicken, pasta, trim healthy mama
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 464kcal

Ingredients

  • 13.25 oz. box angel hair pasta or spaghetti (reserve pasta water if desired)
  • ½ lb. bacon
  • 3 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
  • 1 tsp. onion powder or ¼ c. sauteed onions
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 c. low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1 tsp. basil, dried or 1 tbsp. fresh
  • ¼ c. parmesan, cheese grated
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a large frying pan, cook the cut-up bacon.  When crispy, remove the bacon but leave the drippings in the pan.
  • In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
  • Meanwhile, place the chicken in the same hot frying pan in which you cooked the bacon (that still has the grease).  
  • While the chicken is frying, sprinkle it with the onion powder (or add diced onions to the pan), basil, salt, & pepper.  Add the minced garlic to the pan when the chicken is almost finished frying.
  • Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, lower the burner temperature and remove the chicken to a plate.
  • By this time, the pasta should be done cooking so drain the water and add the pasta to the large frying pan that is full of all sorts of fried yumminess (the pasta picks up the flavors so this step is important).  
  • Stir the cottage cheese and previously fried bacon into the HOT pasta and mix well to incorporate.
  • If you'd like some more sauce, you can add a bit of pasta water back to your melted cottage cheese pasta mixture.
  • You can mix the chicken directly into the pasta (we do) or serve the chicken on top of your bed of carbonara.
  • Sprinkle with real parmesan cheese, more fresh basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition

Serving: 56g pasta and chicken | Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 481mg | Potassium: 81mg | Sugar: 1g

Oh, and if you’re looking for another THM-friendly recipe, you should check out my other Trim Healthy Mama Recipes.

Enjoy!