Light & Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

With the new year comes new goals and for me, a desire to make over classic recipes with a better-for-you twist. Since my entire family is on a mission to be more conscious of what we eat this year, I’ve been rethinking the way that I make some of our favorite dishes. While I never want to completely do away with a family-favorite recipe, I’m learning that by making simple substitutions I can create dishes that satisfy our taste buds and banish the guilt. With this idea in mind, I’ve been spending time experimenting in the kitchen; making switches like greek yogurt for heavy cream, Mazola® Corn Oil for butter and spinach to cut down on the serving size of my pasta. You see, I’ve done a little research. A clinical study showed Mazola® Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than that extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, see Mazola.com. With these numbers in mind and a mission of making satisfying yet wholesome meals as my goal, I was able to create a better-for-us version of one of my favorite dishes. This Light and Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is a 30-minute weeknight meal that boasts all the taste but will less of the guilt!

Now, I’ll admit that I’ve been making fettuccine alfredo for as long as I can remember. With its rich taste and filling pasta, it’s a dish that has been on my weekly meal plan rotation for quite some time. However, with our goals to be more conscious of what we eat in the new year at the front of my mind, I was thinking this family favorite recipe might have to go back into the cookbook. However, after a little experimentation, I discovered the perfect way to lighten up this amazing dish and the best part is, I didn’t substitute a bit of the flavor! Here’s how I did it!

What You Will Need

3 Tablespoons of Mazola® Corn Oil

2 Teaspoons of Minced Garlic

1 Cup of Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

1 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano

1 Pound of Chicken (Can Use Pre-Cooked for a Quick & Convenient Meal)

2 Cups of Fresh Spinach

6 Ounces of Fettuccine Noodles

How to Make It

First, let’s get one thing out of the way….yes, Fettuccine Alfredo can be a time consuming dish to make! But with my easy recipe and simple substitutions, this delicious dish can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes (wow, right?). To start, I cooked my pasta according to the directions on the package, drained it retaining 1/2 cup of pasta water, and set it to the side.

Next, I added one tablespoon of Mazola® Corn Oil to my sauté pan and poured in my chicken. (Note: You can use fresh chicken cubed or pre-cooked chicken for this step. Using fresh chicken will add about ten minutes to your recipe time.)

After cooking my chicken just long enough to make sure it was warm and completely cooked, I poured it into a bowl, wiped out my sauté pan and prepared to make my sauce. To create my sauce, I added my remaining two tablespoons of Mazola® Corn Oil to my pan in the place of the butter that I traditionally use. Since this cooking oil is made of 100% pure oil with no additives, I knew it wouldn’t affect the flavors in my sauce! It’s neutral taste was a perfect base for the ingredients I would be adding, ensuring that I wouldn’t end up with an oily sauce or one that masked the flavors that I really wanted to shine.

After adding my cholesterol free Mazola® Corn Oil, which has become a healthful tradition in America, to my pan, I added in my minced garlic, turned my heat on medium-high and cooked my garlic in the oil for about two minutes.

With a smoke point that is higher than most cooking oils at 450 degrees, I didn’t have to worry that my food’s flavor would be negatively affected by the heat. Instead, I was able to focus on cooking my garlic perfectly so that I had a flavorful base for my alfredo sauce. As soon as my garlic began to brown, I removed my pan from the heat and added in my reserved pasta water, my Greek yogurt and 3/4 of the cup of my parmesan cheese and whisked it all together to form a creamy sauce.

As soon as my sauce was the consistency I wanted (after whisking it for about three minutes) I added in my oregano and stirred it all together to create my flavorful finished sauce.

With my sauce ready, I grabbed my drained noodles and added them back in, tossing them in the alfredo sauce until they were completely covered.

Next, I immediately poured in my cubed chicken and tossed it with my noodles and sauce as well.

Now, I know I could have stopped here with my Light and Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and it would have been amazing but I wanted to take things to a whole new level and create a complete meal (as well as making each serving a little lighter on the carbs) so I placed my prepared Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo back onto the stove on low heat and added in two cups of raw spinach.

With the heat on, I slowly mixed in spinach into my Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, allowing the spinach to wilt and the sauce to re-warm. In just five short minutes, I had an entire dish that looked amazing and was a light and fresh new twist to a classic recipe that I love.

After sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over the top of my dish, I served it up to my waiting family and let me tell you, this dish did not disappoint!

With the slight tang of Greek yogurt paired with the bold taste of garlic and the unmatched flavor of Parmesan cheese, my Light and Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is a hit in my home each and every time I make it!

I love that by simply switching out a few ingredients and using Mazola® Corn Oil as the base, I’m able to create a fresher and lighter version of this family favorite that I can feel great about serving!

Are you ready to rethink the way you cook in the new year and find new ways to give favorite recipes a delicious makeover? Start by looking for Mazola® Corn Oil at a retailer near you today! This oil performs well in a variety of cooking applications included stir-frying, sautéing, grilling, baking and more is a great way to give your favorite dishes a tasty and guilt-free makeover!

So don’t wait! Try Mazola® Corn Oil in your cooking today! Now tell me, what dish will you reinvent by making the Mazola® Corn Oil switch?