We love pesto sauce because it drastically changes the taste of any dish. Plus, it is very cheap and is highly nutritious! You can keep it for several days in the fridge and use it to season other dishes such as chicken.
Adding pesto to your dishes is a great way to get more garlic in your diet. While it might be smelly, garlic is one of the most potent examples we have of food as medicine. It has been used as years for its medicinal properties to treat many ailments.
Research shows that garlic contains anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been used to help treat diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and even cancer. It’s great for purging toxins out of the body. Plus, it tastes great when paired with olive oil and lemon juice.
Make sure you use fresh squeezed lemon juice, which is another powerful anti-inflammatory food. Lemon juice is not only sweet. It’s also a good source of antioxidant vitamins.
This recipe calls for zucchini, which is a great food to have on hand if you follow a low-carb diet because it can be transformed into just about any shape. For this recipe, you’ll be turning zucchini into noodles. You can do this by purchasing a vegetable noodle spiralizer or use a sharp knife.
Zucchini contains mostly water, so you’ll want to use salt to draw out the water and then drain it or else your dish will be soggy.
Unlike traditional pasta, you can serve this dish as-is without a side salad because the zucchini meets your vegetable needs. It’s also a great way to enjoy a pasta dish without feeling bloated afterwards or needing to take a nap!
How To
Start by preparing the sauce.
Wash and trim the stems from the basil leaves.
Add these to a blender along with the rest of the pesto ingredients and blend until smooth.
Wash and dry the zucchini. Use a vegetable spiralizer or a knife to make noodles out of the zucchini. Add the noodles to a bowl and sprinkle with salt to draw out the excess water. Let noodles sit for 30 minutes and then squeeze them out.
Chop the chicken and fry it in a pan in olive oil.
Chop the tomato and add it to the chicken.
Add the basil, season with salt, pepper and garlic and cook in olive oil in a stovetop pan over medium heat. Add paprika and continue to cook.
Then add the pesto sauce and zucchini noodles.
Stir until all ingredients are combined and serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil!
Keto Chicken Pesto and Zucchini Pasta
Ingredients
For the Pesto Sauce Cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup basil leaves fresh
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the Pasta
- 3 zucchini large
- ½ cup basil leaves fresh
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup tomato
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup chicken breast
- ½ cup bell pepper green
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Prepare the pesto sauce by washing the basil leaves, cutting off the stems, and putting them with the other ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until you get a homogeneous paste.
- Wash the zucchini and dry very well. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, make “linguine noodles” with the zucchini until you reach the seeds. Discard stems and seeds.
- Place the noodles in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for half an hour so that the zucchini loses its excess water. Gently squeeze the zucchini to drain excess water.
- Cut the remaining basil, green bell pepper and tomato.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken breast into small pieces, and season with salt, pepper and garlic. Put a nonstick skillet on medium high heat, drizzle with oil and brown the chicken on all sides.
- Add the paprika and cook for three more minutes. Finally, add the pesto and the zucchini linguine.
- Gently stir all ingredients. Serve hot with a little olive oil and topping with Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
