Syn Free Fajita Chicken Pasta – all the best part to fajita’s made Slimming World friendly.

I love fajita’s – I think it is all the different components – the seasoning and flavours, the grilled meat, onions and peppers, then all the amazing toppings from soured cream, to cheddar and cilantro.

But then there are the flour tortillas that are not exactly Slimming World friendly. There are some tortillas/wraps that qualify as a HEb, but one tortilla is never going to cut it for me when I fancy tortillas, so this  Fajita Chicken Pasta is a perfect way around that.

Serving with pasta is a great way to enjoy this dish without the guilt. You still get to have some of those amazing toppings, but without breaking the daily syn bank. Actually, I enjoy this just as much, if not more.

For this Fajita Chicken Pasta – I have used chicken breast, as that’s what I had at the time, but beef strips would work just as well, or if you are vegetarian, just a delicious mix of vegetables with the seasoning would be perfect too.

The first part is the seasoning for the chicken. I add all the spices to my Cuisinart Mini Food Processor, so it makes an amazing Fajita Paste. I use olive oil for the paste or spray oil if I really want to keep this syn free. I also add a little bit of sukrin gold (a natural sweetener with no aftertaste).

Once the paste is made, add it to a bowl with the chicken (or other protein of choice) and mix to marinate well and then I cover and refrigerate for a few hours, for the flavours to really get absorbed into the meat. You could make this up in the morning, and then it will be ready to cook at dinner time, or even prepare the night before and leave it marinating until ready to be cooked.

To brown the meat once ready, just use a frying pan or skillet sprayed with a little spray oil and add in the meat, searing until lightly browned.

Remove and set aside and then you can add the vegetables and saute for about 4-5 mins.

Then the meat can be added back pan to combine altogether before adding the remaining ingredients and cooked pasta of choice:

Make sure you reserve a little of the pasta water. This is a really good tip when making any kind of pasta dish. Adding a little pasta water to the sauce or pasta dish, really makes it lovely and silky, from the starch that is released into the water from the cooked pasta.

Once it is all done, I  sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and rather than plate up, I like to serve this as a platter in the middle of the table, with various toppings like cheddar, soured cream (or fat free Greek yoghurt with a little lemon juice if you want a syn free option), chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeno’s if you like spicy, chopped avocado (for a few syns). That way it is a build your own fajita chicken pasta bowl – delicious.

You can also serve with a big fresh mixed salad for some additional speed foods.

My kids love this, it’s one of their fav pasta dishes. I think the love the idea of a help yourself kinda meal, it encourages them to eat things they normally wouldn’t too, as it is up to them what they put on their plate. I highly recommend this if you have any fussy eaters in your household.

Love this pasta dish? check out some of these delicious pasta recipes:

• One Pot Chicken and Asparagus Pasta
• One Pot Speed Pasta
• One Pot Beef Fajita Pasta
• One Pot Creamy Zucchini Pasta
• Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
• Sloppy Joe Pasta Bake
• Pulled Pork Pasta Bake
• Quick Mac and Cheese
• Creamy Garlic Pasta
• Best Ever Bolognese Pasta Bake
• Chicken Bacon and Tomato Pasta Bake
• Beef Lasagne
• Spicy Mexican Chicken Lasagne

or check out my FULL RECIPE INDEX for over 500+ delicious Slimming World recipes

Topped with cheddar, cilantro and sour cream this Syn Free Fajita Chicken Pasta is amazing!!! – yum!!

Yield: 4 serving

Syn Free Fajita Chicken Pasta

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This recipe is gluten free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly Extra Easy - syn free per serving (or 0.5 syns when using olive oil)WW Smart Points - 9 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 300g (10.5oz)  of uncooked penne pasta (can use a gluten free option)
• 2 chicken breasts (approx 500g/17.5ox) , sliced into strips (or you can use beef or pork)
• juice of a small lime
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 jalapeno pepper , finely chopped (seeds removed)
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 2 teaspoon of sukrin: gold (or other sweetener of choice)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil (2 syns) - or use spray oil to make this completely syn free
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne (optional) - omit if you don't like it too spicy
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 courgette (zucchini), halved lengthways and sliced
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• spray oil
• fresh chopped coriander (cilantro)

Instructions

1. Add to a mini food processor the lime juice, cumin, jalapeno, cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, sukrin gold, olive oil (or spray oil), crushed garlic and a little salt and blitz a few times until you have a paste. Add to the chicken and mix to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate for a few hours to marinade.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and set aside (reserving some of the pasta water)
3. Spray a frying pan with some spray oil, over a medium high heat. Add the marinated chicken mixture and cook stirring occasionally until the chicken is browned, remove the chicken and set aside.
4. Add the peppers, onion,and courgette (zucchini) and stir constantly until the vegetables are nice and tender, but still crisp.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan
6. Add the tomato paste and a few spoonfuls of the reserved pasta water. 
7. Add the cooked pasta and mix together thoroughly, adding a little more of the reserved pasta water until the sauce lightly coats all the pasta and is heated through.
8. Season as needed with salt and black pepper and top with some fresh chopped coriander.
9. Serve in the middle of the table with a mixed salad and choice of toppings (soured cream, cheddar (HEa), avocado (syns), chopped tomato, chopped jalapeños, chopped cilantro etc and build your own fajita chicken pasta bowl, dig in and enjoy.

Notes

This can be made totally syn free using spray oil, or just 0.5 syns per serving if you use the olive oil. 1/2 a syn isn't really anything to try and skimp on, but if you just can't do without a syn free recipe, then feel free to make that adjustment. 

For a syn free alternative to soured cream - mix some fat free Greek Yoghurt with a little fresh lemon juice and salt. 

Remember to syn any toppings you decide to add which are not free, and count any healthy extra's if you add cheese. 

Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.

Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also double check syn values of sinned ingredients as different brands can vary. 

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 serving (without toppings)
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 469 Total Fat: 3g Saturated Fat: 0.2g Cholesterol: 70mg Sodium: 180mg Carbohydrates: 69.2g Fiber: 6.4g Sugar: 3.3g Protein: 37.7g