Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Name: Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 x chicken breast (approx 510g/17.5oz) , sliced in to tenders; 300g (10.5oz) of mushrooms, sliced thinly; 320g (11.28oz) of Penne pasta (or other pasta of choice); 1 shallot, finely chopped; 4 cloves of garlic, crushed; 2.5 cups of chicken stock; 8 tbs of low fat cream cheese (8 syns); salt and black pepper; spray oil; handful of fresh chopped Italian parsley, finely chopped

Mar 29, 2017 · 33 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta - Tender pieces of chicken breast with mushrooms and pasta all in a lighter creamy sauce.

You know how it is, you really crave a bowl of creamy flavoursome pasta, but tend to avoid it on Slimming World because anything with the word creamy in the title, tends to be high in syns.

However with a couple of Slimming World friendly ingredients it is really easy to create you favourite creamy style dishes and one of my favourites in this Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta.

I have to admit I love chicken and I love mushrooms. I already have this amazing dairy free Creamy Chicken and Mushroom which is delicious with this Roasted Cauliflower Rice and some greens of choice.

But for those of you that are not dairy free and want the pasta, then this is the dish for you.

Did you know you can saute mushrooms and pack them with flavour without having to add lots of oil or butter which is high in syns. A neat little trick I have been using for years now, is to gradually brown the mushrooms with some stock. As it reduces down you can keep on adding more, and the result is beautiful golden mushrooms that taste like they have been sautéed in butter. I use this method for saute many vegetables now, from onions, to green beans, even the a onion, carrot and celery mix which is the base for many of sauces and dishes.

To get the creaminess into the dish I use low fat cream cheese, adding this in with some stock until it reduces down into a lovely velvety creamy sauce is perfect. I use a similar method in this Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce. So I figured it would be perfect for pasta. If you want to make this syn free, swap out the cream cheese for something like laughing cow light triangles, of which you can have 5 as a healthy extra A choice.

Reserving some of the liquid from the cooked pasta and adding it into the sauce, is another great trick for pasta type dishes, the starch from the pasta water, really helps the sauce, not appear thin and watery. I do this even with tomato based sauces.

For this Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta, I find chicken breast works best rather than thigh meat. Hey this even tastes amazing with no chicken and all and just served as a mushroom pasta dish.

My kids love this, and devour a bowl with no complaints. A little grated parmesan added to the top if you have some extra syns spare takes it to a whole other level.

For some speed foods, serve with a mixed green salad.

You can also make this Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta gluten free, but using a gluten free pasta and stock of choice, my preference is brown rice pasta, as I find it to be the closest in taste and texture to regular pasta.

All in all and delicious pasta dish for the whole family, and one that is super easy to make too.

More Recipes to try

Looking for some more recipes to try? – Previously on Slimming Eats

Sweet Chilli Beef
Asian Chicken Meatballs
Slow Cooked Chicken
Chicken, Zucchini, Parmesan and Quinoa Bake
Bacon and Cheese Tortilla Espanola
Pizza Topped Baked Sweet Potato
Beef Lasagne

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value and smart points etc

LET’S CONNECT!

Find me ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER | and YOUTUBE, come and follow me TO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP UP TO DATE ON ALL NEW RECIPES.

You can also subscribe to Slimming Eats so that you never miss any new updates.

Need extra Support? Come check out my amazing Facebook Support Group

IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE, LET US KNOW! LEAVE A COMMENT, RATE IT AND TAG US IN YOUR PHOTOS @SLIMMINGEATS ON INSTAGRAM

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta - Tender pieces of chicken breast with mushrooms and pasta all in a lighter creamy sauce.

Ingredients

3 x chicken breast (approx 510g/17.5oz) , sliced in to tenders
300g (10.5oz) of mushrooms, sliced thinly
320g (11.28oz) of Penne pasta (or other pasta of choice)
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2.5 cups of chicken stock
8 tbs of low fat cream cheese (8 syns)
salt and black pepper
spray oil
handful of fresh chopped Italian parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

Cook pasta to al dente, reserve two ladles of the pasta water and then drain and set aside.
Spray a frying pan with some spray oil
Add the chicken pieces and fry until lightly golden on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Spray with a little more spray oil
Add the shallot, garlic and mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes.
Pour in a little stock and reduce down, keep repeating with a little stock, until the mushrooms are lovely and golden.
Whisk the cream cheese into the remain stock and reserved pasta water
Add to the pan with the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered until the sauce reduces down and starts to thicken slightly.
Add in the pasta and chicken and continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
Stir through the parsley.
Season well with salt and black pepper
Serve and enjoy

Notes

This recipe is gluten free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly

Slimming World - 2 syns per serving
WW Smart Points - 10 per serving
Gluten Free - use a gluten free pasta and stock
Syn Free Version: want to make this syn free? use laughing cow light triangles instead of cream cheese.

NOTE: Low fat cream cheese can vary in syns, so be sure to double check the syn value of the one you use.

SUITABLE FOR FREEZING

If you wish to share this recipe, then please do so by using the share buttons provided.

DO NOT COPY AND/OR PASTE FULL RECIPES OR SCREENSHOTS OF ANY CONTENT FROM SLIMMING EATS TO ANY SOCIAL MEDIA, IT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT ON SLIMMING EATS ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED.

Nutritional information, syn values, points etc are 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. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.

It is the responsibility of the Reader to assure the products or ingredients they use in any recipes from Slimming Eats are allergen-free (gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free and/or dairy-free, for example). Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatement about products, opinions or comments on this site.

Check Legal section, for Full Disclaimer, Disclosure and Privacy Policy.

More Recipes

Comments

hinh nen says

June 30, 2017 at 7:55 pm

I am so excited to try these recipes. I have wrote down a bunch and bookmarked your page just incase I lose the pages!! It all looks so good.
Sandra Webster says

January 05, 2018 at 7:54 pm

This is such a delicious recipe. Thank you
Sarah Caulton says

January 10, 2018 at 6:53 am

Hello, would you mind telling me how many ml is in a cup? Many thanks - Sarah
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

January 10, 2018 at 11:02 pm

Hi Sarah - 1 cup is 240ml 🙂
Marion says

January 13, 2018 at 12:07 pm

Love seeing all your recipes, must try the chicken & mushroom pasta, instead of using creamy cheese, could you use plain quark, which is syn free.
Many thanks
Alison says

January 16, 2018 at 2:41 pm

Can you freeze the chicken and mushroom pasta ?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

January 20, 2018 at 10:54 pm

Hi Alison, it is best eaten on the day of cooking, but all ingredients are fine to be frozen.
Julie says

February 05, 2018 at 10:42 am

Hi there this sounds great apart from the cream cheese is there an alternative.
Thanks
Julie
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

February 05, 2018 at 9:31 pm

You could use creme fraiche, cream, even coconut milk perhaps, but syns would need to be adjusted.
vanessa says

February 23, 2018 at 2:38 pm

Its nice but was abit too watery. I did follow all the measurements as well
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

February 23, 2018 at 3:13 pm

Hi Vanessa, glad you enjoyed it. It shouldn’t be watery. It sounds like you perhaps didn’t allow the sauce to simmer for long enough. As the sauce reduces down with the starch from the pasta water, it will become a light creamy sauce.
vanessa says

February 25, 2018 at 2:15 pm

I left it about 15 minutes
Katrina says

March 08, 2018 at 9:32 am

I made this last night and absolutley loved it x
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

March 08, 2018 at 2:58 pm

Hi Katrina - so glad you enjoyed it
Louise says

March 27, 2018 at 2:21 pm

I’ve used quark in mine and it’s separating... should I have used quark??
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

March 27, 2018 at 7:44 pm

the recipe states low-fat cream cheese, which is Philadelphia or a similar brand. Quark is more sour tasting and has a tendency to split when added to dishes like this. So is not recommended.
Lesh says

April 10, 2018 at 6:24 pm

Hi sorry is it 8 teaspoons of cream cheese or table spoons? Sounds lovely. I have also made sauces using the pasta water and it works brilliantly.
Carrie says

April 21, 2018 at 6:08 am

This was lovely and super quick. I used Philadelphia extra light and the sauce was really creamy, def worth the syns. I might add some trimmed smoked bacon next time. Daughter loved it! Thanks x
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

April 21, 2018 at 7:39 am

it’s 8 tablespoons. Enjoy!!
Ann says

April 23, 2018 at 9:28 pm

This was super-tasty! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Lisa Waters says

May 25, 2018 at 9:26 am

Tried this recipe with Philadelphia Light as my Healthy Extra, was a lovely dish. Really, really yummy.
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

May 25, 2018 at 6:16 pm

thank you Lisa, so happy you enjoyed it.
Leigh says

August 19, 2018 at 4:55 pm

Loving your recipes! Do you think this recipe would work using rice rather than pasta? I'm not a big pasta lover. Thank you
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

August 20, 2018 at 11:19 am

I am sure it would, enjoy!!
Vinny says

September 22, 2018 at 1:32 pm

Made it and loved it. Turned out perfect. This recipe is definately a keeper
patricia says

October 01, 2018 at 1:15 pm

Hi could you make this in the instant pot or a pressure cooker
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says

October 04, 2018 at 10:23 am

Hi Patricia, I am sure you could, but haven't tested it by that method yet.
Michael George Guffield says

April 02, 2019 at 6:26 am

Made it today, superb, thank you.
Sarah says

March 13, 2020 at 5:17 pm

Hi, just wondering how many stock cubes should I use?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says

March 15, 2020 at 10:55 am

It will depend on the brand you use. If you check the packaging it will tell you how many you need for how many mls. Hope that helps
Ana says

January 06, 2022 at 4:44 pm

Hi, please can you provide the link to order the book with all recipe?

Many thanks.
Ana
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says

January 09, 2022 at 12:56 pm

https://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/slimming-eats-cookbook
Jenny Flaherty says

November 04, 2022 at 10:52 am

Hi Siobhan, this recipe was so easy and very tasty, thank you. I used Phillidelphia extra light and it worked a treat
Your Instagram posts are easy to access the recipes are easy to find. Thank you

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

More Recipes to try

LET’S CONNECT!