This is yet another easy recipe that my son brought home from cooking class at school and I fell in love with! I’ve had many other lemon chicken pasta recipes in my life, but the creamy lemon flavor in this recipe was really spectacular, especially for such a simple recipe!
However, it was made with lots of heavy cream and not at all WW friendly! So I made it my mission to lighten it up and succeeded in cutting the WW points in this Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta in half. It’s now 10 WW smart points (blue plan), including the pasta!
Weight Watchers Pasta
My kids make a lot of really yummy recipes at school, but they’re not exactly Weight Watchers friendly. The butter chicken he made at school was also amazing but super high fat and high calories, so I turned it into Healthy & Weight Watchers Friendly Butter Chicken. And it’s become one of the most popular recipes on this blog. I anticipate that this Creamy Lemon Weight Watchers Pasta recipe is also about to join the ranks of my most popular WW recipes!
Creamy Chicken Pasta
When you’re trying to eat healthy, lose weight or simply maintain your weight, creamy chicken pasta is not usually a recipe that you turn to. But at the same time, who wants to give up creamy pasta to achieve their health goals? Not me! And that’s what I love about the WW program – I don’t have to…
If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you’ll know I’m a big proponent of the Weight Watchers (WW) program. I’m not a spokesperson, nor do I have any affiliation with Weight Watchers, I just happen to think it’s a great long-term lifestyle choice! I’ve been following the program for about 20 years, in almost all of its incarnations, and it’s helped me lose weight when I quit smoking, after 2 babies and during other periods of general overindulgence. But what I love most about it is that there are no special meals; you eat normal food. like everyone else. And you can make the same meals for your family (my family LOVED this recipe, by the way)! If you have never tried the program, I would highly recommend it. You can check it out HERE.
Lemon Chicken Pasta
This Lemon Chicken Pasta is not only creamy, it’s full of delicious, crunchy veggies, but it’s truly the fresh lemon that really makes this pasta sing!
Healthy Chicken Pasta recipes
This Healthy Chicken Pasta recipe was already healthy with the fresh lemon, peas and broccoli, but I lightened it up using Greek yogurt and light sour cream. But I can guarantee you that there was no flavor lost! Using frozen peas and broccoli makes it easier and more economical, but feel free to use fresh, if you desire.
This healthy lemon chicken pasta is quick and easy enough for a weeknight, but it’s also perfect for serving guests or feeding a crowd (just double or triple the recipe).
And if you’re looking for additional Weight Watchers friendly and healthy chicken recipes, then check these out:
Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes
Healthy Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 225 g dry penne pasta (1/2 of a 450 g package)
- 3/4 cup frozen or fresh peas
- 500 g - bag of frozen broccoli or 1 head of fresh broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.25 lbs chicken breast diced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp garlic minced or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup 0% fat yogurt
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp condensed milk
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Garnish
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Cook penne pasta as per package directions.
- Cook frozen green peas and frozen broccoli in microwave each for about 3 minutes. Set aside
- Cook chicken on stove top until done (no longer pink). and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Set aside.
- In large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add onions, stirring often, until onions are softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add chicken and Italian seasoning.
- Add reserved pasta water, stirring the entire time. Then add yogurt, garlic. salt and condensed milk. Add cornstarch and cook on med- low heat until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from heat, add in sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice. If it's not thick enough (consistency of gravy) return to medium low heat and gradually add a little more cornstarch, cooking until thickened.
- Add cooked peas and broccoli. Stir gently to combine. Serve over pasta.
Garnish
- Garnish with lemon wedges
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