Spring Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe got rave reviews from the whole family, especially enjoying the cream sauce. It is such a velvety sauce that takes very little effort but comes out with so much great flavor. The carrots add a note of sweetness to the sauce and it’s balanced out by the saltiness of the parmesan cheese. This recipe for Spring Chicken Spaghetti is a lovely change of pace for your weeknight meals.

Don’t worry if you haven’t made carrot and zucchini ribbons before, it’s fairly easy if you have a good vegetable peeler. I prefer the Y-peeler over the Straight or Swivel styles for making ribbons. You have a little more control when you can lay the vegetables flat on the cutting board instead of trying to hold it. Another tip is to cut a few ribbons on side of the veggie and then flip it over to cut the rest. This makes the rounded vegetable flat and safer to cut.

If you don’t want to use or don’t have any spaghetti noodles on hand, you can swap out for other long pastas like fettuccini or linguini. I would caution against using a cut or short pasta, only because that might prove difficult to eat with the ribbons of carrots and zucchinis.

No grill? No worries – you have a few options. You can use a grill pan on your stove top. You can also bake the chicken rather than grill it. I would place it on a cooking rack in a parchment paper lined baking sheet and cook for 8-10 minutes on each side in a 375degF oven. Either way, make sure to let it rest a few minutes before slicing to serve. Much like a steak, chicken also needs time to reabsorb the juices to keep it tender.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Spring Chicken Spaghetti

A delicious grilled chicken over a parmesan dill sauce with carrots and zucchini.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword carrots, chicken and pasta, cream sauce, dill, grilled chicken, Parmesan, Pasta, zucchini

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Marinating Time 4 hours hours

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1½ lb Spaghetti
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 4 Garlic Cloves minced
• 4 Large Carrots shaved into ribbons
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 qt Heavy Cream
• 4 Medium Zucchini shaved into ribbons
• 1 tsp Dill
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated

For the Chicken

• 6 Chicken Breasts
• 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning Blend see recipe below
• ¼ cup OIl
• ¼ cup Lemon Juice
• 1 cup Chicken Broth

Instructions

• Combine marinating ingredients and chicken in a gallon zippered bag. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for around 4 hours (up to 24hrs).
• Preheat your grill (or grill pan) to medium-high. Start water boiling for pasta.
• In a large saute pan over medium heat, add butter. Once melted add garlic, carrot ribbons, salt and pepper. Stir to coat and let saute until carrots are tender. Reduce heat to medium-low and add heavy cream and dill. Allow to thicken, stirring occasionally.
• Once grill is hot, start cooking chicken breasts (discard marinating liquid). Cook for 8-10 minutes on each side (until thickest part of thickest piece reaches internal temp of 165degF). Remove to cutting board and let rest.
• Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook as directed on the package.
• Add zucchini ribbons and parmesan cheese to carrots and cream sauce. Stir to combine. Let cook another 3 minutes.
• Drain pasta in colander and then add to cream sauce. Toss to evenly coat.
• Slice chicken, as desired.
• Serve portion of pasta with sliced chicken on top.

Notes