When I took on this project, I knew the butter and cream needed to be eliminated. I like a thick alfredo, so I typically made a roux (a french thickening agent consisting of equal parts butter and flour) and then added the milk or cream to make the sauce. To eliminate the butter, I decided I needed to use another thickening agent because you can't have a roux without butter/some type of fat. I decided to use cornstarch, which tends not to affect the taste or texture of the sauce but is equally effective.
So what is the science behind why both of these substances thicken liquids? The reason why both of these thicken whatever liquid you need is because of the starch molecules that are present in high amounts in both flour and cornstarch. When these substances are heated, the starch molecules in the cornstarch or flour unwind or relax. In this state, they can interact with the other starch molecules present in the liquid, forming a starch matrix (think of a molecular mesh in the liquid) that causes the liquid to thicken.
The second ingredient that needed to go was the cream. The answer was simple. I used fat-free half and half in place of the cream. As stated in my other posts, this effectively cuts all the fat from the cream out but keeps the sauce creamy and is a great substitute for cream. I decided to keep the cheese, partly because I love cheese. But, if you want to reduce the fat in the recipe even more, you can use a lower fat cheese (cheese that is made from 1 or 2% milk), or a Parmesan cheese, which is a drier cheese and tends to have less fat. Or you can eliminate the cheese all together, using spices to add flavor to the dish instead.
The final fat reduction came from cooking the chicken breasts in the oven on a greased cookie sheet. I decided the fat from sauteing the chicken in olive oil with seasoning could be cut out by simply baking the seasoned chicken in the oven. As a result, the fat from the chicken cooked off no extra oil was added. This is a simple principle that can be used in cooking chicken for various dished. Instead of sauteing it, just bake it!
As a result of switching out the cream and butter and baking the chicken, the recipe came out to less that 30% fat and was delicious. I tested this recipe out on my in-laws and was a smashing success. So here is the recipe!
Cajun Chicken Alfredo:
Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 cups Fat-Free Half and Half
- 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 cup cheese (I use mozzarella, but you could use any cheese that you like)
- 3 Tbsp Corn Starch (This will need to have a small amount of water added to it to make a slurry before added to the hot sauce)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cajun Seasoning
- 1 pound uncooked chicken breast
- 1 pound uncooked pasta (I know fettuccine is typical, but I like to use Penne)
When the pasta is done, drain well and then add the pasta and the sauce back into the pot that the pasta was cooked in. Stir and serve!
So I mentioned earlier that the recipe came out to less that 30% calories from fat. The exact tally is 23.5% calories from fat for the dish. The following is a complete nutrition breakdown of the dish.
This dish still has all the creaminess that you would expect from an alfredo, but without all the fat from the cream and butter. You can also use whole wheat pasta, add onions and bell pepper, or reduce the amount of cheese to make the dish even healthier.
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