Skinny Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, turned green for St. Patrick’s Day.

Clean eating | Soy-free | Nut-free | Gluten-free option

When we visited Rome last year, my friend told us about the original Alfredo’s, where lore has it that the owner created the original Fettucine Alfredo–to satisfy his wife’s pregnancy cravings.

So of course we had to visit. They brought out a huge platter of steaming fettucine piled high with three mounds of cheeses, and proceeded to mix it all together at astonishing speed. Then we ate at astonishing speed–until we felt sick. It sat like a rock in our stomachs. We were very glad that our apartment was only a 10-minute walk away.

This Alfredo-inspired sauce brings back those memories without weighing us down. Instead of 3 piles of cheeses, you get the creaminess with a bit of bite from the Greek yogurt and fresh-grated (or not fresh-grated) Parmesan. Today, for St. Patrick’s Day, I turned the sauce green, and the girls said they liked it even better than usual!

Skinny Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Original recipe here

2 chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked, and cut into bite-sized pieces
8-10 oz. whole-wheat (or gluten-free) pasta, such as rotini
2 cups frozen broccoli
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 (I use 3) garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 Tbsp. whole-wheat pastry flour (or gluten-free flour of choice)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
optional: handful spinach
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 2%)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan

Cook pasta as directed, adding frozen broccoli for last 2 minutes of cooking time. Reserve up to 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
If you’re turning your sauce green: add chicken broth and spinach to your blender and blend until smooth.
Make the roux: Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add garlic and stir constantly 1 minute, until fragrant. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to cook for 1 more minute. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then milk, until bubbling.
Whisk in Greek yogurt, then season generously with salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer 2-3 minutes, until thickened. (If there is spinach in the sauce, it will take longer and will not thicken as much.)
Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan until well incorporated, then stir in chicken.
Combine sauce with pasta mixture; add small amounts of pasta water until sauce is your desired consistency.