Cajun Chicken Pasta Trial: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free

Even though the Willing Cook-a-Long is taking a Christmas break, I decided to go ahead and try out the Cajun Chicken Pasta she suggested from blogchef.net

The Changes

To make it dairy-free, I substituted SoDelicious Coconut Creamer for the heavy cream and canola oil for the butter. I increased the amount of pasta to 8 ounces, and since I couldn’t find gluten-free linguini, I used brown rice spaghetti. Since I increased the amount of chicken, I increased the amount of cajun (ok, I used creole instead) seasoning. And I cut out the tomatoes and green onions since I don’t care for those. I also added some cornstarch to try to thicken up the sauce, but forgot to take a picture of it.

The Method

Slice the chicken, then toss in a bowl with the creole seasoning until evenly seasoned.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then saute the chicken for 5-7 minutes until done (no pink shows). Mine probably created a lot of liquid because they weren’t completely thawed when I tossed them in the pan.

In a bowl, whisk creamer, cornstarch, and spices together until smooth.

Pour over the chicken, and heat over low until it starts to boil. Let simmer for at least two minutes until the pasta is done.

Pour chicken and sauce over drained pasta and serve. Top individual portions with Daiya cheese if desired (or parmesan for dairy eaters at the table).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Adapted from blogchef.net

Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free

Ingredients:

• 3 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8 ounces brown rice spaghetti
• 1 Tablespoon creole seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 1 carton (1 pint) SoDelicious Coconut Milk Creamer
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• Daiya cheese (optional)

Slice chicken into strips. Toss in a bowl with creole seasoning until evenly coated.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute chicken for 5-7 minutes until no pink remains.

Whisk together creamer, cornstarch, salt, basil, pepper, and garlic until smooth. Pour over chicken. Heat on low, stirring occasionally, until it starts to simmer. Simmer for at least two minutes until sauce starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Pour chicken and sauce over spaghetti and toss to coat. Top individual portions with Daiya cheese if desired.

Serves 3-4

What I Thought

I should have remembered that creole spice is quite hot. The first few bites with the sauce were pleasant. You could taste the sweet hint of coconut from the creamer. But as we ate more and more, the spice built up until our mouths were on fire. This wouldn’t be so bad if we weren’t such wimps when it comes to spice. My daughter was more interested in watching the noodles dangle from her fork than in eating. Joseph, however, couldn’t eat fast enough, so he tried to send the food directly to his stomach. Definitely should have put a bib on him for this dinner. I’d do it again, though toned down on the spiciness. It was nice to have a white sauce with pasta for a change.