Creamy High-Protein Chicken Pasta

Name: Creamy High-Protein Chicken Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 300 g (10 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast; 120 g (4 oz) dried fettuccine or penne; 1 tsp olive oil; 200 g (3/4 cup) plain 0% Greek yogurt, at room temperature; 25 g (1/3 cup) finely grated Parmesan; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 150 g (5 big handfuls) baby spinach; 1/2 lemon, zest and juice; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp dried Italian herbs; salt, black pepper and a pinch of chili flakes (to taste)

Silky, garlicky and properly comforting, made with Greek yogurt and Parmesan instead of cream. A 30-minute high-protein dinner with 59g of protein in every bowl.

Prep

10 min

Cook

20 min

Total

30 min

Servings

550

Calories per serving

59g

Protein per serving

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Why this recipe works

Creamy pasta that actually fills you up

Creamy pasta usually means butter and heavy cream, which is how a restaurant portion ends up past 1,000 calories. This version gets its creaminess from Greek yogurt and a modest amount of Parmesan, so the sauce is silky and rich-tasting while adding protein instead of fat.

Chicken breast, yogurt and cheese bring each bowl to 59g of protein, roughly half of what most active adults aim for in a day. Together with a generous amount of spinach, that is what makes it filling: you finish the bowl satisfied, not looking for a snack an hour later.

It takes 30 minutes, one pot and one pan, and every ingredient is a supermarket staple. If you are eating in a calorie deficit, it is a dinner that feels like a treat and still fits the numbers.

Nutrition per serving

The numbers, worked out

For 1 of 2 servings, estimated from standard food data. Values vary a little with brands and portion sizes.

Calories

550

kcal in a full dinner bowl

Protein

59g

About half a typical daily target

Carbohydrates

54g

Mostly from the pasta

Fat

Kept low with Greek yogurt

Fiber

From the spinach and pasta

For 2 servings

Ingredients

Chicken and pasta

300 g (10 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast

120 g (4 oz) dried fettuccine or penne

1 tsp olive oil

Creamy sauce

200 g (3/4 cup) plain 0% Greek yogurt, at room temperature

25 g (1/3 cup) finely grated Parmesan

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

150 g (5 big handfuls) baby spinach

1/2 lemon, zest and juice

Seasoning

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

To taste salt, black pepper and a pinch of chili flakes

550 kcal · 59g protein per serving

10 minutes prep · 20 minutes cooking

Instructions

Cook the pasta

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the packet says. Scoop out 180 ml (3/4 cup) of the cooking water, then drain.

Season the chicken

While the water heats, slice the chicken into thin strips. Toss with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, Italian herbs, a good pinch of salt and some black pepper.

Sear the chicken

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until golden and cooked through (74°C / 165°F). Move it to a plate.

Wilt the garlic and spinach

Turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the spinach and a splash of pasta water and stir until just wilted, about 1 minute.

Make the sauce off the heat

Take the pan off the heat. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt, Parmesan and 60 ml (1/4 cup) of the hot pasta water until smooth, then stir it into the pan. Adding it off the heat keeps the sauce from splitting.

Toss and serve

Add the pasta and chicken and toss over low heat for about 1 minute, adding more pasta water until the sauce is glossy. Finish with the lemon zest and juice, chili flakes and plenty of black pepper.

Why you'll love it

Comfort food that fits your goals

59g of protein a bowl

Chicken, Greek yogurt and Parmesan all pull their weight, so one bowl covers roughly half of a typical daily protein target.

On the table in 30 minutes

The chicken and sauce are done in the time it takes the pasta to cook. One pot, one pan, nothing fussy.

Made for meal prep

It reheats well for next-day lunches and scales easily. Double everything and you have four portions ready for the week.

Filling for 550 calories

A creamy restaurant pasta often tops 1,000 calories. This one gives you a full, satisfying bowl for about half that.

Make it yours

Ingredient swaps

Use what's already in your kitchen. Here is how each swap changes the dish.

Any pasta shape

Penne, rigatoni and fusilli all hold the sauce well. Whole-wheat pasta adds about 3g of fiber per serving, and chickpea or lentil pasta adds around 8g of protein.

Turkey instead of chicken

Use the same weight of turkey breast steaks, sliced thin. The cooking time and macros are almost identical. Lean ground turkey works too: brown it and break it up in the pan.

Lighter on the cheese

Halve the Parmesan and stir in 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast for the same savory depth and about 40 fewer calories per bowl. A stronger cheese like Pecorino also lets you use less.

Make it vegetarian

Skip the chicken and brown 150 g of extra-firm tofu cubes, then add a 400 g can of drained chickpeas with the spinach. You still get around 40g of protein per bowl.

No Greek yogurt?

Skyr works the same way. Cottage cheese does too, as long as you blend it completely smooth first.

Meal prep & storage

Cook once, eat well twice

Double the recipe on Sunday and you have four high-protein lunches or dinners ready to go.

3 days

In the fridge

Keep it in airtight containers for up to 3 days. The sauce thickens as it chills, which is completely normal.

Low heat

Reheating

Add a splash of water or milk and warm it in a pan over low heat, stirring, or microwave at medium power in short bursts. Gentle heat keeps the sauce smooth.

Chicken only

Freezing

Yogurt sauces turn grainy once frozen. To cook ahead, freeze the seasoned, cooked chicken for up to 3 months and make the sauce fresh.

4 boxes

Portioning

Double the recipe and divide it between four containers, roughly 400 g each. Keep a lemon wedge on the side and add fresh pepper after reheating.

From our kitchen

Recipe tips

Texture

Let the yogurt warm up

Cold yogurt hitting a hot pan is what makes it split. Take it out of the fridge when you put the water on, and always add it off the heat.

Texture

Save more pasta water than you need

The starch in the water is what turns yogurt and Parmesan into a glossy sauce. Add it a splash at a time; the sauce keeps thickening as it sits.

Texture

Slice the chicken thin

Thin strips cook in 5 to 6 minutes and stay juicy. Thick pieces dry out at the edges before the middle is done.

Macros

Weigh the pasta dry

60 g of dried pasta per person looks modest in the pot, but it more than doubles as it cooks. Weighing it is the easiest way to keep the calories where you want them.

Macros

Bulk it up with vegetables

Sliced mushrooms, peas or broccoli can go in with the garlic. You get a bigger bowl for very few extra calories.

Flavor

Finish with lemon and pepper

Acid and black pepper wake up the sauce, so it tastes rich without needing more cheese.

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