Have you any left over cooked chicken? I often freeze whatever left over cooked chicken we have to pull out of the freezer on busy nights and make a quick meal. This isn't a weekly meal I allow myself to eat mind you. This is a kid and hubby pleaser for sure, but not low in fat due to the cheese. I used lighter cheeses, but overall a little indulgence in a cheesy meal occasionally isn't going to hurt anyone. It is very tasty so you may be tempted to overindulgence in more than your portion so you can't say I didn't warn you 🙂 Pretty good on a balance of protein and carbs and really not high in calories for a dinner meal. Add a nice salad with it and call it a night!
*Note: Al dente pasta is somewhat chewy and not as soft as fully cooked, but will hold up better and not break when mixed with other ingredients.
- 4 cups cooked pasta ( I used brown rice)
- 2 cups cooked broccoli, chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces lite cream cheese
- 1 cup milk, 1%
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, part skim
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook your pasta according to package or al dente, drain and toss with butter so it doesn't stick.
- Add your cooked broccoli and chicken to pasta and carefully mix without breaking pasta. Pour into 9 by 13 baking dish. Set aside.
- In a saute pan, melt your cream cheese and milk over low heat until smooth. Add mozzarella cheese and stir until fully melted.
- Pour melted cheese mixture over chicken, broccoli and pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
- Can be made ahead , refrigerated and baked when desired.
Balance is key whether you are trying to lose weight or maintain. What works for me is allowing an occasionally heavier meal from time to time as long as my weekly majority of meals are lean, full of protein and low in carbs.
I of course would add another veggie with this like Baked Fennel Gratin, Oven Fried Zucchini Rounds, Cucumber Feta salad or Fresh Fennel salad!
My kids and hubby LOVE this meal so I think your family will too! Let me know if you try it!
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Meg
May I ask why I cannot add this recipe (and some others I have come across) to the recipe box?
Brenda
Thanks for letting me know! Many of my earlier recipes did not have the ziplist plug in and I've had to go back and manually fix all of them, so must have missed this one. Please let me know if there are any others I've missed. thanks!
Alia
Yummy ... I made this tonight and my boyfriend loved it 🙂
The Better Baker
MMM! We love all the ingredients in this great combo of flavors. It looks divine. I always use reduced fat for cooking and think it's great. Thanks for sharing.
Jill
Yummy! That's all I have to say. 🙂
Brenda
😉