Chicken Alfredo Penne Loaded with Colorful Veggies!

Hi friends! Doesn’t this dish look delicious! Let me tell you…it was soo good and is one of our family favorites. Seriously, we never have any leftovers when this is on the menu.

This dish takes a little more prep time, but you can certainly quicken the process by pre-chopping veggies & having cooked chicken available on hand to add to your week night meals. I lightened it up with lots of colorful veggies, chicken breast, light alfredo sauce, and whole wheat penne. Read on for the recipe and instructions.

 

Chicken Alfredo Penne with Colorful Veggies

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small squash, chopped
¼ purple onion, chopped
½ small bell pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot sticks

3 chicken breasts, chopped

1 jar light alfredo sauce

½ box of whole wheat penne pasta (can sub regular penne pasta)

 

First I chopped up some fresh veggies. Here i used zucchini, squash, bell pepper, purple onion, and shredded carrot sticks.

 

Get all those good veggies in the pan and sauté them with a few tablespoons of oil and salt & pepper. You will notice they are ready to be pulled off the heat when your onions are slightly opaque.

 

Take your pan off the heat and chop up some tomatoes and add them to the pan. I didn’t want the tomatoes to cook  and get soggy, I just wanted them to warm with the heat of the other veggies.

 

 

 

Transfer your veggies to a bowl and sauté your seasoned chicken in the same pan so you get all the flavors of the oil and veggies you just cooked. Once  your chicken is cooked, drain the excess juice and add the chicken back to the pan.

While my chicken is cooking, I boil my pasta so it’s ready as soon as the sauce comes together. Drain the pasta, but don’t rinse it. You want that starch to stay on the pasta. It helps your pasta sauce “stick” to the pasta.

 

With your chicken back in the pan, add all those good veggies you just sauteed and 1 jar of light alfredo sauce. Season to taste. Gently stir so all the flavors melt together and your tomatoes stay intact. Heat through, and your sauce is done!

 

To serve it up, add a cup of penne to your plate and place a spoonful of that yummy sauce right on top. I sprinkled a little bit of Cajun seasoning on mine, and a nice little sprinkle of shredded parmesian cheese!

 

I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as we do! Thanks for stopping by today.