Chicken Sausage & Pesto Pasta
One of my favorite things to do in the summer is plant lots of basil in my garden. Every fall my husband and I harvest the basil and make mass quantities of pesto that we store for the coming year. Before the diet, William loved eating pesto over pasta so I was thrilled when I came across this store bought keto-friendly pesto. And if you're already familiar with our Mac & Cheese recipe you know we love shirataki mushroom pasta! This recipe provides a very large portion so it's a great addition to your pantry staples if your kiddo is struggling with hunger issues relating to their diet. The portion sizes were one of the biggest adjustments for us at the beginning of medical Keto. These shirataki mushroom pasta recipes are the largest portioned meals we have ever served while on the diet and were crucial to our success in the first few months (and now).
Equipment:
Scale
Saucepan or Microwave
Ingredients:
Miracle Noodles (Angle Hair, Fettuccini or Spaghetti)
Aidell's All Natural Chicken & Apple Sausage
Gotham Greens Classic Pesto
Olive Oil
Fruit or Vegetable of Choice (both recipe variations listed at the bottom of this page)
36% Heavy Cream
Using the ingredients for a complete meal listed above, calculate out your recipe in the KetoDietCalculator. I have listed William's recipe at the bottom of this post for reference.
Instructions:
Start by draining and rinsing your noodles. In a small bowl weigh out your noodles, chicken sausage, pesto and olive oil. If you want to incorporate a steamed or grilled vegetable into your dish you can add that now as well. Otherwise skip this step and plan to serve a vegetable or fruit on the side.
Since your chicken sausage is already fully cooked upon packaging you can simply microwave this dish or heat in on low in a sauce pan. If you're cooking it on a stove be sure to cook it on low and keep a very close eye on it as the pesto will burn easily.
While your pasta dish is heating up, cut and weigh your vegetable or fruit (if not already incorporated into your dish) to eat on the side then weigh out your cream and add water to make milk, also served on the side.
Notes:
I like to use a clean pair of kitchen scissors to cut up these noodles for my little one. The noodles themselves are very long and because they have a slightly more rubbery texture they aren't the easiest for him cut or eat as is.
These noodles are so easy to calculate and make into all different kinds of meals! Get creative and swap the pesto for mac and cheese or a bolognese sauce. Calculate in a different protein like chicken, beef or tofu. Mix in some cooked broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini - the possibilities are endless. Miracle Noodle even has a Rice that I've been using to make Taco Bowls and Stir-Fry dishes. The possibilities are endless so stay tuned as I share more recipes like these!
There are several similar brands of shirataki (or konjac) noodles available in many stores and online - this is just the particular brand that we like and have access to in our local store. Some stores will keep them refrigerated, others on the shelves and they are kept in all different aisles depending on the store - so make sure to ask. If you're curious about the taste - well... they really don't have a taste! They are slightly more rubbery in texture than typical pasta but they are so good that I have been eating them as well.
The recipe I shared below has a very high serving size of the pasta but you can certainly cut that down to free up macros for other ingredients. It will still be a fairly sizable snack or meal with only 50 g or 75 g of the pasta.
William's Meal Calculations
Chicken Sausage and Pesto Pasta w/ Veggies
Ratio 2:75:1
100 g Miracle Noodles (Angle Hair, Fettuccini or Spaghetti)
13.9 g Aidell's All Natural Chicken & Apple Sausage
21.2 g Gotham Greens Classic Pesto
2.6 g Olive Oil
39 g Group A Vegetable or 19.5 g Group B Vegetable
21.3 g 36% Heavy Cream
Want to swap out your vegetable for fruit? I've got you!
Chicken Sausage and Pesto Pasta w/ Fruit
Ratio 2:75:1
100 g Miracle Noodles (Angle Hair, Fettuccini or Spaghetti)
13.9 g Aidell's All Natural Chicken & Apple Sausage
21.2 g Gotham Greens Classic Pesto
2.6 g Olive Oil
13.5 g 10% Fruit or 8.9 g 15 % Fruit.
21.3 g 36% Heavy Cream