Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo - Ruby Tuesday's Copycat

Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo 

This copycat version of Ruby Tuesday’s Chicken and Mushroom Alfredo is a lot lighter than the original version which will set you back over 1200 calories.  Being gluten intolerant I’m often fearful when it comes to restaurant dining.  You might say I’m content to just ogle the online menus where at least I know I’m safe.  Sometimes I venture onto the nutrition pages where I’m often shocked at just how many calories some of these dishes can contain.  Fortunately, I’ve found that when I try to recreate these dishes at home I’m often able to slash hundreds of calories from a dish without sacrificing flavor in the process.  In this dish, by keeping the sauce to a minimum we can have our gluten free pasta and eat it too.

Ingredients list

• 8 oz boneless skinless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
• garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil                                  
• 6 oz gluten free linguine
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced                                                           
• ½ cup frozen peas                                                                    
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese        
• ¼ cup     half and half                                                         
• coarsely ground black pepper

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions

1.    Season the chicken with garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

2.    In a small bowl combine the half & half with the grated cheese and black pepper and set aside.

3.   To make the pasta bring a pot of salted water to a boil then add the pasta and allow it to cook, stirring periodically as you make the sauce. 

4.    In a large nonstick sauté pan over a medium high heat add the olive oil and seasoned chicken to the pan and sauté for 3 - 4 minutes stirring frequently until the chicken is no longer pink. 

5.    Add the mushrooms to the pan and sauté for another minute before adding the peas to the pan and continuing to sauté for an additional 2 minutes. 

6.    When the pasta is done 1 minute shy of the package instructions drain it, add it to the pan, along with about ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and simmer for 1-2 minutes so that the pasta can absorb the flavors of the pan. 

7.    Add the half and half and cheese mixture then stir until everything is well coated with the creamy sauce and this dish is ready to serve.

Notes:  The amounts I gave in this recipe will generously serve 2 but you can double or triple the recipe as needed.  Also, if you’d like to cut the calories in this dish even further you could skip the addition of half and half at the end and still have a delicious meal.