I'm a big fan of comfort food, especially cheesy, chewy, delicious pasta. I used to live on Kraft mac and cheese as a kid (anyone with me!?), but after reading about the scary stuff they put in their pasta and "cheese sauce", I wouldn't touch that stuff with a 10 foot pole. At this point, I've pretty much cut mac and cheese out of my diet, although I do treat myself sometimes, just with a better version if possible.
Enter Al Dente pasta (and no this is not a sponsored post, I am just utterly obsessed with this pasta, which you will find out why shortly). This WHOLE time I've been fooled into thinking that rice or quinoa pasta was the way to go if you wanted to make gluten free pasta. Well I was freaking dead wrong! Now, I've tried almost every type of gluten free pasta at this point, from rice, to quinoa, to black bean, to chickpea, to lentil based pastas. The favorite (until now), was Tolerant red lentil pasta. Don't get me wrong, that stuff is also good, but Al Dente just tops everything I've tried, and here's why.
You know how the gluten free pastas usually are a little hard? Or gritty? Or weird flavored? Or slimy and too mushy (if you over cook them even for a second)? The texture of Al Dente is just AMAZING. It's a little bit chewy and not at all grainy, and the flavor is just so good. They also offer a few different flavors, including spinach, garlic parsley, and pure & simple. The pasta takes about 5 minutes max to cook and holds its shape, even for leftovers. No mushiness or random hard pieces here! It is made from white bean and rice flour (surprisingly), which gives it a great amount of protein and fiber. I'll admit, it's not as "pure" as the Tolerant brand, or the Trader Joes black bean pasta that only has one ingredient, but if you want to treat yourself to some yummy comfort food that you won't feel guilty about, I'd recommend this brand.
I decided to go with the spinach noodles this time around, but I did just order the 3-pack off Amazon to try other flavors next time. I topped mine with some homemade pesto (recipe coming soon!), grilled chicken, and a tiny bit of organic mozzarella cheese. DELICIOUS!
Ingredients:
- 1 bag Al Dente pasta
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2-3/4 cup pesto (you can buy, or I made mine homemade - recipe coming soon!)
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- Salt & pepper
Directions:
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the bag.
- Grease a pan with some type of animal fat (I use Epic), butter or olive oil. I prefer the fat because it makes the chicken more tasty and crispier.
- Rinse off the chicken breasts and pound them a bit with a tenderizer to make them more tender. Season with spices, salt and pepper, and place in a pan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until center is cooked through.
- Once the pasta is finished, drain and rinse with cold water. Add the pesto and mozzarella cheese and mix thoroughly. Dice up the cooked chicken breast and add to the pasta.
- Enjoy!
I'd also recommend ordering your pasta off Thrive, although they don't carry my Al Dente brand. Everything on their site is 30-40% off, so you if you're feeling experimental, you can grab the Tolerant pasta, black bean pasta, chickpea pasta and more at a major discount! And if you sign up today, you receive 25% off your first order and free shipping. It's SO worth it, trust me. xo
I'd also recommend ordering your pasta off Thrive, although they don't carry my Al Dente brand. Everything on their site is 30-40% off, so you if you're feeling experimental, you can grab the Tolerant pasta, black bean pasta, chickpea pasta and more at a major discount! If you sign up today, you'll receive 25% off and free shipping! Sign up here.
