I receive requests almost daily to share what I eat in a week with my family when I am avoiding balsam of Peru in my diet. While many times I reach for a very simple meal for myself with a basic protein and vegetable combo while avoiding balsam of peru, I do really enjoy cooking. This Creamy Chicken Vegetable Pasta is perfect for a cold winter night.
You can’t beat the classic combination of chicken and pasta in this dish, especially when it’s creamy and delicious. As a regular at our house, this one pot meal is perfect for a Balsam of Peru Avoidance Diet. This recipe is a great way to spruce up a weeknight dinner or make an easy, hearty meal for company. The sauce comes together quickly and the chicken cooks up in just minutes in a dutch oven.
Delicious Creamy Chicken Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 18 ounces)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta, (wheat free for Balsam of Peru avoidance)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup chopped broccoli, fresh
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- garnish, chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks, season with salt and pepper; set aside
- In Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the diced chicken to the pan and cook until brown on both sides. Stir in the garlic and cook additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water, uncooked pasta, broccoli, red bell pepper, carrots and peas. Stir and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Divide equally into 4 bowls and garnish with parsley.
Nutrition
Starts with simple ingredients
- 3 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 18 ounces)
- 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta, (wheat free for Balsam of Peru avoidance)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup chopped broccoli, fresh
- 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- garnish, chopped fresh parsley
How it all comes together
Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks, season with salt and pepper; set aside
In Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the diced chicken to the pan and cook until brown on both sides. Stir in the garlic and cook additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, water, uncooked pasta and broccoli florets, frozen peas along with carrot slices (about 2 tablespoons per person). Stir everything together so that it is evenly distributed throughout your pot/dutch oven before covering with a lid while cooking over low heat for 20 minutes covered until most of liquid has been absorbed by pasta – stir occasionally during this time period so nothing sticks at bottom or scorches!
Remove lid after 20 minutes then add remaining ingredients except parsley garnish just before serving – stir thoroughly to combine well before serving hot out of pot straight onto plates alongside side dishes such as salad greens dressed lightly with extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette dressing made from scratch using olive oil and vinegar – enjoy!!
Conclusion
This is one of my favorite recipes to make for dinner because it’s so easy and delicious. It’s also really healthy, so you can feel good about eating it (and avoids balsam of Peru)! I hope you enjoy this creamy chicken vegetable pasta dish as much as I do!
If you’re beginning a journey of balsam of Peru avoidance due to a recent diagnsosis of systemic allergic contact dermatitis to balsam of Peru, don’t lose hope! Many times, avoiding foods high in balsam of Peru is just the ticket to living a more reaction free life! Complete avoidance isn’t forever. Research shows that taking your exposure to a lower, more acceptable level, of exposure is sufficient to avoid reactions.
It’s difficult to know exactly what triggers each individual exactly. That is why dermatologists recommend removing all balsam of Peru chemical contstituents from your diet. After 4-6 weeks of this, you can begin to add foods back into your diet. Eventually living on a low-balsam diet avoiding things high in spice etc. Each individuals low-balsam diet may look a little different as Balsam of Peru has 5 sub categories. If you’re new here and this all sounds completely foreign, it may help to read more about balsam of Peru.
Sue Mitsch says
I’ve been wondering whether I can have bell peppers or not, since they are so closely related to tomatoes in the Nightshade plant family. So, you don’t have a problem with them? That would be a great addition back into my diet if I can have my red, yellow and orange peppers!
Dannyelle Justice says
Hi Sue! I do struggle with paprika. However, paprika is a highly condensed form of the bell pepper. While I’m not sure if you could eat bell peppers every day, all day, an occasional should be tolerable. With balsam of peru allergy, there are five subgroups. I talk about this on the website in other blog posts. Due to the five subgroups, some may be allergic to 2 of the 5, but not the same two that I am… if that makes sense. It can be somewhat of a trial and error. If you’ve done a complete avoidance diet for some time, try adding bell peppers back by eating a moderate amount for 3 days in a row. If that’s tolerable you should be ok. I don’t eat bell peppers every day, but have them on occasion. I hope that’s helpful. Even the researchers aren’t exactly sure how much of one food item is enough to cause a reaction so it’s really a game of sorts. I still sometimes get it wrong, but usually I am fine. thanks for being here.