This dairy-free meal has become a firm favourite in this house. Dairy-Free Paprika Chicken is easy to make in about an hour but you can get ahead with the food preparation if you wish. Add some bacon or lardons for extra flavour and dairy-free cream (in our case Elmlea Plant) brings it all together nicely.
There are plenty of options for dairy-free pasta dishes and I pulled this one together from what I had at home in an effort to ensure I use up what I have before stocking up at the supermarket. My favourite is Elmlea Plant which is what I have used in this recipe but you can use whichever plant-based cream you wish as long as it is suitable for cooking.
Which pasta should I use?
Just about any pasta will work with this but you may want to avoid the smallest ones such as macaroni. I’m keen not to waste food and all for saving money where I can, so if you have some pasta shapes to use up then I would go ahead and use them. I actually used Linguine which is slightly thicker and flatter than spaghetti and I found it lends itself well to this dairy-free dinner.
Equipment Required
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Oven-proof dish
- Mixing bowl large enough to hold the chicken fillets
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing spoon and cooking utensils
- Saucepan large enough to cook your chosen pasta
- Large frying pan
Dairy-Free Parika Chicken with Linguine
Ingredients
- 500g chicken breast fillets trimmed
- 200g bacon lardons or a few rashers of bacon
- 1 large onion
- Approx half to two-thirds of a pot of Elmlea Plant Cream
- Olive Oil
- 1 rounded teaspoon of paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion granules
- 1/2 teaspoon of hot chilli powder ( milder if you prefer)
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes to garnish (optional)
- 300g Linguine (or other dried pasta)
- SERVES 4 depending on portion size
- COOKING TIME Approx 50 minutes – 1 hour
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas 6. Trim any pieces of skin left on the chicken fillets. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the mixing bowl together with 1 rounded tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of garlic granules, 1/2 tsp of onion granules and 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and mix. Add the chicken fillets and coat them with the mixture. Place the coated chicken fillets in the ovenproof dish and place them in the centre of the preheated oven. Cook for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Allow resting for about 10 minutes once cooked then cut into slices.
Put a saucepan of water on to heat up and cook the pasta according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. In my case, this was 9-11 minutes for Asda Linguine. Meanwhile, dice the onion and fry until soft and translucent in a little olive oil. Add the lardons and continue frying until they are cooked through. If you have bacon rashers to use up, you could substitute the rashers in place of lardons and cut them into small dice-sized pieces with a sharp knife.
Add the sliced chicken to the frying pan and about half the carton of Elmlea Plant cream and allow the cream to heat up until bubbling. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the frying pan. Gently stir the chicken mixture and pasta together. The cream will be absorbed by the pasta so if you want it a little more creamy then just a little more of the plant cream.
Divide between four dishes and serve, garnished with a pinch of dried chilli flakes if you wish.
Serving Suggestions and Tips
- Serve with a side of steamed vegetables if you wish. I steamed some broccoli over the pasta while it cooked. I chose broccoli as it is an additional source of calcium for my daughter who is on a restricted diet.
- This recipe creates gentle heat from the spices used. If you prefer, you can use a milder chilli powder.
- Don’t waste the remaining Elmlea Plant Cream – serve it with some fresh or frozen fruit as a dessert. According to the manufacturer guidelines it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days once opened.
Get ahead with your dairy-free meal planning.
If you are busy with work,and children or have lots of commitments then you might want to do a little meal planning in advance. I bought 1kg of chicken breast fillets in Aldi for £5.95. With cost in mind, I know that I can get two meals for our family out of this pack of chicken. I split the pack in two and put approximately 500g of plain chicken in a bag for the freezer. For the remaining half, I trimmed away any unwanted bits of skin and put the chicken fillets in a bag with the seasoning and a tablespoon of olive oil. I labelled both bags and popped them in the freezer. The seasoned chicken was labelled for this dairy-free recipe and the plain chicken was labelled for cajun chicken and rice. If you keep a list on your freezer door then you know what you have in there!
Dairy-free meal planning does not need to be difficult and many meals can easily be adapted. Check back soon for the cajun chicken dairy-free meal soon! If you make this meal then drop us a photo via our contact page and let me know how you got on! If you liked this meal, then how about dairy-free pulled pork?
Paprika Chicken with Linguine
This easy dairy-free meal is simple to make and will easily feed four people. Simple ingredients ingredients make this a hearty, warming chicken pasta.Ingredients
- 500 g chicken breast fillets trimmed
- 200 g bacon lardons (or bacon rashers) smoked gives a deeper flavour
- 1 large onion
- ½-⅔ pot of Elmlea Plant Cream Or similar
- 1 tbsp Olive oil (plus a little for frying)
- 1 rounded teaspoon Paprika
- ½ tsp garlic granules
- ½ tsp onion granules
- ½ tsp hot chilli powder (mild if you prefer)
- Pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 300 g Linguine (or other dried pasta)
Instructions
Notes
Allergens. Manufacturers can and do change their ingredients and processing without notice. All ingredients should be checked every time with regard to specific allergens. Please take note of any "may contain" warnings if you are at risk from cross-contamination. For more information on food labelling and allergies including links to information resources, CLICK HERE.
