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Ya know that Tik Tok Pasta that was all the rage during quarantine times?

Delicious?  I’m sure it was.  Cheesy, rich pasta?  Duh.

Easy to make?  Totally.  Believe me, I’m down with any meal that can be made with less than an entire stovetop covered in pots and pans.

BUT.  Not exactly clean-eating friendly.

Until now.  You can thank me later.

I’ve made this a whole bunch of times, changing it up a bit with different meats, types of tomatoes and  pastas.  But the results have always been the same.  Yumminess galore, rich and creamy, decadent but not heavy, and most importantly, hubby-approved!!! I’ll start with the recipe and then give you all my little tips and tricks to get the job done…

Ingredients:

• 1 pound protein of your choice
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 1-2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes or 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 7 ounces VIolife cream cheese
• ½ tbsp. mustard powder
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 4 cups baby spinach
• Package of chickpea, brown rice or other gluten-free pasta of choice, cooked

Directions:

Heat oil, garlic powder and onion powder in large saute pan over medium heat.  Add your protein of choice, cooking through.  Remove from pan. 

Add chopped onion, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, basil and tomatoes to pan.  Cook until tomatoes soften and/or burst, 10-15 minutes.  If using cherry or grape tomatoes, add chicken broth and heat to a slow boil.  Add nutritional yeast, mustard powder and cream cheese, stirring until blended.  Return cooked meat to mixture.  Add spinach and cover until spinach is wilted and cooked through, roughly 5-10 minutes.

Mix and serve over cooked pasta of choice.

So first, protein of choice.  I’ve made this with chicken breast chunks and medallions.  I’ve made it with chicken sausage.  I’ve made it with ground turkey chunks formed into makeshift meatballs (I lovingly call these my lazy girl meatballs).  I’ve mixed chicken sausage and ground turkey chunks.  Every time, it’s been delicious.

Next, the tomatoes.  I’ve found that if using a can of diced tomatoes, you don’t need the chicken broth, as the juice provides plenty of fluid for your sauce.  Also, while cooking grape or cherry tomatoes, it’s helpful to give each one a little stab with the tip of a sharp knife, which will release their juices and reduce the cooking time.

I’ve heard from people who made the Tik Tok recipe that it was super rich…I can bet that’s from the entire block of feta cheese it uses.  This recipe cuts that richness down by using dairy-free cream cheese and nutritional yeast, which mimic the flavors of other soft cheeses and parmesan.  It’s decadent-tasting, but not rich or heavy. I love the Violife brand, because it melts really nicely, creating a velvety texture for the sauce.

The benefit to using the same pan for everything:  it infuses the flavors of the meat throughout the sauce while being assembled and cooked, and cuts down on the number of pans you’ll have to wash at the end!  Winner, winner, awesome dinner!!

And finally, the pasta.  I like chickpea pasta, and brown rice pad thai noodles; but the hubs and I have a new-found love for brown rice ramen.  Yes.  It’s a thing and it’s everything!  I know the Tik Tok recipe says to put the pasta right into the meat/sauce mixture, but I prefer to keep them separate so I can limit the amount of pasta I’m getting in a serving.  I’ve also put this over a stir-fry veggie medley and cooked brown rice, which were also incredibly delicious.  Ok.  It’s later.  You can wait until you make it and love it to thank me.