Butter Chicken Mac N’ Cheese

Ingredients

• 900 g chicken breast (diced)
• 2 onions (sautéed until browned)
• 30 g tomato paste
• 30 g garlic paste
• 15 g ginger paste
• 30 g butter
• 400 g fire-roasted tomatoes (blended)
• 15 g sugar or zero-cal sweetener
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp spicy curry powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp salt
• black pepper (a dash)
• 672 g shell pasta (cooked to 50% of box time)
• 1 cup pasta water (reserved from cooking pasta)
• 400 g plain 0% Greek yogurt (FAGE brand recommended)
• 120 g 1/3 fat cream cheese
• cilantro (chopped)
• green onions (chopped)
• 227 g extra sharp cheddar
• 80 g reduced fat mozzarella
• 1 tsp garam masala

Steps

1. 1

   Dice the chicken breast and sauté the onions until they are browned.

2. 2

   In a slow cooker, combine the diced chicken, sautéed onions, tomato paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, butter, blended fire-roasted tomatoes, and sugar/sweetener.

3. 3

   Add the spice blend (paprika, chili powder, spicy curry powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper) to the slow cooker and stir well to coat the chicken.

4. 4

   Cook on High for 2–3 hours or on Low for 3–4 hours until the chicken is cooked through.

5. 5

   While the chicken is cooking, boil the shell pasta in salted water, but only for 50% of the time recommended on the box. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.

6. 6

   Once the slow cooker time is up, add the par-cooked pasta and the reserved pasta water to the pot.

7. 7

   Add the Greek yogurt, 1/3 fat cream cheese, chopped cilantro, green onions, extra sharp cheddar, reduced fat mozzarella, and garam masala.

8. 8

   Mix everything together thoroughly until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy and well-distributed. Serve immediately.

Notes

Per Serving (Makes 10): 545 Calories, 42g Protein, 58g Carbs, 17g Fat. This recipe is designed for meal prep and is part of the author's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• slow-cooker
• high-protein
• meal-prep
• indian-fusion
• pasta
• dinner