If you’re like me (relatively digestively challenged) and see all of these Marry Me Chicken recipes, wishing you could eat them without a big old belly ache, then you need to try my Dairy Free Marry Me Chicken Pasta (no heavy cream in sight!). It is a family favourite and you won’t even notice that there’s no cream!
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And if you’re wondering, what witchcraft is this? Well, I’ve used cashews to create a cashew cream to get that smooth, creamy and flavour-filled sauce. It sounds weird I know, but trust me on this one, it is SO good!
For more chicken recipes I recommend trying my Chicken Sausage and White Bean Stew or my Easy Gluten Free Chicken Tenders.
What’s to Love About Dairy Free Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- allergy friendly – this recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free and soy free.
- family favourite – this is one pasta dish that the whole family will love, because who doesn’t love creamy pasta? Level up your weeknight dinners with this delicious chicken recipe and your family will love you!
- creamy sauce with no dairy – if you’re dairy intolerant then you might not even remember the last time you were able to enjoy a dish with creamy sauce (at least without getting a belly ache).
- quick – make this recipe in 40 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Below is a list of all of the ingredients that you will need to make this Dairy-free Marry Me Chicken Pasta, including any ingredients notes and possible substitutions. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete recipe and ingredient quantities.
- chicken thigh – cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. You can substitute chicken thigh for chicken breast if need be.
- fresh garlic cloves – I’ve used garlic cloves but you can swap for minced garlic. Just use one teaspoon per clove of garlic called for in the recipe.
- dry white wine – don’t worry, the alcohol cooks out when heated to above 60°C so you can feed this dish to children.
- chicken stock – or chicken broth. If you don’t have any chicken stock on hand you can swap for vegetable broth or vegetable stock. You can use my homemade chicken broth if you have some chicken carcasses you need using up.
- cashews – the cashews are soaked and then blended with water and nutritional yeast to make the creamy sauce. If you soak the cashews in boiling water then you only need to soak for around 20 minutes.
- nutritional yeast – this adds a parmesan cheese like flavour to the cashew cream.
- gluten-free pasta – you can use regular pasta if preferred. You can use whichever pasta you prefer but I recommend penne, fusilli, bow tie or gemelli.
- extra virgin olive oil – I always prefer to use extra virgin olive oil as it is much less processed than regular olive oil, meaning it retains more nutrients and antioxidants. While traditional marry me chicken recipes tend to use butter, I find olive oil works perfectly!
- sea salt & cracked black pepper
- button mushrooms – mushrooms really help to add to the flavour of the dish and are needed in this recipe. For picky kids you can pick them out afterwards and they’ll never know.
- wholegrain mustard – also known as seeded mustard.
- Dijon mustard
- sun-dried tomato strips – you can use whole sun-dried tomatoes and slice into thin strips if you can’t find the strips.
- baby spinach – baby spinach can be swapped for roughly chopped curly kale or Tuscan kale.
- flat leaf parsley – you can use fresh basil instead of parsley if desired.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Pasta Recipe
Making this dish is pretty straightforward but here’s a step-by-step instructions (with pictures) so you get it just right.
First, boil the kettle, add the cashews to a heat proof jug and top with boiling water. Let the cashews soak for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the vegetables and chicken and pasta.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the pot of water is boiling, add salt and then the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente.
Once the pasta is al dente, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Strain the pasta and return to the pan. Set aside.
After 20 minutes, strain the cashews and add to a high-speed blender along with 100ml water and the nutritional yeast. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. I prefer to use a bullet blender for this.
Bring a large skillet or shallow casserole pan to a medium heat. Add the olive oil and fry half of the chicken until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and then fry the remaining chicken. Transfer the last of the chicken to the plate.
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Add a little more olive oil to the pan if needed and then add the mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms until cooked on both sides and then move to the side of the pan.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Straight away add the wine to deglaze the pan, using the spatula to lift any golden cooked bits from the bottom of the pan and mix through the wine.
Next add the chicken stock, cashew cream, sun dried tomatoes, wholegrain mustard and dijon mustard and stir to combine. Add the chicken back into the pan and simmer to thicken the sauce.
Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, add the baby spinach and stir through to wilt.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan and turn off the heat. If the sauce has thickened too much, add a little reserved pasta water to loosen. Stir the pasta through the sauce and then spoon into bowls. Top with chopped parsley to garnish and serve warm. For a little spice, top with some red pepper flakes.
Storage
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat before eating.
Nutrition
Making Marry Me Chicken Pasta with the cashew instead of heavy cream means there is less saturated fat and trans fat and more monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat, which is much better for your bodies cholesterol levels.
Cashews are also a good source of minerals (including copper, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese and phosphorous).
Mushrooms are a good source of fiber, B-vitamins and Vitamin D.
Baby spinach is a good source of vitamin C, potassium and calcium.
This dish is also a great source of protein and complex carbohydrates.
Dairy Free Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping Board
- High speed blender
- Shallow casserole pan
- Large saucepan
- Wooden spatula
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 500 grams pasta
- 500 grams chicken thigh, diced (2cm x 2cm)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
- Cracked Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 200 grams button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon seeded mustard
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup sundried tomato strips
- 2 cups baby spinach
- sea salt flakes, to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Place raw cashews into a heatproof bowl and bring a kettle of water to the boil. Once boiled, poor boiling water over the top of the cashews. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes to soften.
- Fill a large saucepan 2/3 of the way up with water. Place the lid on and bring to a boil. Once boiling add finely ground sea salt and then the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente. Once the pasta is al dente (tender), reserve 1 cup of pasta water and then carefully strain the pasta through a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, strain the cashews and add to food processor along with 100 mL water and 1 tsp nutritional yeast. Blend on high until creamy. Gradually add the remaining water while blending. Once smooth and lump free, set aside.
- Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a large frying pan, place on the stove and bring to a medium heat. Once hot, add half of the diced chicken to the pan and fry until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan and cook the remaining half of the chicken. Transfer to the plate of cooked chicken.
- Drizzle some more olive oil into the pan and add mushrooms. Cook until tender and golden brown on each side.
- Add the minced garlic to the frying pan. As soon as the garlic begins to turn golden, immediately pour in the white wine and chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Add the cashew cream, Dijon mustard, seeded mustard and sundried tomatoes to the pan and whisk to combine. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the baby spinach and stir through to wilt.
- Add the pasta to the pan and stir through to coat the pasta in sauce. Spoon into bowls and serve topped with parsley. If the sauce has thickened too much, you can add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce up more, stirring through.
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