Tahini Pasta

4 from 6 votes

Creamy tahini pasta made with chicken and fresh veggies and tossed with a simple lemon tahini sauce. It's ready in 25 minutes, is light, yet comforting, and is full of flavor. Serve it for an easy well-balanced meal with protein, carbs, and healthy fats.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword tahini pasta

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 536kcal

Author Kelly Nardo

Equipment

nonstick pan

Ingredients

Pasta

8 ounces pasta (I used cavatappi)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken breasts (thinly sliced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups snap peas (350 grams)
2 cups julienned red peppers (220 grams)
4 packed cups spinach, roughly chopped (120 grams)
salt and pepper, to taste
for topping - parsley, basil, red pepper flakes...

Tahini Sauce

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon tahini
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to the instructions. Once al dente, drain and set aside to cool. When draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Make the tahini sauce. Stir together the tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, paprika, and salt and pepper until combined. The consistency will be thick, but you will add pasta water to thin it out later.
Cook the chicken. When the water is starting to heat up, you’ll start cooking everything else. It takes about 12-15 minutes to cook everything else, so start cooking according to how long it takes your pasta to cook. Add oil to a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat and let it get hot. Add chicken and salt and pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Cook the veggies. In the same pan with the remaining chicken juices, add snap peas, peppers, minced garlic, and salt and pepper, and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add chopped spinach and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Turn down the heat to low.
Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Finish the tahini sauce. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the pasta water and mix to combine. It should be smooth.
Assemble. Add cooked pasta, cooked chicken and juices, and tahini sauce to the pan and toss to combine. Let warm through, about 1 minute. If desired, you can add more pasta water.
Enjoy! Top with fresh herbs and lemon zest and enjoy!

Nutrition