How to make a delicious and nutritious creamy chicken and tomato pasta bake

This blog showcases the delicious creamy chicken recipe featured in this video and all the different ways that you can serve it. Chicken and pasta are real family favourites, and easy to roll out when you don’t know what you feel like eating or you don’t have the energy to cook. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 x 400g tin cherry tomatoes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons half fat crème fraiche (or yogurt)
• Fresh basil
• 4 chicken breasts (400g)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste or sundried tomato pesto
• 25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• Fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper

Flavour Bombs:

This recipe lends itself to adding concentrated flavour bombs to change up the flavour allowing you to make it more often without getting bored!

Sundried tomato pesto: swop the tomato paste for sundried tomato pesto for a sweeter, more concentrated tomato flavour.

Fresh basil or basil pesto: tomato-based pasta sauces and basil are a match made in heaven. If you don’t have fresh basil use a dollop of basil pesto.

Smoked paprika: cook your onions with slices of chorizo or a paprika infused oil to add a delicious flavour or add a tablespoon of smoked paprika when you add the tomato paste.

Curry powder: add 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder when you add the tomato paste. It will add a mild savoury taste that is subtle but interesting. Leave off the basil and parmesan and sprinkle over a little feta cheese instead.

Pangritata: heat 3tbsp of olive oil in a pan and lightly fry 1 clove of crushed garlic and 1tsp of chopped, fresh rosemary. Add 1 cup of stale breadcrumbs and coat in the oil and toast until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Optional add in: lemon zest, chilli flakes, fresh parsley.

Pasta options:

These are some of my pasta favourites.

Spiralised vegetable noodles. courgette and butternut squash work the best and are quite widely available in supermarkets. Use an electric Spiraliser.

Wholewheat pasta: this is an easy way to get more fibre and nutrients and the texture is that of al dente pasta. This is very economical, you can even find organic brands for under €2.

Orzo: Orzo is simply rice shaped pasta, used in Greek dishes. It’s perfect in hot dishes but works well in salads.

Giant couscous: this is also known as Israeli couscous, giant couscous is totally different from ordinary couscous. It’s made from semolina and water but moulded into grain like spheres which are lightly toasted. This gives the couscous a great flavour which isn’t bland like regular couscous. Lovely as a starchy side but it really shines in a salad.

Brown rice or lentil pasta: if you are following a gluten-free diet, you’ll know that many gluten-free pastas have a horrible texture. The most successful I’ve found are made from brown rice or lentils. They have a good firm texture and a pleasant flavour.

Veggie Power:

To make this a complete meal, it needs some vegetables or salad to up the veggie power. It is a Mediterranean style recipe, so you have plenty of options that will complement the flavours very well.

Vegetables to add to the sauce: old favourites include red peppers, courgettes and mushrooms. An even option is to wilt fresh or frozen spinach into the sauce.

Side salad: as the texture of this dish is creamy and soft you can pair it with a crisp salad of crunchy leaves, grated carrot, shaved red cabbage, sunflower seeds and a simple balsamic salad dressing.

Combine 3tbsp balsamic vinegar, tbsp wholegrain mustard, pinch of dried thyme, salt and pepper. Whisk in 125ml . Add 1 whole, peeled garlic clove and a small piece onion to the dressing. Allow to infuse overnight then remove.

Greek salad: this is a classic for a reason. Mixed chopped cucumber, diced tomato, a little bit of finely diced red onion and feta cheese. You can dress it with EVOO, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, dried oregano, fresh mint, salt and pepper.

Wedge salad: this is a real cheats salad. Take a baby cos or baby gem lettuce and cut lengthways into 6-8 wedges, leaving the base intact. Drizzle over your favourite dressing, I like a blue cheese or green goddess dressing for this.

Roasted vegetables: keep it simple with roasted butternut squash or a mixture of Mediterranean vegetables. Mix together chopped red onion, peppers, courgettes and aubergines. Tuck in some fresh rosemary and garlic cloves. Drizzle with EVOO, balsamic vinegar and season. Roast at 200°C until soft and slightly charred.

Baked sweet potato: skip the pasta and serve the creamy chicken piled on top of a baked sweet potato. Prick the sweet potato and microwave on full power for 3 minutes. Turn it over and microwave for a further 3 minutes. Rub it lightly in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pop it into the oven with the chicken as the cheese melts to crisp up the skin a bit.

In this series, chef and author Rozanne Stevens prepares a series of recipes from an evidenced based cookbook called ‘Healthy Eating for Cancer Survivors’ developed by Dr. Aoife Ryan and Dr Éadaoin Ní Bhuachalla, of University College Cork (UCC), and Breakthrough Cancer Research. The Cookbook is available on https://www.breakthroughcancerresearch.ie/product/the-anti-cancer-cookbook/ More videos and recipes are available on  

Laya Healthcare has put together a cancer care guide outlining screening, diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Download your guide https://www.layahealthcare.ie/media/site/pdfs/Cancer-Care-Laya-Healthcare.pdf