Adding some variety to your weeknight dinner with this flavorful dish!
This year I decided to challenge myself and get a bit more creative in the kitchen. Meaning: try new flavors, revamp an existing dish and pack that into a ~30 minute meal for during the week. I’m proud to say, 2017 has seen a lot of that!
After jotting down a few ideas, I knew this had to be the first I tried since this girl is no longer allergic to peanuts!!!
Queue the happy dance.
THIS right here↑ is anything but boring. It’s light, refreshing, healthier, and incredibly flavorful. But what I love about this dish is (1) it’s simple, (2) you can customize the vegetables and protein to your liking, and (3) only takes about 30 minutes.
Let’s get to the recipe, shall we? You’ll cook down all the vegetables (keeping those zucchini noodles off to the side.) Get creative with your vegetables, I had shredded carrots, red cabbage, thinly sliced peppers and onions on hand. Cook em’ with some fresh garlic and sesame oil. Have you tried sesame oil before? Gosh, it’s the best thing ever.
Now once those veggies are cooked down, add the shredded chicken and zucchini noodles. This is to only warm the chicken and zucchini noodles through. Then, you’ll pour in that incredible peanut sauc….eee. Sorry, mouth watering.
PS: the star IS by far, without a single doubt, the peanut sauce.
Leftovers? if there are any, are 1030220040x better the next day. I’m 100% guilty of eating it directly out of the container, cold.
Easy Dinner: Peanut Chicken Zucchini Noodles
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (plus more for the peanut sauce)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage (I used red)
- 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced (I used red)
- 3 large zucchini, spiralized
- 2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breasts
- Recommended Toppings: sesame seeds, cilantro, peanuts, green onions
Peanut Sauce
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy suace
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 3 teaspoons Siracha (use as much, or little, to your liking!)
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tablespoons of sesame oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, cabbage, onions and peppers. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring a few times, until a little tender. (While these are cooking are typically when I start the peanut sauce, step 2.) Once tender, add the shredded chicken and zucchini noodles to the skillet. Stir together for 2-3 minutes until the zucchini is slightly soft and the chicken is warm. Turn off the stove and remove from the heat, set aside. (If you don’t have a large enough skillet, do this in batches.)
- Combine all the peanut sauce ingredients into a small sauce pan over low heat. Whisk together until the peanut butter is melted and combined.
- Once the sauce is heated through, pour over the chicken/vegetable mixture and toss together until combined. (If your skillet is too small for this, simply pour everything into a large mixing bowl to combine.) Top with sesame seeds, peanuts, cilantro, and green onion.
- Leftevers keep in the refrigerator for 2 days. Reheat as needed. It’s soooooo good the next day, cold.
Notes
- Sesame oil is key for this recipe. It can be found in your local grocery store down the international and/or Asian aisle.
- For the chicken: I typically pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or pop a few chicken breasts in the oven at 425F degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness) and then shred the meat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Healthy dinner
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