This is a sponsored post and I asked to create a recipe using the advertiser’s product in exchange for their promotion of the post. All opinions are mine alone.
Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake with greek yogurt, mozzarella, spinach and tomatoes is a healthy and easy make-ahead dinner that tastes anything but light. Creamy and rich, it feels indulgent but thanks to the healthy swaps including Chobani Greek Yogurt, you won’t feel guilty about going back for seconds!
*My affiliate links are used in this post. However this does not influence or change my opinion. Thanks for using them and helping support my family and my blog!*
I was inspired by Chobani’s #MadeWithChobani project. I wanted to create a recipe and share it with them using their yogurt as an ingredient. I thought it would be great exposure for my blog if they liked what I came up with and share it via their social media. I mean, come on, Chobani has just a few fans on social media. You can contribute to the #MadeWithChobani project too! Just come up with a recipe and post using the hashtag #MadeWithChobani.
So, of course, I emailed him back right away and told him that I would love to create a recipe for Chobani!!
I already love to use non-fat plain greek yogurt as a healthy swap in many of my recipes, so it was really a no brainer!!
Here are just a few of my other recipes that feature greek yogurt:
- 30 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Healthy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sliders
- Flavors of Fall Pasta
- Skinny Southern Potato Salad Recipe
- Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cream Sauce
- Kale Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- Protein Packed Blueberry Muffins
My Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake was inspired by this post by a great blog called Taylor Made by Taylor Bee. I made a few changes like using one of the best deals in the supermarket frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh.
Here is the recipe for Chobani Light Chicken Pasta Bake:
- 1 box (13-14 oz.) whole wheat rotini pasta (use any pasta shape that you like)
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 1 small can (8 oz.) can of no-salt-added tomato sauce
- 1 container (5.3 oz.) chobani non-fat plain greek yogurt
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup reserved starchy cooking water
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less or none if you don't do spicy)
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Cook pasta to "al-dente" according to package instructions, reserving 1 cup of starchy cooking water. Return cooked pasta to hot pot and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil.
- Once olive oil is hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent and soft, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add chicken and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or so, until chicken is pretty much cooked through and spinach is warm.
- Add chicken/spinach mixture to the pasta.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, greek yogurt, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, starchy cooking water, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine.
- Line a large casserole dish with heavy duty foil. Add the pasta mixture to the dish and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and then another sheet of foil. Either freeze or refrigerate until needed.
- If you are going to freeze the pasta bake, once it is frozen you can remove the foil wrapped food, seal it and place the whole thing in a plastic freezer bag. This frees up your dish and protects it a bit more from breakage.
- Remove your pasta bake from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator 24 hours before you intend to bake it.
- When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Take the foil wrapped food out of the plastic freezer bag and place back into a casserole dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the top.
- Remove from over and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve hot.
This is a sponsored post and I asked to create a recipe using the advertiser’s product in exchange for their promotion of the post. All opinions are mine alone.
I love a good healthy baked pasta dish, this looks so good.
Me too Janette!! Thank you!
Healthy pasta meals are often in demand in my home. Who would have thought that you could make a great pasta recipe using Chobani Yogurt? I would really like to try this recipe over the weekend.
You should be compensated for this delicious recipe. I love using greek yogurt in place of cream, extra protein and better on my waistline.
Lol, I have been hearing about Chobani all over the place lately, a lot of bloggers are kind of upset they’re asking for exposure without product or compensation. I was on the fence about participating, but either way I love the recipe you came up with! Greek yogurt is a great way of getting a lovely creaminess without too many extra calories. I hope they pick up your recipe, you definitely put enough time into it to be worth it 🙂
I have been using greek yogurt often in my recipe.. So much healthier. This recipe sounds so delicious.
This pasta sounds fantastic. What a great idea to use Greek yogurt in a pasta bake, that never occurred to me. So excited to try this!
Super yummy looking pasta dish. I also love using Greek yogurt in my pasta dishes and casseroles.
Thanks so much!! Greek yogurt is one of my fav swaps!!
I just adore everything about this dish Becky…so healthy and delish!
Thank you for the kind words Linda!!
Always love the addition of yogurt to a dish, such a spicy tang! Can’t wait to give this a try!!!
Definitely Debra! One of my fav swaps!!
This looks like a good hearty pasta bake without being heavy or oily. Yum! Thanks for the healthy recipe idea!