I have collaborated with Banza chickpea pasta in their #morethanmarinara campaign to create a simple, family-friendly, and nutritious Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake. I wanted to mix our family’s love of Mexican and Italian inspired dishes for an easy weeknight meal that I could pull together in less than an hour. I made the recipe using a homemade enchilada sauce, but this can be substituted for a store bought sauce. And I used chicken meat from a rotisserie chicken, which can be found now at just about any grocery store. Talk about easy!
If you haven’t heard about Banza chickpea pasta, then you are in for a treat, for it is a high protein, low carb and gluten free alternative to traditional pasta. In fact, when compared to pasta, each serving of Banza chickpea pasta has 2x the protein, 3x the fiber and 1/2 the net carbs. It tastes delicious and holds its shape very well compared to brown rice pasta which can become a little gummy. Banza chickpea pasta is found at most stores (like Safeway, AJ’s and Sprouts if you are in AZ) in the pasta and/or gluten free section. I hope you enjoy this Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake and experiment on your own knowing that pasta can be served with #morethanmarinara. xoM
For more recipes with Banza chickpea pasta, you can follow this link to a previous post of mine.
Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup cilantro or Italian parsley, chopped
For the Enchilada Sauce
- 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 3 tbsp gluten free flour (all-purpose and whole wheat work as well)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1/4 tsp salt, to taste
- pinch of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Instructions
- Separate the meat from the rotisserie chicken and shred. Set aside along with the grated cheese and the chopped cilantro.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare the Banza chickpea rotini according to package instructions. Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- For the sauce, gather all the dry ingredients together (flour, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt and cinnamon) into a small bowl. In a medium-sized pot, heat the oil and add the flour mixture, whisking constantly for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. While whisking, pour in the broth making sure there are no lumps. Simmer mixture for 5-7 minutes until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, whisk in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the rotini pasta into the sauce. If there is not enough liquid, or the enchilada sauce is too spicy, you can add a small can of tomato sauce. Mix in the shredded chicken and pour into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with cheese and place the dish into the preheated oven on middle rack for 20-25 minutes, or until mixture is bubbling and top has started to brown. Remove from oven and serve warm. Top with cilantro.
