Paleo Chicken Alfredo with Spinach and Olives (Whole30)

Why you will love this recipe:

• The taste! The cashew cream Alfredo sauce on this chicken Alfredo is so rich and creamy and gives it the most amazing flavour.
• It's ready in under 30 minutes just like my paleo spinach and artichoke dip.
• It's surprisingly easy to make and is cooked in one pan so the clean up is so simple.
• It is filled with some surprise ingredients like spinach and olives that not only make it taste amazing but turns it into a complete meal.
• It makes great leftovers and also stores well so it's perfect for meal prep.
• This paleo chicken Alfredo recipe is healthy, dairy free, gluten free, grain free and is also Whole30 compliant

Ingredients and substitutions:

• Boneless chicken breasts - instead of chicken breasts you could also use boneless chicken thighs to make this paleo chicken Alfredo recipe.
• Coconut oil - this is used to help cook the chicken and veggies for the sauce. You could swap this for another fat or oil such as avocado oil or olive oil.
• Raw cashews - to help make the perfect dairy free cream sauce. Be sure to use raw cashews and not roasted cashews to make the sauce.
• Coconut milk - this helps make the sauce so thick and creamy. I recommend using full fat coconut milk for the best taste and texture. If you can't have coconut I would use cashew milk or almond milk instead.
• Water - this helps thin the sauce out a bit and give it the perfect consistency.
• Nutritional yeast - this is what gives the sauce a cheesy flavour without the dairy.
• White onion - to give the dairy free Alfredo Sauce the best flavour. Instead of white onion you could use a sweet onion or yellow onion instead.
• Garlic - to give the sauce even more flavour!
• Black olives - because olives make everything better! If you don't like olives you could omit them from the recipe.
• Spinach - to give you a serving of veggies and turn this into a complete meal. You can use either fresh or frozen spinach to make this dairy free chicken Alfredo.
• Seasonings and spices: Italian seasoning, sea salt and ground black pepper are all you need to give this dish the best taste.

Recipe variations and add ins:

• If you don't like olives, simply omit them from the recipe.
• You can omit the spinach from the recipe if you prefer a plain chicken Alfredo.
• Try adding green olives in addition to black olives to give it a different flavour.
• This recipe is very adaptable: feel free to add other vegetables such as peas, broccoli or cauliflower or swap the spinach for another vegetable such as zucchini.
• If you are feeding a crowd feel free to double or triple this paleo chicken Alfredo recipe

How to make paleo chicken Alfredo:

Step 1

Make the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients to your high speed blender and blending well until smooth.

Step 2

Place a large pan or skillet on the stovetop on medium heat and add the oil and allow it to melt. Add the cut up chicken breasts to the pan and cook for a couple minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked on all sides.

Step 3

Once the chicken is cooked, pour the sauce over the chicken and stir well.

Step 4

Add the spinach and olives to the pan and stir well. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the ingredients together for another 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly so the sauce doesn't stick to the pan. Then serve and enjoy!

Top tips:

• Be sure to turn the chicken pieces regularly when they are cooking so that all sides of the chicken cook evenly.
• If the chicken is starting to stick to the pan add a bit more oil.

How to serve:

This healthy chicken Alfredo tastes great on its own, but you could also serve it over grain free pasta, spaghetti squash, sweet potato rice, zucchini noodles, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice. If you are not on a grain free diet you could serve it over pasta or rice.

You could also top this dish with cooked, chopped bacon for even more flavour!