You can slather anything with tahini and it will taste great – that’s my new motto.
I mean, tahini is part of the world’s greatest spread (hummus), so no wonder it’s the best.
Who knew carrots and a little tahini dressing could be so satisfyingly delicious!
Making tahini dressing is crazy simple – you pulse tahini, water, garlic, lemon juice, honey, and olive oil together in a food processor until creamy. That’s it. If I were you, I’d triple the dressing recipe and keep on hand for dinners later in the week – it goes with seafood, meat, poultry and of course, veggies.
Carrots can be tricky to spiralize, as it’s usually hard to find ones large enough to spiralize – except if you have the Inspiralizer. With the Inspiralizer’s small central coring blade, spiralizing thinner veggies is a cinch!
As you know, boiling carrots is my favorite way to prepare spiralized carrots – they fluff up and taste like whole wheat pasta, with a slight sweetness that works phenomenally with the tahini dressing (picking up hints of honey.)
Another essential to this recipe is the onion. These spiralized onions caramelize beautifully with a simple salt and pepper seasoning and give the chicken an added savory flavor. Caramelized onions also give a nice velvety texture, bringing this pasta dish together.
I’ve never cooked chicken this way on my blog before – boiling it in water and then shredding it. Actually, I’ve never cooked it this way in “real life,” but now, it’s becoming my favorite way to do so – it’s quick, it’s simple and it results in succulent chicken. Chicken can easily dry out, but this method avoids that.
PLUS, who doesn’t love a little shredded chicken atop a bed of greens, pasta, in a sandwich, or even in an omelette?
Spoiler alert: tomorrow’s recipe is going to use extra shredded chicken from today’s recipe (because, hey, I don’t want to waste!)
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 9 points
Mediterranean Chicken and Carrot Noodle Bowl with Tahini
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot peeled, Blade D, noodles trimmed
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 pound boneless chicken breast
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small onion Blade A, noodles trimmed (or sliced thinly)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons crushed cashews
- For the tahini dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons water to thin
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place a medium pot filled halfway with water and a pinch of salt to a boil, over high heat. Once boiling, add in the carrot noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes or until cooked to your preference. Drain into a colander, pat dry and set aside in a medium mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, place the chicken breast into a medium saucepan and pour in enough water to cover. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil, and simmer until the thickest part of the breast meat is no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and then shred the chicken, using two forks.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the onions. Season with salt and pepper and cover, cooking the onions until caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes.
- While onions cook, prepare the tahini dressing: place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust if necessary.
- Once onions are done, add in 1 tablespoon of the tahini dressing, the chicken and toss for 30 seconds to combine.
- Drizzle the rest of the dressing into the bowl with the carrot noodles and toss together to combine. Plate the noodles into bowls and top with onions and chicken. Sprinkle with cashews.
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