Orange & black with spidery black bean pasta, this cheesy Southwestern chicken pasta pie is the perfect healthy, 21 Day Fix approved Halloween dinner!
Hey guys! Look at all of that pretty orange and black... are you in the Halloween spirit yet?? If not, I encourage - no - implore you to listen to the playlist that I made just for you. It's a ridiculous amount of eclectic fun and it's been on loop at my house for, well, I don't really need to say how long do I? Probably too long. I think we can leave it at that. Btw, if you only listen to one song on that playlist, let it be the first one, it's freaking fantastic. 😉
I LOVE me some Halloween, folks. I love the cute kiddos in their costumes, the scary movies, the crunchy leaves on the ground, the (definitely not spiked) hot cocoa in my hand 😉 All of it. We're all decorated over here and as I write this, we're gearing up for a bunch of local Halloween activities this weekend and I'm SO looking forward to them! That's another one of the great things about moving around, there's always something new to do, it's basically impossible to get bored.
Anyway, I've been thinking for a while now about bringing you something with some Halloween love and I've had this black bean pasta in the back of my mind (and my cabinet) just waiting to be eaten. I thought it looked a little like black spider legs (ya know, if you squint really hard), all it needed was something orange as the icing on the cake (or, uh... pie). Butternut squash is probably my favorite orange thing in the whole world, so it was a natural place to start.
Before I had tried black bean pasta, I had read that it has some black bean flavor* (I know, what a shocker!), so I thought I would roll with that and go southwestern with this dish. Honestly, I was pretty skeptical at how it was going to turn out, but it was sooo good! It was cheesy, a little smoky with just a touch of sweetness from the squash. Add that to it looking just creepy enough (ya know, without terrifying the kiddos) and orange and black and it's the perfect get-you-in-the-Halloween-spirit dinner. Now, just put on this playlist and you're ready to roll 😉
Enjoy <3
*Just FYI, I really don't think this pasta tastes "bean-y" at all.
If you make this recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Southwestern Chicken Pasta Pie
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 6 cups raw)
- 1 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped small (or cooked, chopped chicken)
- ¾ cup low-fat cottage cheese
- ¼ cup 1% Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbs of this Smoky Southwest Seasoning or chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 2 cups cooked black bean pasta
- chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Steam your butternut squash in the microwave by putting in a microwave-safe covered dish (glass if you have it) with ¼ cup of water. Microwave until squash is very soft. Microwaves vary, but it took about 12 minutes in mine. Drain. To whip these with the garlic powder and salt, you can either throw them in your blender or use a hand mixer. I used a hand mixer. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly season the raw chopped chicken with salt and pepper or extra southwest seasoning. In a large non-stick skillet sprayed with olive oil cooking spray, cook the chicken all the way through. Drain, set aside. (of course if you're using cooked chicken, you'll just skip this part)
- In a blender, add your cottage cheese, yogurt and southwest seasoning and blend until it's completely smooth.
- In a deep dish pie plate, mix together the pasta and chicken, so that the chicken is evenly divided throughout (this is easier to do before the other ingredients are added). Next, add the cottage cheese sauce and the shredded cheese, mix thoroughly. Top evenly with the whipped butternut squash, sprinkling lightly with chili powder or more southwest seasoning, if desired.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through. Let cool 10-15 minutes to set, slice into 4 slices and serve!
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: 1 ¼ Red, 1 Green, 1 Yellow, ½ Blue
Weight Watchers Freestyle Points: 5
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 SliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 358Total Fat: 9g
Véronique Cartier says
Thanks for sharing Stephanie, it looks yummy! I love the playlist too 🙂
Stephanie says
Thanks, Véronique!
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
A Halloween playlist??? Nooooooo!! And by Noooooo I mean YESSSSSSSSSS!!! Please do continue imploring us to get in the Halloween spirit, esp by way of music. I'm always up for getting in the spirit of things with you, my dear friend. 🙂 And Z(ombie)OMG on the first song!!!!! Whaaaaaaaaaaa. Steph, why have you never told me that you have AWESOME taste in music? We've got to talk music some time. So many awesome lines in that song, including: "If I were a zombie,
I’d never eat your brain. I'd just want your heart." LOVE it. Perfect Halloween/all year long. Also, the Black Keys song? This is why we're besties. <3 Love this recipe, love the playlist, totally love ya my dear! Boggiest, creepiest bog hogs to ya my dear! <3 P.S. thank you for totally kicking Monday up like 5,000 notches of spooktacular awesomeness.
Stephanie says
Hahaha... Demeter, this comment made my day 🙂 Yes! The Zombie Song, isn't it super fun?! My fav: "Then all of your friends, they'd try to kill us, but only because they'd be jealous, that our love is deeper than Edward and Bella's." I laughed so hard at that line! So glad you liked the playlist and the black keys song... this is totally why we're besties 😉 Bog hogs, D! <3
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh my gawsh, this pasta pie is SO festively fun!!! I mean this is THE perfect dinner for Halloween!! I am pretty obsessed with butternut squash, so I love that you used it here! I have never seen black bean pasta before (at first I thought it was squid ink pasta), so I NEED to be on the look out for that! The flavors in here sound amazing! Can't wait to try this! Cheers, friend!
Stephanie says
Thanks so much, Chey! I LOVE butternut squash, too! The first time I saw black bean pasta it was at a regular grocery store in the gluten free area, if that helps. I ordered some for this, but in the AK some ingredients can be tough to find. 🙂 Have a great week! XO
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
All of this talk of Halloween is definitely rubbing off on me!! I'm gonna dress up next weekend and I'm super excited, especially because I get to play with some make-up, lol 😀 Even furry child gets involved in the fun! He has multiple super hero costumes, so I just know that they are gonna make an appearance next weekend 🙂 !
I really love butternut squash too and I've never had black bean pasta so I'd love to try this. I really love beans and lentils so I know I'd love this, regardless if the pasta tastes like black beans or not ;). Pinned, of course!
Thanks so much for the playlist, girlie! So perfect for Halloween!! Always have music on so this is handy, especially for those Halloween get-togethers! Hope you're having an awesome weekend!
Stephanie says
I hope you post some pics of you and the fur baby, Dawn! And yes, playing with makeup is the best! I'm always glad when the girls pick a costume that needs makeup 🙂 I think you'll really like the black bean pasta - I ordered mine, but the first time I saw it was in a regular grocery store, so it maybe easy to find for you. Sometimes things are a bit tougher in Alaska! I'm so glad you liked the playlist, we've been playing it like mad over here 🙂 Thanks for pinning, Dawn! XO