Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Feta, and Spinach
Try this Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Feta, and Spinach recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Feta, and Spinach recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 12.0057224248275 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.3215 g
- Fiber 1.09023674412206 g
- Protein 0.890314892402601 g
- Saturated Fat 0.06057 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (119g)
- Sodium 75.7396647387789 mg
- Sugar 10.9154856807054 g
- Trans Fat 0.05524 g
- Calories 39 calories
Step-by-step
- Place a large skillet over medium heat.
- Coat with cooking spray and add in your chicken.
- Season with salt and pepper and let cook for about 3 minutes and then flip over, cooking another 3-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Then, add in the lemon juice, spinach, zucchini and garlic powder.
- Let cook, tossing frequently, until spinach is wilted and zucchini noodles soften, about 3 minutes.
- When done, use pasta tongs to transfer to a bowl.
- Season with pepper, top with feta and enjoy!
Why are my zucchini noodles pooling with water at the bottom of the bowl? Raw zucchini consists of roughly ninety-five percent water. When heat hits the cellular walls of the spiralized squash, those walls rupture and release moisture rapidly. Managing this liquid is the single factor that determines whether the dish remains cohesive or turns watery. Sautéing over medium heat must happen quickly, ideally in thirty to sixty seconds, just long enough to heat the strands without boiling them in their own juices.
Using a large skillet ensures adequate surface area for evaporation. Crowding the pan traps steam, which softens the spinach into a grey puree and prevents the chicken strips from browning effectively. Cut the chicken tenderloins into uniform chunks so they cook through in six to eight minutes. Acid from the fresh lemon juice halts the cooking process of the spinach while brightening the salty profile of the feta cheese.
Portion scaling requires careful attention to pan capacity. Doubling this single-serving recipe means using two separate skillets or cooking in sequential batches. Overloading a standard ten-inch pan drops the surface temperature instantly. That temperature drop causes the vegetables to steam instead of searing.
Fresh zucchini noodles do not hold well in storage. Eat this preparation immediately upon transfer to the bowl. Leftovers deteriorate rapidly in the refrigerator, turning mushy within hours as residual salt draws out the remaining cellular moisture.
