Keto pasta bake – cheesy chicken, bacon and mushroom tagliatelle

Just wanted to come here and post my recipe from tonight in case it inspired anyone else on a keto diet, I really struggle with monotonous eating and find myself forcing to finish my plate most nights with predominantly meat dishes, usually accompanied by mushrooms and broccoli – I do love these things individually but every time I start a keto diet I go through the same problem of experiencing nausea almost instantly because of what’s on my plate, I’m pretty sure it is a psychological barrier but either way, I finally decided to expand my plate and experiment with carb free alternatives to bring a sense of normalcy to my diet. I got some packets of konjac tagliatelle, rice and noodles from Holland and barret (200g drained weight; very affordable packets I think £1.50 ish each) and I have been pleasantly surprised with the results so I want to share 😊

Ingredients:

• Konjac tagliatelle – 200g

• Chicken thigh fillets, boneless – 225g

• Mushroom – 100g (I chopped up 1.5 large flat mushrooms but I’m certain any variety will do!)

• Bacon – 2 slices of unsmoked back bacon

• Double cream – 80ml

• Full fat Soft cheese – 50g

• Mature cheddar – 50g

• Grated mozzarella and cheddar mix bag – 30g

• Dijon mustard – 1.5tsp

• Pepperoni slices – 20g

• Xantham gum – 1/3 tsp

• Shallot – one shallot grated

• Garlic – one clove grated

How I made it:

First of all I followed the instructions for the pasta, drained the bag of its liquid and rinsed under cold water for a few minutes using a sieve, then left on a bowl to drain any excess water while I heated up a dry pan to high heat – added the pasta and cooked it for 2-3 minutes making sure any remaining water was cooked off, then set to the side in a bowl

I started frying the diced bacon in a dry pan and let it release some of its fat while browning then added my diced chicken pieces and cooked them together with some oil now added into the pan for about 5 minutes until the chicken was evenly browned but not overcooked then added my mushrooms with a splash more oil and cooked for a further 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms softened. I seasoned with some salt and pepper and a sprinkle of paprika then transferred this mix to a separate bowl and leaving the fat in the pan

I grated one shallot and one garlic clove into the pan, and cooked for a minute until it was starting to brown then I added my double cream and soft cheese, mixing them together until all the lumps had melted and it began to thicken – I used the xantham gum at this point just a tiny bit at a time and kept mixing until it was the consistency I wanted, then added the dijon mustard and 15g of the mozzarella and 25g of the mature cheese

Once this was all mixed through I added the tagliatelle and tossed until it was all covered, then added my chicken and bacon and mushrooms and tossed again to mix it all up thoroughly

I then transferred the whole thing into a small oven dish as pictured, topped with the remaining cheese and mozzarella blend and the pepperoni slices on top

It was then baked in an airfryer oven for about 10 minutes until all the cheese had melted and the pepperoni slices were going crispy – garnished with a bit of fresh parsley ☺️

For my personal diet I am doing 22-24h fasting, OMAD and strict keto under 20g carbs, daily target 1400cal. Here are my macros for today’s meal :

Calories – 1400
Fat – 112g
Protein – 76g
Net carbs – 15g
Total carbs – 18g
Fiber – 3g

Of course some people would want to use different ingredients or change up the cooking process but for anyone who is struggling for inspiration or maybe needs a bit of help with the cooking steps I hope this can be useful, I’d love to hear any feedback if someone tries it 🥰