Cream Cheese Spaghetti

This is a very creamy and cheesy spaghetti with chicken, that is perfect to prepare for lunch or dinner. It also makes for quite a filling meal.

In this recipe, we have used Salim Creamy Taste cream cheese spread, provided to us by one of our partners, Sosun Fihaara. It is super creamy and smooth, with a light milky and cheese flavour. The Salim Creamy Taste cream cheese spread is very nice to have with toasted bread or in sandwiches and dressings.

Serving size: 2-3

Ingredients:

For cooking the spaghetti

• 5 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 250g spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the cream cheese sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250g diced chicken breast
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 5 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• 200ml cooking cream
• ½ cup Salim Creamy Taste cream cheese spread
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Instructions:

1. To a large pot, add 5 cups water and 1 tsp salt, and bring to a boil on high heat for 10 minutes or until fast bubbles form on the surface of the water. Add in 250g spaghetti and boil for 6-7 minutes or until the pasta is al dente (the pasta will be soft but has a slight firmness when you bite into it). This means just 1 minute before the pasta is fully cooked.
2. Drain the pasta and add to a large bowl. Then, mix in 1 tbsp olive oil to make sure that it doesn’t stick together. Set aside.
3. To make the pasta sauce, add 1 tbsp oil to a pot and heat it up for 30 seconds on high heat. Then, add in 250g diced chicken breast and sauté for 1 minute.
4. Season the chicken with 1 tsp ground black pepper and ½ tsp salt. Mix well and continue sautéing for 3 minutes or until the chicken pieces are fully cooked with a light brown crust on both sides. To check if the chicken is cooked, make a small cut on the meat; the inside should be white all the way through, not pink. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
5. Take a new pan and melt 3 tbsp unsalted butter on low heat for around 2-3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add in 5 finely chopped garlic and sauté for 2 minutes or until the garlic is lightly browned.
6. Next, add 2 tsp chilli flakes and mix with the garlic for a minute. Then, add in 200ml cooking cream and ½ cup Salim Creamy Taste cream cheese spread while continuously stirring until fully combined and smooth. This will take around 2 minutes.
7. Now, add the cooked spaghetti and chicken. Mix well with the cream cheese sauce for 2 minutes.
8. Turn off the heat and add 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley. Give it a final mix. The cream cheese spaghetti is now ready to enjoy!