Chicken Alfredo is my lactose-intolerant husband’s favorite dish. It’s pretty much always a goal of mine to give him something that reminds him of that…however, it always seems impossible to compare to the original. This recipe comes close despite it’s lack of dairy.
If you have the resources to get the products involved, it’s SO WORTH IT! However, if you do not have some of the ingredients, there are substitutes for a few ingredients that will still yield a delicious and creamy alfredo sauce.
After one taste of this, my husband said, “you’ll be making this often!”
Over medium heat, sauté garlic in ghee for 30 seconds to a minute.
Whisk in cream cheese until it melts completely.
Add the remaining ingredients* and whisk together. Let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
*I also add 1-2 TBSP of Italian seasoning - like Primal Palates Amore Seasoning (YUM!) to the sauce. It gives it a nice herby-kick!
You can adjust the salt and pepper now. I like mine on the saltier side - so I add 1/2-1 tsp or so.
If you want a thinner sauce, add more coconut milk. I like mine pretty thick, so I stick with about 1/2 cup.
IT'S THAT EASY! Now go and pour this over whatever pasta (or pizza!) you please!
It’s no secret that our house loves spicy things, and particularly jalapeños. You’ll find that I often suggest adding them to things in my recipes. If I didn’t suggest adding them, chances are, I still put them in there when I make the dish. Believe it or not, not everyone likes them as much as my husband does. 😉
This sauce is a MUST-HAVE whenever we have anything of the Mexican cuisine. Plus, it comes together in just a few minutes! If there’s any leftovers, it’s pretty easy to find something to pour this over the next few days.
With the exception of the coconut milk LIQUID, add all of your ingredients to a food processor and blend! Start with 1 tsp of salt...you can always add more.
Add more coconut milk liquid until your desired consistency is achieved. If you can tolerate some dairy or have a favorite unsweetened yogurt, you can add some of that to it as well to make a thicker sauce.
I’m always amazed at how evenly and quickly my Instant Pot cooks meals. It is one gadget that I seriously can’t say enough good things about! It’s been a year with my IP, I should just get used to it…
If you don’t have an IP, you could still cook this on your stove top. Just bake your spaghetti squash separately (it’ll probably take at least 30-40 min, depending on the size) or microwave it , for a quicker cook…then add it to your chicken taco sauce. Still easy, it will just take a bit more time and you’ll have to keep an eye on that pot. That’s probably my favorite part of the Instant Pot, I can set it and not pay any attention to it until the timer goes off and it’s basically ready! I can’t complain about that aspect a bit!
This “pasta” is made with spaghetti squash – so it’s totally guilt-free! If you’re a taco lover, this is a nice change from your typical tortillas, meat, and veggies. I use my jalapeño crema on top of this too! Love the bright, spiciness it adds!
Switch things up on your next Taco Tuesday …or Taco Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and whip up this guilt-free “pasta”!
To your Instant Pot, add your onions, chicken, seasonings, coconut milk*, tomato sauce, and lime juice.
*(if you don't have coconut milk, use 1 1/2 cups of whatever milk you want!)
Wash and cut spaghetti squash in half - I do it the short ways, around the middle section - so you're left with two "cups."
Line the pot with a double layer of tinfoil. You can use your trivet, if it fits. For the spaghetti squash I used, the handles of the trivet wouldn't allow the lid to close. If you can fit it all in there with the trivet, by all means, use it. It'd work the same.
Place your halved squash on top of the tinfoil layer. Close the lid, seal the valve, press the "Manual" button*, then press the "+" button until the screen reads 8. The pot will switch to "On" while it preheats.
*Make sure it's on High Pressure (if it is on Low Pressure, just press the "pressure" button to get it to High)
Your pot will take about 15 minutes to come to pressure. If you want to speed this up, you could sauté the onions and chicken for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients. For me, this cuts the preheat time in half or more, also you could reduce the cooking time as well. However, then you have to stir and watch the pot more than before. So, do whatever YOU feel like doing. Experiment! When it comes to such a quick cooking time, if something isn't done enough to your liking, it's easy to add a couple extra minutes!
When the timer goes off, do a QR (quick release), and open the lid. Remove your squash and divider.
Make a slurry with the arrowroot powder and almond milk or water and add that to your sauce and stir. Your sauce should thicken in seconds. Personally, we like our pasta saucyyyy. If you want a thicken sauce, you can always make more slurry and add it. Once it's thickened, turn the pot off by pressing "Keep Warm/Cancel."
Remove the inside of your squash, shred, and squeeze excess water out of it. If you don't do this, you will have a VERY saucy pasta - not necessarily bad - but definitely on the "wet" side.
Add your squash to your pot and stir.
Serve it up!
Any casserole-type dish, I pretty much love. This one has a fancy name though 😉 AND it has bacon in it, so….that’s reason enough to try this out. PLUS you can say you made a soufflé and sound all fancy! Ha! It’s so easy to make – always a plus.
This dish has been something I brought to family dinners for years. However, it’s only recently been paleo-fied and doesn’t taste a bit healthy! It’s not filled with tons of brown sugar or marshmallows, and the eggs make the texture AMAZINGGG. I love sweet potatoes, but their texture can be somewhat dense and just. gets. old. This soufflé is like scoops of sweet pillows with bacon on top. Is there anything better?
Peel and cook the sweet potatoes. I used my Instant Pot. I peeled them, chopped them into 1 1/2"-2" chunks, added 1 cup of water and cooked them for about 8 minutes. BOOM.
Once your sweet potatoes are cooked, combine them with the remaining ingredients with the exception of the crumble ingredients. You should get a light orange, somewhat runny consistency.
To make the crumble, combine your flour, butter, sugar, and bacon. USE COLD BUTTER. The crumble consistency will change if you use melted or room temperature. It will still taste delicious, it just won't be as crumbly. 🙂 It takes a few extra minutes to combine it all, but it's worth it!
Pour your sweet potato mixture into a deep baking dish. I used one that was about 4" deep. If you use a more shallow one, it will change the consistency a bit and cook quicker.
Top with your crumble and bake for 35-40 minutes until it's deep brown.
...that topping, though. **drools**
Let the soufflé rest for a good 20 minutes. If you don't it will fall apart slightly when you serve it. Again, it'll still be delicious...just not as pretty. 🙂
ENJOY!!
Talk about comfort food! Chicken and Dumplings is always a go-to! During the fall and winter months, everyone has lots of turkey leftovers OR there’s a bunch on sale at the grocery store! However, you could definitely use chicken, if you prefer.
I had to do an Instant Pot recipe right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday – SO MANY Instant Pots were just bought…and so many of them won’t be opened for months, believe it or not. I’m trying to change that! Don’t be afraid. Open it and make this! It’s so easy and you’ll be so impressed! If you don’t have one, put your shoes on and go straight to Walmart or Target and get one! …Or stay comfy and grab one off of Amazon. I have the 8-qt. one and have SERIOUSLY considered getting the new mini. I just don’t know if I really need it…but, don’t you worry, I’m trying to convince myself that I do. 😉
Anyways, I could go on and on about how much I love the IP. I’m not the only one, either. There’s a whole community on Facebook of crazies! It has tons of tips and recipes, plus you can always ask questions there – or simply, search a question and almost always find the answer!
This soup cooks in less than 15 minutes. (plus 10-15 minutes of coming to pressure) Most of that time, you can be doing other things. That’s one of the huge benefits to the Instant Pot! Just set it and forget about it!
If you have any questions about this recipe or how to work your pot, feel free to email me! I’d love to help out! 🙂
Print Recipe
Instant Pot Turkey and Dumplings Soup - Gluten & Dairy Free
Press the "Saute" button and cook the ghee, onions, carrots, and celery until the onions become slightly translucent. This takes about 3-5 minutes, depending on how hot you have the pot set at - I use "Normal".
Add your garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so - then add all of your spices! (i.e. pepper, seasoned salt, onion powder, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves)
Add your shredded turkey meat, broth, and coconut milk to the pot.
Stir everything up, close the lid, seal the pot (you don't want it to vent), press the soup button, and adjust the time to 8 Minutes on High Pressure.
While that's cooking, make your dumplings!
In a bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot powder, eggs, oil, and salt. You should end up with a sticky dough, but not runny. If your dumpling mixture seems to wet, add a tablespoon or two more of arrowroot to it - that should do the trick!
When the timer goes off, do a Quick Release (QR) and drop your dumplings into the pot. I make mine about the size of 2 tablespoons or so. They don't have to be perfect!
Close the lid, seal, and set the timer for 2 more minutes at HP.
Once the timer goes off, do another QR and you're finished! You could always add a thickening agent, like a slurry of arrowroot and water, to thicken it up - whatever your preference! ENJOY!!
Cookies are a wonderful thing, aren’t they? They’re even better when they’re quick, yummy, and made with organic ingredients that your body knows how to process! These Strawberry Shortcake cookies give you a guilt-free taste of summer! They have that same spongy texture and tart strawberry bite… just like the original dessert!
I’m purposely posting these in the middle of holiday baking because at some point, someone’s going to want to be different and NOT make another sugar cookie or gingerbread. Those recipes will be coming soon too, though! Don’t. You. Fret.
These are so, so simple to make. Personally, drop cookies are my favorite, because…when it comes to cookies, I want to eat them as soon as possible. Pretty cookies are great and all, and if I’m trying to be fancy and bring these to a party, I’d definitely take an extra minute to shape them nicely, but, EH, NOT TODAY! You can mix these up, bake them, and have them cooled in under 30 minutes. That’s a win in my book! Try these for yourself. You really can’t mess them up!
I’m always trying to find new ways to use sweet potatoes – or basically remake everything I would normally make with white potatoes, but swapping them out for their sweet, orange cousins. Sweet taters are just soooo much better for you! They have so many more vitamins packed into each one. White potatoes aren’t bad – just eat them in moderation, and keep those skins on! That is where tons of those nutrients are!
Besides mashed, I always want my potatoes to be CRISPY! I’d prefer them more on the burnt side than soggy. It takes practice, a good pan, and patience to get good, homemade, crispy fries. No matter what you’ve read…they’re just not THAT easy to pull off. They’re worth it when you do, definitely, BUT … you just don’t always have the time.
Instead of grabbing a bag of processed fries from the frozen section, take a minute, grate a sweet potato and try these! You won’t be disappointed! I like to dip mine in homemade BBQ Ranch dressing or just BBQ. SOOO GOOD!
This sauce is pure deliciousness. It’s refreshing, creamy, and can double for a dressing or a dip! You can’t go wrong! It’s made with coconut milk, but I promise you, you’d never know it!
It isn’t much of a secret that I am obsessed with soup. Who else decides where they’re going to eat out at based on what soup they have that day? Or is that just me? 🙂
I try to turn every meal into some type of soup. (or a casserole. I have a problem.) I wasn’t sure what I was going to make when I started chopping up the cauliflower…but I have to say, it turned into something really good!
I looked over and saw a jalapeño on the counter, so that guy ended up in this pot as well! I usually get a response like, “that shouldn’t be a question, honey,” whenever I ask my husband if I should put jalapeños in something. So, if I think for a second, that I should put one in there, I usually do! If they’re not your thing, just skip that part! It doesn’t add much heat once you remove the seeds, but it gives it a nice charred pepper flavor (because I roast it!) which is delicious.
There’s just something about sitting down with a bowl of creamy soup that soothes the soul. At least that’s what soothes my soul. Again, I have an obsession with soup. How could I not, though? SOUP IS LYYFEE. Growing up, whenever you’d get sick, mom would make you soup. You’d ALWAYS feel better. There’s just something so comforting about that bowl of goodness. FYI, there’s actually some medicinal properties involved in that homemade chicken noodle soup. It heals if it’s made properly! BONE BROTHHH!!!
Alright, enough already…recipe time!
Just kidding, P.S. You may want to double this recipe if you’re cooking for more than 2 people or want leftovers.
P.P.S. You could totally make this in your Instant Pot! Follow the same directions, but once you add the milk and broth, set your IP to High Pressure and cook it for 5-8 minutes, or so. It’ll cook FAST! Once it’s finished, stir in your arrowroot slurry to thicken it up!
Bake chopped cauliflower and jalapeño on a greased/lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until the edges start to char.
While the veggies are roasting, begin to sauté the ham, onion, and ghee in a large soup pot over medium heat.
After 10 minutes or so, remove your veggies from the oven. (and turn your oven off! I'm bad about that!) Your cauliflower and jalapeño should have some good char on them. You can leave them in there a few minutes longer to get even more char. All of those charred little bits adds tons of good flavor! Whatever you like! Be sure to watch them, though. They can burn fast at this temperature!
Slice your jalapeño in half, remove the seeds*, and dice.*The seeds come out SUPER easy after you've roasted it. If you prefer to do it before roasting, have at it!
Add the cauliflower and jalapeño to your ham and onions.
Add all of your spices to your soup pot, stir, and sauté it all for a couple minutes. I can still smell that smoky paprika cooking. Seriously, invest in that stuff. It's so good!
Next, add 2 cups of your broth (set aside 1/2 cup), coconut milk, and bay leaves. Simmer for 15-30 over medium/medium low heat - the longer the better. Soup only gets better as it cooks away on the stove. I'm just impatient and need to eat it as soon as possible!
Taste test! Now is the time to add more salt or pepper!
After simmering for some time (or however long you can wait!), combine the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and arrowroot powder to create a slurry. Add the mixture to your soup and stir* for a minute. This will begin to thicken everything up. *Make sure to stir from the bottom. Sometimes, the slurry will fall towards the bottom of the pot and thicken everything much faster down there. Then your soup will have gravy-like chunks in it. No good. ...well, gravy-like clumps don't sound all that bad to me. Remember, though, I like my gravy! Anyways, STIR IT GOOD!
There you have it! Scoop yourself a bowl, top with some chopped green onions, and go get cozy! You mood will INSTANTLY improve!
These cookies have a couple extra steps than other cookie recipes, but I promise that they’re worth it! Besides being perfectly moist and chewy, they’re filled with healthy fats from the avocado oil, antioxidants from the cacao powder, protein from the almond butter, and nutrients that promote gut health from the coconut. You can’t go wrong! …Sounds like a delicious cookie, right? Probably not after I listed all of that health-nut junk. 😉 But seriously, they’re yummy! Give them a try!
Now, I’m not saying that’s it’s ok to have a diet full of cookies. (I know, I know… I wish, too.) However, there is no guilt involved in eating a few of these. Your body will actually know what to do with the ingredients and benefit from it! No one will guess that they’re actually good for you!
