Healthy Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe

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This Healthy Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe is a healthier version of the classic, but still delivers amazing flavor! It’s an easy 35 minute weeknight family dinner!

Get ready.  Get set.  Start drooling!  This Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe with spinach over pasta takes a delicious classic and adds a healthy twist.  BUT, I promise, it doesn’t lose an ounce of flavor!  You still get that thick, creamy, savory, and earthy mushroom stroganoff sauce with a touch of tangy brightness from the sour cream.  Then you have meaty and hearty chicken strips that are seared for maximum flavor.  Spinach is added for more texture, color, and healthy brightness. 

Easy 35-Minute Chicken Stroganoff Recipe

Making Stroganoff Healthier

My Mom would make her delicious Beef Stroganoff recipe for special occasions growing up.  It’s such a comfort food and I just adore it!  Even as an adult, when I would go home to Chicago to visit, she would always have Beef Stroganoff for me. 

With a Certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living, I’m always looking for ways to make traditional recipes healthier.  So, I set out to health-i-fy this classic beef dish so I could enjoy it more often with ingredients that I always have on hand. 

Here are the 4 changes I made to the recipe:

1. Replaced beef with lean chicken breast
2. Thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry so that I could cut down on the sour cream added
3. Added spinach for color, texture, vitamins, and nutrients
4. Replaced regular egg noodles with a healthier and gluten free pasta option made from chickpeas!  

Using Chickpea Pasta

Let’s talk about that last one.  I wanted to find a gluten free pasta that could stand up to this delectable sauce and not turn to mush.  Enter BANZA!  Banza has a variety of pasta shapes and sizes all made with Chickpeas!  That means they have more fiber, more protein, and less carbs than a regular pasta made from flour.

This Banza pasta would be delicious in my meatless Broccoli Pesto Pasta or Mexican Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing or my absolutely delicious Walnut Sauce Pasta with Ricotta and Spinach.

Looking for other Chicken options?  Try this Parmesan Chicken & Cherry Tomato Pasta or serve topped with Smothered Chicken with Bacon and Tomatoes!

Quick note!  This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them.  This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :).  But, I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used. 

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

• Chicken Breasts boneless, skinless – I always have raw boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer as they can last up to 12 months if in an airtight container or packaging. Check out all of my tips on Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners. You can also use skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
• Pasta, short cut I used Banza Cavatappi – You can use any short cut pasta or long cut pasta. You could also serve this over rice, quinoa, or even mashed potatoes.
• White button mushrooms – You can buy pre-sliced or whole mushrooms. Cremini or baby bella mushrooms would be great too. I don’t recommend canned mushrooms as they will not give the same flavor or texture.
• Salt – I used kosher salt, but any salt will work.
• Ground Black Pepper – You can use fine or coarse ground black pepper. I like fresh ground, but pre-ground is fine too.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You can substitute with any neutral oil, such as vegetable oil, avocado oil, or even coconut oil.
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it! If you do not have fresh garlic, you can substitute dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
• 1% milk – The milk replaces the heavy cream or heavy whipping cream in traditional cream sauces. You can also use skim milk, 2% milk, or full fat whole milk.
• Cornstarch – This is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold liquid to dissolve and create a slurry. That means that you don’t need to mix flour with butter to make a roux. It’s not only a low-fat thickener, it saves lots of time and fuss!
• Chicken stock or chicken broth – You can substitute with vegetable stock or broth or even beef stock or broth. You can also use water mixed with a chicken bouillon cube or chicken base.
• Vegetable broth – I used both chicken broth and vegetable broth because of the deep flavor and the darker color that vegetable broth brings to this recipe. You can of course use all of one type of broth.
• Sour Cream – Sour Cream is really the star in this particular recipe. However, if you don’t want to or have it to use, then you can substitute with coconut milk, greek yogurt, or marscapone. All of these options may make it a thinner consistency, so you may need to mix in a second tablespoon of cornstarch.
• Baby spinach – Baby spinach is best as the soft texture melts into the sauce. You can use frozen spinach but it will have a tougher texture. You can also use finely pre-sauteed kale. Of course, you can leave the veggie out altogether.

Simple Equipment

No hightech gadgets for this one, just your best and largest non-stick skillet/frying pan! I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.  It comes with a glass lid, which is perfect for watching your dinner cook!

Oh, I also like to cut my raw chicken with kitchen shears, but you can also just cut with a knife. And mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.

Prep-Ahead Steps for Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are the steps you prepare in the day(s) in advance and store in the fridge as your meal Kit… (See the recipe below for more details)

If you’re just looking to get ahead on the ingredient prep, then start by prepping the chicken.  Cut the chicken breast into strips. I like to do this with kitchen shears, but you can also just cut with a knife.  Store sealed in fridge until ready to cook.

Slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic. Store separately in fridge until ready to cook.

Cook your Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff

Start by cook the pasta.  If you start to boil the water at the same time you start cooking the chicken, you will be good in terms of timing!  Stir the pasta so it doesn’t stick together and boil and cook for 5 minutes. There will be foam created from the chickpeas, but that’s normal. Strain the pasta and rinse with hot water, then add back to the pot and cover until ready to serve.

Note: Of course you can use any pasta you want!  My Mom always made Stroganoff with Wide Egg Noodles.

Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Season the chicken and add them to the skillet with olive oil.  Separate the strips into a single layer to sear on one side, about 4-5 minutes. Then flip the strips over to sear on the other side.

Add water to the chicken and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom. Remove the chicken from the pan along with any juices.

To the same pan, add olive oil and the sliced mushrooms to the skillet over medium heat to high heat. Separate them into a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Let them sear on one side, about 5 minutes, then flip the mushrooms over to cook on the other side.

While the mushrooms are cooking, making the cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch into the cold milk.

Then add the chicken broth and vegetable broth, scraping up any bits on the bottom. Stir in the minced garlic and bring up to a light simmer.

Add the slurry to the skillet and whisk to combine. Continue to stir as the sauce starts to thicken and the whisk leaves a trail in the pan.

Add back the chicken, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in the sour cream and then add the spinach. Stir and let the spinach start to wilt. (NOTE: if you want the spinach more cooked down, add it earlier, when you add the chicken)

At this point, you can mix in the pasta or serve the Stroganoff over the pasta.    ENJOY!  😍 Carrie

Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe FAQS

Can I make this entirely ahead and reheat?

For this recipe, you could make the entire dish in advance and reheat.  If you do this, I suggest keeping the pasta separate from the sauce through the reheating process as they will have different times and you don’t want to overcook the pasta.

Can I use Chicken Thighs?

I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you can certainly use boneless skinless thighs.  As long as they are boneless and skinless, follow the same prep and cooking instructions.  

Can I use Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream?

You can substitute Greek yogurt in for the sour cream, but I suggest the following.  Since yogurt can curdle and break quite easily, I suggest adding the yogurt to a bowl and using a spoon, add some of the sauce from the skillet to the yogurt and whisk it in to thin it out into a saucy consistency.  Once the yogurt is pretty thinned out and smoothly mixed, whisk it into the skillet with the remaining sauce.  

Can I make this Chicken Stroganoff in the Slow Cooker or Instant Pot?

I have not yet tried this recipe in either the slow cooker or a pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot. You could certainly use either, but honestly, this recipe is so easy and fast, that they will not save you any time and may end up sacrificing flavor. For slow cooker Chicken Stroganoff, you will still want to sear the chicken and the mushrooms in order to get the browned flavor. Whether you add or skip the browning step, add the chicken strips, mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic, and broths to the slow cooker and set for 4 or 6 hours high. When there is 1 hour left in the cooking, whisk in the milk-cornstarch slurry and mix in the baby spinach.

What other ingredients could be added to this?

Here are some additional ingredients that you may find in Stroganoff recipes.  Worcestershire sauce adds depth and tang.  You can add 1 Tablespoon at the same time as the broth.  Dijon mustard is sometimes added for similar flavor impact of that depth and tang.  You can also add 1 Tablespoon of the dijon.