When I was a kid we used to eat at this diner right up the street from my house. My sister and I were both obsessed with the “Vegetarian Spa” {even when I wasn’t a vegetarian}. It had veggies, super creamy white sauce, linguine pasta and just pretty much the most comforting restaurant based meal I had growing up.
It got me thinking — what if I made something like that, not vegetarian and you know, healthier. Because I’m totally sure that the “white sauce” from that meal wasn’t really healthy and probably loaded with wheat based thickeners and sugars of some kind. So what’s better than chicken + broccoli in a cream sauce? Adding artichokes. That’s right, we added artichokes!
The results are pretty much this happy mix of really yummy and Mr. POAB and I both standing in front of the stove “taste testing” this until it was almost all gone.
In sum up? You need to make this. The artichokes and broccoli go together better than almond butter and apples and making it creamy and a little tangy from the mayo/apple cider vinegar is just an all around win.
We paired it with spaghetti squash because well spaghetti squash is delightful and was also on sale! You could easily pair this with a salad, rice, cauliflower rice, some kind of vegetable noodle thing if you have a spiralizer.
Does anyone still use a spiralizer?! Seriously — let me know so if I need to get one so we can spiralize all the things together!
A few recipe notes:
The amount of apple cider vinegar you need is going to vary depending on how tangy your mayo is! If you’ve made one that’s super tangy or lemony then you won’t need a lot. But if you made more of an unflavored mayo you’re going to need closer to a tablespoon! Start with the least amount you’ll need and gradually add more until you’re satisfied!
Artichokes can in some cases be a splurge item depending on where you live, where you shop, etc. If that’s the case and it’s not in the budget — just skip it! You can instead add in more mushrooms or another veggie you might have on hand! It won’t taste 100% the same but it’ll still be really good. And my rule of thumb is that I’d rather you not break the bank for one ingredient! If however, artichokes are easy to get/buy for you, please make sure it’s as close to just artichokes and water as possible!
Just like with the Ginger Chicken + Broccoli, I used a steam fresh bag of broccoli to make this a zillion times easier {and also cheaper at the moment}. So totally feel free to use that or something similar. Or if you have some steamed broccoli on hand use that!
1tsp – 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar {read above notes}
9 oz. artichokes hearts, drained + chopped in half {or quarters if they’re large}
salt + pepper
Ingredients
Get a large skillet heating with your fat of choice.
Once said fat is nice and melty add in your onions and mushrooms and let them all become friends! I also like to sprinkle on a tiny bit of salt at this point to get the flavors going.
Add in your chicken and cook until 99% cooked through.
Add in your broccoli, artichokes, basil, salt + pepper and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar. Stir and lower the heat a bit.
Add in one – two good sized spoonful of your mayo. Stir it around and add in more if needed to make it creamy! I needed about 1/2 – 3/4 of a batch {or two heaping regular spoon, spoonfuls … like the spoons you’ve got floating around next to your forks spoons 😀 }!
Stir it all around, when you know your chicken is cooked taste test and either add more apple cider vinegar, salt + pepper or a bit more mayo if needed!
Serve over your favorite noodle/rice/salad option and enjoy!
