This wonderful pasta dish uses sun-dried tomatoes which are packed in olive oil, multi-grain penne pasta, specifically, the Barilla Plus brand, and a packaged light Alfredo sauce by Buitoni brand to produce this calorie reduced dish, another Weight Watchers favorite. Coming in at only 298 calories, this flavorful dish, while containing a few store brand specific items is actually very good and good for you too! In the Weight Watchers Magazine, you can find the original recipe on page 47 of the “Five Ingredient 15 Minute Meals” cookbook. Remember, the “five ingredients” exclude cooking spray, salt, pepper, water, and optional ingredients.
| Ingredients | ||
| 8 | Ounces | Penne, multigrain, Barilla Plus |
| 1 | Package | Alfredo sauce, Buitoni (10-ounces)* |
| ½ | Cup | Sun-dried tomatoes, julienne |
| 10 | Slices | Bacon, crumbled |
| ¼ | Cup | Basil, fresh, chopped |
| 1 | Tsp | Black pepper, freshly ground |
| Procedure Steps | |
| 1. | Cook pasta according to package direction, omitting any salt and fat; drain and keep warm. |
| 2. | While the pasta is cooking, combine the Alfredo sauce with the sun-dried tomatoes in a saucepan and heat over a medium-low setting for a few minutes. |
| 3. | In a large bowl or pot combine the pasta with the sauce and stir well, then transfer to a serving bowl. |
| 4. | Top with the crumbled bacon, chopped basil and cracked black pepper |
*I could have made a “light” Alfredo sauce on my own using skim milk thickened with a cornstarch slurry, but we wanted to stick with the original recipe this time, however, for a cost saver, 10 ounces of homemade light Alfredo would work just as well. Indeed, for 1 ¼ cups of skim milk warmed with about ¼ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, and thickened with 2 Tbsp of cornstarch slurry would do the trick to replace the Buitoni brand sauce. We actually doubled the recipe when we made it, but here is the original recipe, which yields 5 servings, each account for 6 Weight Watchers points, and has 298 calories, 9 grams fat, 16 grams protein, 38.5 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 29 mg cholesterol, and 624 mg sodium.
In our preparation of this dish, I kept the garnishes from step 4 out of the large serving bowl and opted instead to individually garnish each serving portion instead. With leftovers, this enabled us to heat up individual portions of the pasta/sauce and then add the bacon, basil and cracked black pepper to each of our liking.
24 responses so far ↓
1 MaryMoh // Feb 3, 2010 at 10:13 am
Perfect for my lunch. I love all those bacon and basil on top. Must be very flavourful and delicious.
2 Jessie // Feb 3, 2010 at 10:42 am
I wish this was my dinner tonight! such a great healthy dish, I love the bacon too
3 Ed Schenk // Feb 3, 2010 at 11:01 am
Looks delicious. Anything with bacon works for me!
4 Kian // Feb 3, 2010 at 11:15 am
I love Alfredo and the addition of bacon and sun-dried tomato sound really delicious.
5 Beth // Feb 3, 2010 at 11:56 am
Awesome!! I am so hungry…..lol….
6 Roti n Rice // Feb 3, 2010 at 11:58 am
Looks wonderful! Bacon and sun-dreid tomatoes make it very enticing.
7 Natasha - 5 Star Foodie // Feb 3, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Oh, I just got sun-dried tomatoes and this would be a perfect recipe to make for dinner, yum!
8 Taylen Peterson // Feb 3, 2010 at 12:57 pm
sounds and looks amazing…it’s a shame i always see your food in the morning and then am counting the minutes until lunch…only to be disappointed compared to your dishes, haha
9 Franceen Ellis // Feb 3, 2010 at 3:35 pm
this sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try this recipe………mmmmmmm
10 Emily // Feb 3, 2010 at 4:08 pm
My thoughts:
1. Yum!
2. Wow!
3. This is incredible.
4. The best ingredients are in this recipe
5. Did I say yum and wow?
:o)
11 Dimitry Mishchuk // Feb 3, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Love the bacon in the dish, it surely adds some crunch to it.
12 redkathy // Feb 3, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Quick and simple, yet bursting with flavor! Just the way pasta should be served. Nice post Chef.
13 Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes // Feb 3, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I’ve made something similar before and it was wonderful! This sounds so great!
14 Mary // Feb 3, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I’m a fan of those Barilla Plus pastas too – I often do half and half! This recipe is so simple but good.
15 Gera @ SweetsFoodsBlog // Feb 3, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Sun-dried tomatoes and bacon, what a wonderful pasta dish… I need it for dinner!!
All the best,
Gera
16 Drick // Feb 3, 2010 at 9:25 pm
ya know, I could smell the bacon before finding this post … love it with anything – basil and sun dried tomatoes with the bacon must be awesome
17 Conor @ HoldtheBeef // Feb 3, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I think you must be a magician to make such delicious dishes with so few calories. That bacon looks perfect.
18 penny aka jeroxie // Feb 4, 2010 at 7:11 am
i just love this really simple and good combination pasta.
19 Karine // Feb 4, 2010 at 9:12 am
I heart sun-dried tomatoes and this is a great pasta recipe! 🙂
20 pegasuslegend // Feb 4, 2010 at 6:25 pm
All my fav’s in one dish this with bacon and tomato awesome combo and the Alfredo Im in heaven~
21 ninni // Feb 5, 2010 at 7:38 am
i see you use Barilla Penne my favorite!!!
22 averagebetty // Feb 5, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Oh, bacon! I love this combination and eat it often but never with bacon… what have I been missing?!?
23 Debby Boyle // Feb 26, 2010 at 11:29 pm
I suggest you make your own alfredo…..buitoni is too salty…..
24 Ryan Boudreaux // Feb 27, 2010 at 10:44 am
@Debby Boyle, If you need a low sodium recipe, yes as I suggested, it would be a perfect option to make you own Alfredo as I listed above. Also, Buitoni has a Light Alfredo sauce (http://www.buitoni.com/Products/#/creamy-sauce) that has 350mg sodium per 1/4 cup serving.