This easy Chicken Alfredo recipe includes golden pan-fried seasoned chicken breasts and tender noodles, coated in the most dreamy cream sauce ever. A showstopper meal and it’s all done in just over 30 minutes!
Looking for other easy creamy pasta dishes? You will love our Shrimp Alfredo, Spaghetti Carbonara, and Chicken Tetrazzini.
Talk about comfort food! Mama Mia, you guys. We put our amazing Homemade Alfredo Sauce to perfect use in this Chicken Alfredo recipe. Wonderfully seasoned chicken with a crispy golden exterior, on top of tender pasta that’s coated with a velvety garlic and Parmesan cream sauce. What’s more, it looks and tastes like a gourmet meal, but it’s incredibly easy to make. Trust me, your entire family will love it!
Chicken Alfredo Recipe
For Chicken Alfredo Pasta, you have 3 main components, all of which are delicious on their own and even more amazing once combined:
- Chicken: Chicken breasts are seasoned and pan seared in olive oil and butter until moist on the inside, with a golden crust on the outside. We keep the seasonings simple with just salt, pepper, and our homemade Italian seasoning blend, since so much additional flavor comes from the cream sauce.
- Pasta: Pasta is cooked in salted water until al dente, which is the bed of this dish. A long, flat noodle like Fettuccine is perfect here, providing more surface area for the sauce to cling to. Linguini is another great choice, or penne which is able to catch the sauce in its ridges. Honestly though, any pasta works.
- Alfredo Sauce: We used our favorite Alfredo Sauce recipe for this dish. Butter, heavy whipping cream, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, and seasonings come together in a matter of minutes for the most incredible white sauce that coats the cooked pasta. Heaven!
How to Make Chicken Alfredo
This dish comes together fast, so have everything ready to go. Here’s a summary:
*Don’t miss the complete printable recipe and video tutorial below.
- Boil the noodles: Cook the Fettuccine al dente, according to package instructions.
- Cook the chicken: Season the chicken, then pan-fry in oil and butter, for 6 minutes a side, or until an internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes, then cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Tent with foil, while you prepare the sauce.
- Make the Alfredo sauce: Using the same pan you used to cook the chicken, the cream, butter, and seasonings are incorporated and simmered on medium-low heat until thickened, then the Parmesan is added in until melted and smooth.
- Assemble: Drain the pasta, reserving some of the liquid to loosen the sauce (only if necessary.) Toss immediately with the Alfredo sauce. Divide the pasta among serving bowls and top with a few slices of cooked chicken. Garnish with parsley, more Parmesan, and black pepper if desired.
Important Recipe Notes
- Avoid pre-shredded cheese. For best results, use real Parmigiano-Reggiano right off the block. Pre-grated cheeses don’t melt properly, making your sauce grainy. And they simply don’t taste nearly as good.
- Don’t over-cook the chicken. Take the guesswork out of knowing when the chicken is done cooking by using an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees F (and keep in mind it will continue to cook a bit more as it rests.)
- Have everything ready before you start: The list of ingredients is somewhat long, but it comes together fast – similar to a stir fry. So have everything prepped and ready to go before you start cooking.
- Sauce too thin? We think the consistency of the sauce is on point, but if you find it too thin, no worries. You can either simmer for a few extra minutes or take it off the heat and let it sit for a minute or two before tossing with the pasta. It will thicken up. Alternatively, if you find it too thick, you can stir in a bit of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.
- Want to lighten it up? Let’s not kid ourselves – this is a rich, creamy, high calorie meal. But you can cut back a little by using half-n-half or whole milk instead of the heavy whipping cream. Just keep in mind that the lower the fat content, the thinner the sauce.
Proper Storage
Make Ahead: Chicken Alfredo is ideally made and served right away, however the chicken can be cooked up to 1 day in advance. I don’t recommend making the sauce ahead of time.
Leftovers: Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep up to 3 days.
How to reheat Chicken Alfredo: Reheat on the stovetop, gently over low heat until it’s incorporated again, keeping in mind the sauce will probably separate.
Watch Chicken Alfredo Video
What Goes with Chicken Alfredo?
With chicken, pasta, and a cream sauce, this is high calorie, indulgent, and filling! But the following are great Alfredo side dishes:
- Homemade garlic bread (carbs on carbs on carbs, oh my!)
- Simple side salad
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Roasted Asparagus
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 16 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter , cut into large cubes or slices
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make the noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente according to package directions, usually 10 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain well. Set aside.
- Make the chicken: Season chicken breasts with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Once it’s shimmering, swirl the pan to evenly distribute. Add the chicken and leave it undisturbed for 5-7 minutes, until the bottom is golden-brown. Flip over and add in 1 tablespoon of butter between them, picking up the pan to give it a gentle swirl to distribute. Continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes (or an internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.)
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 3 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Tent with foil while you prepare the sauce.
- Make the Alfredo sauce: In the same pan, over medium-low heat, add the butter and cream; whisk until butter has melted.
- Add in the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; whisk until combined and smooth.
- Bring to a gentle simmer (do not boil) and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese just until melted and the sauce is smooth. (If the sauce ends up too thick, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water, a few tablespoons at a time, to thin it out.)
- Assemble: Take sauce off the heat and immediately toss with the cooked fettuccine noodles.
- Divide the pasta among serving bowls and top with a few slices of chicken. Garnish with parsley, more Parmesan, and black pepper if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
