This simple chicken alfredo pasta dish is the perfect dinner recipe for busy nights. Done in 30 minutes and made in a single pan, everyone will love this dish that is packed with flavor!
Original post: January 2019 | Updated: January 2021
Why This Recipe Works
I rely on easy dinners, especially when life hits hard. By EASY DINNER, I’m talking 30 minutes and every morsel of food is made in one pan. A single pan! A busy woman’s dream come true, people.
This easy chicken alfredo recipe is like the cheater’s version, except it’s really not because it is JUST as tasty as the meal from Olive Garden you love so much.
How To Make Easy Chicken Alfredo
Step 1
Heat 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in a single layer, season with approximately 1/2 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper.
Cover pan and cook for 6 minutes per side, or until centers are no longer pink.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and slice thinly; set aside. Do not clean out the pan.
Step 2
Melt the butter in the pan and add the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant, making sure to stir occasionally. Add 2 cups of milk and 2 cans of chicken broth and heat until frothy, stirring frequently. Immediately decrease the heat to medium-low.
Step 3
Add a 12-ounce package of fettuccini noodles to the cream sauce and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to al dente. Add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and sliced chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and chicken is warmed through.
Serve warm and garnish with fresh parsley, salt and pepper!
Recipe Notes
- For a gluten-free meal, replace the pasta with rice or a gluten free pasta.
- Replace the milk with heavy whipping cream for a creamier, heartier meal.
- Go crazy with black pepper! This dish is meant to be enjoyed with a heavy dose of pepper.
- Add the chicken at the end of the recipe to cut 12 minutes off this recipe! If you go this route, you can skip step 1 entirely. Add meat that has been pulled from a Rotisserie chicken toward the end of the recipe instead!
- For a slimmer meal, cut the amount of the cheese used in the recipe in half and use skimmed milk.
- Add up to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to add some spice to this dish!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Top with parsley or even basil for a uniquely delicious flavor.
How To Make Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Homemade alfredo sauce is MY FAVORITE. Seriously, if you haven’t tried making your own, you must! Make this homemade alfredo sauce and use it in this recipe in place of step 2. You’ll want to cook your noodles separately in boiling water if you go this route.
How To Reheat Fettuccine Alfredo – 3 Methods!
Fettuccine alfredo is an easy, comforting dinner to make any night of the week. If you find yourself with leftovers, you can reheat and enjoy them again the next day. Read on to learn how to reheat fettuccine alfredo so it can be enjoyed again later.
What To Serve With Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Alfredo is the perfect easy meal for busy nights. It is easy to make and even easier to enjoy! Once it is ready to eat, what should you serve alongside it?
Read on for 21 delicious ideas about what to serve with chicken alfredo, including asparagus, broccoli or other roasted veggies, baked potatoes, rice, garlic bread and more!
Can I Replace Alfredo Sauce With a Store-Bought Version
Sure! The sauce in this alfredo chicken recipe is super easy to prepare, but if you’re looking for something even quicker and easier, replace the butter, garlic, milk and broth from the recipe with a jar of Alfredo sauce.
Cook till warmed through over low heat and follow the rest of the recipe as directed.
What Is Alfredo Sauce
Alfredo sauce was created by restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio in Rome. He combined fettuccine with a sauce consisting of cream, butter and Parmesan cheese. The version of Alfredo sauce used in this recipe uses milk as a replacement for heavy cream (slimmin’ it down!), but feel free to use cream instead.
Can I Use a Type of Pasta Other Than Fettuccine for Chicken Alfredo
Yes! Penne pasta, spaghetti noodles, elbow macaroni or really any type of pasta can be used in place of fettuccine. Cooking times may vary depending on the pasta you’re using (watch it closely!), but any type will taste delicious with Alfredo sauce.
Fettuccine and linguine are the typical types of pasta used with this dish, but be adventurous! Use what is in your cupboard!
Uses For Rotisserie Chicken Meat
There are endless possibilities for ways to use Rotisserie chicken meat. Here are a few ideas to get you started!
- Shred the chicken and add it to your next wrap or salad.
- Add it to your next batch of chicken noodle soup!
- Use it in chicken enchiladas or this yummy chicken enchilada bake.
- Chicken Burrito Bowls! Chipotle style!
- Throw it into some cheesy quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches or any of your favorite pasta recipes!
Easy Dinner Recipes
- Baked Sweet Potato and Chicken Recipes – 7 Delicious Ideas!
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Easy Pad Thai
- Creamy Tomato Pasta Skillet
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak
- Easy Beef Stroganoff
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Easy Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp butter salted
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups milk
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 12 oz fettuccine noodles
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley finely chopped, for topping
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, cover pan and cook for 6 minutes per side, or until centers are no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut into slices; set aside. Do not clean pan.
- Melt the butter in the pan and add the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add milk and chicken broth and heat until frothy. Immediately decrease heat to medium-low.
- Add fettuccini noodles and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through. Add Parmesan cheese and chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted and chicken is warmed through.
- Serve warm and top with flat-leaf parsley, salt and pepper, if desired.
Notes
- For a gluten-free meal, replace the pasta with rice or a gluten free pasta.
- Replace the milk with heavy whipping cream for a creamier, heartier meal.
- Go crazy with black pepper! This dish is meant to be enjoyed with a heavy dose of pepper.
- Add the chicken at the end of the recipe to cut 12 minutes off this recipe! If you go this route, you can skip step 1 entirely. Add meat that has been pulled from a Rotisserie chicken toward the end of the recipe instead!
- For a slimmer meal, cut the amount of the cheese used in the recipe in half and use skimmed milk.
Can this be frozen? And if so what’s the best way to heat it up from frozen state?
Good question, Nora. This is a milk based cream sauce so you technically can, I wouldn’t recommend freezing it. Sauces that have cream cheese or a thicker cheese tend to do better. If you do decide to freeze it, bring it into the fridge to thaw completely first and then you can let it sit on the counter about a half hour before reheating. Use a little cream cheese or cream to it as you reheat it to help it not separate and be grainy.
Okay, now I feel a little guilty for blasting Sami. We’re all just trying to do our best and I didn’t need to post about his/her comment.
I appreciate that Kara. That was thoughtful of you. We have thick skin over here and know we’re catering to a huge world with so many people with different skill levels, tastes and comfort levels in the kitchen. We enjoy all the content we’ve published as we’ve made it, enjoyed it and tested it more than once. Have a great day!
I am very confused how this is Alfredo sauce? I am sure this tastes great, but in Italy alfredo sauce is: butter, Parmesiano Reggiano cheese, and pasta water. Actual alfredo takes the amount of time at takes to boil the pasta. Then put the pasta in a pan with no heat on, with softened butter, a little pasta water, and toss together with a lot of Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 24 months, never parmesian). The butter, cheese, and pasta water create the cream. It is one of the simplest pastas on earth and for some reasons non-Italians can never get it right.
My question is why not call this (what I am sure is a delicious) sauce something else, because I am sure it tastes amazing, but it isn’t alfredo sauce, as it was created in Italy (though I know Americans have strange notions of what Alfredo is, and have appropriated it to be the abysmal bastardization, and cultural insult served at Olive Garden).
I’m not sure why Sami had to post such a snobby, know-it-all comment to the recipe. Why do you bother to comment on a recipe when you didn’t even make the recipe? I made it tonight and it was easy to throw together, had great flavor and my kids loved it.
Hey, i tried making the recipe couple of days ago. Turned out great. Thank You.
Yay! That’s great to hear. Thanks for checking in!
Have you ever tried making the Alfredo sauce with Greek yogurt?? Off the top of my head I think I combine the yogurt with the cooked noodles, throw in some garlic salt (or powder) and then the Parmesan.
I have not! That’s an interesting switch up. Let me know if you make it that way and how it turns out. I’m curious!