You'll love our creamy Chicken Alfredo Recipe! It features tender, juicy, browned chicken breasts served over fettuccine in a deeply flavorful Alfredo sauce accented with garlic, Pecorino Romano and Parmesan.
You might be thinking this recipe involves adding cooked chicken to Alfredo sauce. I'm here to say, no, no, no!
Instead, we're going to sauté thin chicken breasts until browned, then use the tasty pan drippings as a base for the most mouthwatering chicken Alfredo sauce. We'll use the golden, velvety sauce to coat pasta.
Then, the tender, juicy chicken goes on top.
Let me show you how to produce one of the most delicious dishes I've made all year!
Recipe ingredients
Chicken: You'll need thin, boneless, skinless, chicken breasts for this recipe. If you can't find thin cutlets at the grocery store, you can buy thick chicken breasts and split them in half yourself. If you wish, you can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you'll need to cook them for an additional 2-3 minutes per side until they're done.
Cream: Heavy whipping cream provides the best thick, creamy texture for Alfredo sauce. When we tested using half and half instead, the sauce was too thin.
Cheese: A 50-50 combination of Parmesan and Pecorino Romano provides the best salty, robust flavor. Be sure to grate the cheeses yourself to achieve a smooth sauce. Pre-grated cheese in a can contains anti-caking agents that will make the sauce grainy.
Garlic: We're using fresh garlic in the sauce, plus garlic powder to season the chicken. Every element of this dish features delicious, savory flavor. We don't cook bland meals!
Pasta: With its thick, al dente texture, fettuccine is our favorite pasta for chicken Alfredo. You can substitute linguine or even medium pasta shapes like penne or rigatoni.
How to make chicken alfredo
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
Prep the chicken
Pay careful attention to preparing the chicken. We need thin, pounded cutlets for tender, juicy results! And don't miss these thin chicken breast recipes for more ideas!
- If you're starting with thick chicken breasts, slice them into two thinner cutlets.
- Using a meat mallet (affiliate link), pound both sides of the chicken cutlets to tenderize them and ensure each piece has uniform thickness. This will help them cook evenly.
cook the chicken and sauce
- Season the pounded chicken breasts and cook them in a hot skillet for three or four minutes per side, until browned and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove the chicken.
- Keeping the browned bits in the pan, make the sauce by adding butter, garlic, cream and spices. Keep stirring until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes while frequently stirring.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheeses.
- Place the pan back on the heat and cook until the sauce thickens. Mix the Alfredo sauce into cooked pasta and serve with sliced chicken on top.
tips for browning Chicken breasts
- Use a stainless steel or cast iron skillet, if possible, because it will brown the chicken better than a nonstick pan, while keeping the insides juicy. Here is an example of a stainless steel skillet (affiliate link).
- Allow the pan to get sizzling hot before adding the chicken.
- Pat the chicken dry before adding it to the pan, so the meat can develop a nice, seared crust.
What to serve with It
You can add peas to your homemade chicken Alfredo meal by tossing the veggies into the pot of boiling water you'll use to cook the pasta. Let the water come to a boil again once you add the peas, then add the pasta so it can cook together.
Or, serve the chicken Alfredo pasta with a grilled lettuce salad or a side of mushrooms and onions. It's also nice with broccoli and lemon or a refreshing Italian tomato and onion salad.
Frequently asked questions
While it's best to eat this dish immediately, you can store the chicken and fettuccine Alfredo tightly covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can keep the chicken separate from the pasta or store everything together in a sealed container. I don't recommend freezing it.
The chicken reheats well in the microwave. Leftover Alfredo pasta will be dry though, so you'll need to drizzle on milk or olive oil before warming it up either on the stove over low heat or in the microwave on low power. The Alfredo sauce will separate during reheating, so the texture will seem oily instead of creamy.
More recipes to try
- Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Thighs with Spinach
- Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce
- Creamy Walnut Pasta Sauce
- Creamy Paglia e Fieno Pasta
- Baked Chicken Breasts with Pesto
Enjoy!
If you try this Chicken Alfredo Recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
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Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Breasts
- 1.3 pounds boneless, skinless, thin chicken breasts (Buy them thin or split 2 thick breasts into thinner halves.)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Alfredo Sauce
- pan drippings from the chicken
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
Pasta
- ½ pound fettuccine (You can use up to 1 pound of pasta, but it will be less saucy.)
Instructions
- Grate the Parmesan and Pecorino, if needed, until you have ½ cup of each. I use my blender.
- Fill a pasta pot ⅔ full with cold water and place it on the stove, but don't turn the heat on yet. Add a teaspoon of salt and cover the pot. (Wait to start heating the water until after you've cooked the chicken.)
Pound & Cook the Chicken
- If starting with thick chicken breasts, you'll need to slice each one into two thin cutlets. (It's like splitting a deck of cards; see the photos in the post.) Once you have thin chicken cutlets, pound them on a cutting board using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan, until they are all the same thickness. Flip them over and pound the other side. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Wash your hands well after handling raw meat.
- In a tiny bowl, whisk the seasonings for the chicken. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on the chicken.¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Use a 12-inch stainless steel skillet, if you have one, or a 12-inch cast iron pan. If you don't have either, use a nonstick skillet. Place the pan over medium-high heat on the stove. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is sizzling, add the chicken in a single layer. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on the first side, then flip it over and cook it for three minutes on the second side, just until it browns and is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a platter and loosely cover it with foil.
- Start heating the pot of water on high, covered with a lid.
Make the Alfredo Sauce
- Press the two garlic cloves (or peel and chop them finely).
- Leave any browned bits from the chicken in the pan and melt two tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape the browned bits and stir them into the butter.
- Add the garlic to the melted butter, stirring a bit. Let the garlic cook for 30 seconds, being careful not to let it burn.
- Stir two cups of cream into the garlic mixture. Add ½ teaspoon of pepper and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine.
- Let the cream come to a low boil, while stirring frequently. Lower the heat to let the sauce simmer, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, or until the cream thickens. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (After the sauce has simmered for a couple of minutes, start cooking the pasta according to the directions below.)
- When the Alfredo sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and move the Alfredo pan to a cool burner. Gradually stir in the freshly grated Parmesan and Romano.
- Place the skillet over low heat and stir until the sauce is thickened further. It is done when you push your spoon along the bottom of the pan and can see the bottom of the pan. It will take a few minutes. Turn off the heat.
- The sauce will thicken even more as it sits. It's best to make the sauce and use it immediately, because Alfredo sauce doesn't reheat well.
Cook the Pasta
- Add the fettuccine to the pot of boiling water and stir to submerge the pasta. Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions until it's al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (If using fresh or homemade pasta, it will cook in about three minutes, but regular fettuccine will take longer.) When the fettuccine is cooked, drain it in a colander in the sink.
Assemble the Chicken Alfredo
- Transfer the drained pasta into the pan of Alfredo sauce and stir to combine. Diagonally slice the cooked chicken breasts into thick strips. To serve, place some fettuccine Alfredo on a plate and top with strips of chicken. Serve immediately for the best texture.
Storing & Reheating
- Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. Don't freeze the Alfredo. The chicken reheats well in the microwave. The leftover pasta will be dry, so add a bit of milk or olive oil to it before microwaving on low or reheating on the stove over low heat. The Alfredo sauce will separate, so it will have an oily texture.
Notes
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C)
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