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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Most people think of Chicken Alfredo as a dish they have as a treat at a restaurant, but despite its rich and creamy texture, it’s so easy to make that you’re sure to want to add it to your roster of midweek dinners!
Chicken Alfredo is the perfect weeknight meal for times when you want to serve up a treat without having to spend hours in the kitchen, especially since you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already!
For even more delicious Alfredo recipes, why not try my recipe for Linguine Alfredo? Or try making your own Garlic Alfredo Sauce for the next time you want a quick way to elevate some store-bought ravioli or tortellini?
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This meal is easy to make and perfect for a weekday dinner!
- Total Time: With some pre-cooked chicken breasts on hand, you can have dinner on the table in just 15 minutes!
- Variations: Looking for a little more zip? Add a sprinkling of Cajun seasoning and diced, fresh tomatoes to your Alfredo sauce in the pan! And if you want to get more vegetables into your family’s diet, adding some fresh spinach or frozen peas is a great way to do so! You can even change things up a little by adding sauteed prawns instead of chicken breast!
- Tools For This Recipe: You will need a large skillet and a whisk to make this recipe! If you want to make prep a little easier, consider investing in a cheese grater to grate fresh Parmesan and a garlic press to make mincing garlic take less time and energy!
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Pan Fried Chicken Breasts: This recipe calls for you to have pan fried chicken breasts ready to go. You can either follow your own recipe or give my recipe for Pan Fried Chicken Breasts a try! If the weather’s nice, you can use Grilled Chicken Breasts instead!
Cream Cheese: It’s not a traditional ingredient in Alfredo sauce, but adding cream cheese is what gets you a luscious, velvety sauce with next to no effort!
Pasta: You can use whatever pasta you like best to go along with this delicious sauce! I’d suggest a twirlable variety like Fettucini or Linguini for that luxurious restaurant feel!
Parmesan Cheese: Whenever it’s getting melted into a sauce, I prefer to grate my own cheese. Pre-shredded or grated cheeses usually have stabilizers added that keep them from melting consistency, which can make for a lumpy sauce.
How To Make Chicken Alfredo
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Prepare 4 chicken breasts beforehand and keep them warm in a pan. Then prepare 4 servings of your favorite pasta, drain, and toss with olive oil to prevent it from sticking together and set it aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and fry the garlic in it until it’s brown and fragrant. Add in the cream cheese and stir it until melted. The cream cheese will be lumpy, but it will smooth out as you add the milk and whisk everything together. Add the Parmesan and continue cooking and stirring until your sauce is smooth.
- Add your pasta to the pan and mix until it’s well coated with the sauce, then divide it onto 4 plates, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Chicken Alfredo
- Protein Perfection: When cooking chicken breasts, temperature control makes all the difference! Using an instant-read thermometer, test your chicken breasts when they start to brown and firm up in the pan. At 165°F, your chicken can be pulled from the heat, sliced, and served! Once you’ve built your confidence, you can try removing your chicken from the pan at 160°F and leaving it to one side to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting it. The carry-over heat will continue to cook the chicken and the resting time will make sure the juices redistribute evenly through the meat, resulting in safe-to-eat and deliciously juicy chicken breasts.
- Endless Pasta-bilities: The shape of the pasta you choose will affect the texture and mouthfeel of the final dish. Some people prefer long ribbon pasta like Spaghetti, Mafaldine, and Linguine, which give you that wonderful twirl-around-the-fork experience; others prefer shapes like Penne and Rigatoni, which trap sauce and require a little less work to eat neatly. Give your favorite pasta shape a try with this dish to create your perfect bite!
Storage Instructions
I wouldn’t recommend freezing the leftovers, as cream-based sauces like this one generally split and get grainy after being frozen and reheated. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stove top or in 1 minute increments in the microwave. The sauce may separate a bit, but it’ll still be delicious!
More Delicious Chicken Breast Recipes
- Looking for an easy casserole that’s perfect for a busy week? Give my Chicken Tetrazzini a try!
- If you love saucy dishes that go great with all sorts of sides, you’ll love my Mom’s Easy Honey Garlic Chicken!
- My Creamy Garlic Swiss Chard Chicken is a fantastic way to eat your greens—especially since they’re baked in a gorgeous Parmesan sauce!
I love recipes like this one because they really highlight how easy it can be to make something that tastes fancy and special without a lot of effort! They’re also a great way to have a treat without ordering takeout.
Give this chicken alfredo a try and let me know what your favorite pasta shape is in the comments below!
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, pan fried
- 4 fettucini noodles
- ½ cup salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- ⅔ 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 cups milk
- ⅔ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- parsley, fresh, minced
Instructions
- Prepare 4 chicken breasts as per the recipe beforehand, keep chicken warm in pan. Set aside.
- Prepare 4 servings of your favorite pasta, drain, toss with olive oil to prevent it from sticking. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and fry the garlic in it until browned. Add in the cream cheese and melt.
- The cream cheese will be lumpy, but whisk in the milk slowly and cook until smooth.
- Add in the Parmesan cheese and cook until smooth again.
- Add in the 4 servings of pasta – right into the pan! – and swirl around to cover with the Alfredo sauce.
- Divide onto 4 plates, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Linda Hensens says
I have made this recipe before, and my husband and I liked it. Then I made my alfredo sauce with heavy whipping cream, 1/2 & 1/2, parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper. I have also added pesto to my alfredo sauce along with the chicken breasts included, and I used linguine pasta. This alfredo with the pesto was incredible! I had a dish like this one at a local Ragazzi’s Italian restaurant, and I wanted to re-create the dish at home. I definitely have a repeat recipe in my rotation.