When it comes to indulgent comfort foods, I don’t know if anything beats Chicken Alfredo. I just can’t say no to a big ol’ plate of carby pasta drenched in an ultra-rich and creamy sauce and topped with juicy strips of seared chicken, can you? (That was a rhetorical question.) And now that I know how easy it is to make it at home, I have a feeling this is going to become my new favorite special occasion meal. And yes, sometimes just making it through to the end of the week is a special occasion in this house. ;)
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
“I have used this recipe numerous times, and it’s always delicious! I serve it with red lobster biscuits, and it’s the perfect dinner! My family appreciates y’all!”
Kel
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy chicken Alfredo recipe:
- Chicken Breasts: I cook the chicken in a hot skillet until juicy with a deliciously golden brown crust. You’ll need 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe—around 1.3lbs for both.
- Cooking Oil: For pan-frying the chicken breasts to perfection. You can use any neutral flavored oil suitable for frying, such as vegetable, canola, or avocado.
- Butter: I melt this in the same skillet the chicken was cooked in. It adds a rich flavor, helps to sauté the minced garlic, and loosens all the delicious bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (where all the flavor is!).
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic is a must in any Alfredo-based recipe.
- Heavy Cream: While authentic Alfredo doesn’t use any heavy cream, our American Alfredo uses it as the base for the sauce, which helps the Parmesan melt in smoothly instead of clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Other dairy products or dairy substitutes contain too much water and won’t have the same effect. I don’t suggest substituting the heavy cream!
- Parmesan Cheese: I made sure this recipe tastes great even when using less expensive Parmesan (like the canned stuff!). But if you have room in your budget for a wedge of fresh Parmesan, by all means, use it! But just know that you can still make a tasty Alfredo even if you can’t afford the good stuff.
- Seasoning: I season the chicken with salt and Italian seasoning before pan-frying, and then I season the finished sauce to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Fettuccine: My preferred pasta for this recipe is fettuccine. Linguine or spaghetti also works in a pinch; just make sure to adjust the cooking time according to the package instructions.
- Fresh Parsley: This is optional, but a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley always makes everything look and taste a little more fancy. ;)
Recipe Success Tips!
- The sauce will thicken as it simmers. However, if your sauce has turned out thinner than you’d like, you can keep it on the heat for a little longer to reduce and thicken. (But do keep in mind the sauce will also thicken as it cools!) On the other hand, if it’s a little too thick, I’d mix in a splash of reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce.
- Be careful not to overcook your chicken breasts! This can make them dry rather than juicy and tender. The time I’ve specified in the recipe card is based on 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts totaling about 1.3 lbs. You may need to cook for longer or shorter, depending on the size/thickness of your chicken. I like using an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness—you’re looking for an internal temperature of 165°F. You could always cut up very large chicken breasts to speed up the cooking time.
- Season your chicken to taste. I love how the Italian herbs taste when combined with the creamy sauce, but you can use any seasoning you like. Even a light sprinkle of salt and black pepper will do the trick!
What to Serve with Chicken Alfredo
With any heavy dish like this, I like to pair it with a light and simple side salad. The delicate texture and fresh flavor of a simple side salad perfectly balances the thick and creamy alfredo sauce. Some Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus or Lemon Pepper Zucchini would also pair well. And of course, it wouldn’t be pasta night without some homemade garlic bread!
How Are the Leftovers?
The rich nature of this sauce means that it does start to thicken up quite a bit as it cools, so you definitely want to serve and enjoy this pasta when it’s hot out of the skillet. That being said, I would never turn down the leftovers of something so creamy and delicious. Just know that the texture, when reheated, will not be as silky smooth.
Storage & Reheating
Speaking of leftovers, you can store any uneaten chicken Alfredo in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Make sure it’s cooled to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container! As I said, the texture won’t be the same the second time around, but the flavors are still amazing.
For reheating, you can use the microwave or a skillet on the stovetop. Make sure the chicken is heated all the way through before serving. You can also add a splash of milk or heavy cream to help bring back some of that creamy consistency if desired.
Chicken Alfredo
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lb. total) ($6.49)
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1 cup heavy cream ($1.25)
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan ($1.08)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional garnish) ($0.10)
- 8 oz. fettuccine ($0.88)
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken breast with Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt.
- Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 7-8 minutes on each side, or until browned on the outside and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a clean plate and turn the heat under the skillet down to medium-low.
- Add the butter and minced garlic to the skillet. Stir and cook the garlic in the melted butter for about two minutes, dissolving the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet as you stir.
- Add the heavy cream and whisk to combine, dissolving any remaining browned bits. Allow the cream to come up to a simmer.
- While waiting for the cream to simmer, bring a pot of water to a boil for the fettuccine. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until tender (about 7 minutes). Reserve about ½ cup of the starchy cooking water just before draining the pasta.
- Once the cream is simmering, add the grated Parmesan to the skillet. Continue to whisk and stir until the Parmesan has melted into the sauce and the sauce has begun to simmer. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes, or until it becomes slightly thicker. Add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the creamy sauce and toss to combine. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and toss to combine with the sauce.
- Slice the cooked chicken breasts and serve it atop the creamy pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Love alfredo? Check out our Shrimp Alfredo, too!
How to Make Chicken Alfredo – Step by Step Photos
Season two boneless, skinless chicken breasts with two teaspoons of Italian Seasoning and a pinch of salt.
Heat a large skillet over medium. Once fully preheated, add 1 Tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat the skillet. Add the chicken breasts and cook on each side for 7-8 minutes, or until the chicken is well browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a clean plate.
Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add 2 tablespoons of butter and 4 cloves of minced garlic to the skillet.
Cook and stir the butter and garlic over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, dissolving the browned bits as you stir.
Add one cup of heavy cream to the skillet and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the cream up to a simmer.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8oz. of pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Reserve ½ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining the pasta in a colander.
While waiting for the pasta to boil, continue with the sauce. Once the cream is simmering, add ¾ cup Parmesan and continue to stir and cook until the sauce comes back up to a simmer.
When the sauce comes back up to a simmer the Parmesan will begin to melt. Continue to cook and stir until the sauce thickens slightly (3-5 minutes). Add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste.
Add the cooked and drained pasta to the alfredo sauce and toss to combine. If the sauce is too thick or too dry, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and toss to combine.
Slice the chicken breast and add it on top of the pasta, then serve. (You can garnish with chopped parsley if desired).
WOW, how yummy does that look?!
Family loved it. Simple and delicious.
Not a good recipe. The Italian seasoning did not go with the flavors and more cheese was needed.
I have used this recipe numerous times, and it’s always delicious! I serve it with red lobster biscuits, and it’s the perfect dinner! My family appreciates y’all!
not good for a beginner
took over an hour to make.
by the time the pasta was done the chicken was cold as a rock
How the h**l did your sauce take an hour 😂😂 this sounds like a YOU problem, not a recipe problem.
So. Good. And this is a very quick recipe to make, which is always nice!
Amazing. Simple, fast and delicious!!! thanks
I’ve tried many recipes which used so much heavy cream, oils etc but this one just got everything right! It tastes great and will be a good to recipe.
Really easy and very tasty. The dish is comparable to any alfredo one would buy at a restaurant.
The best alfredo we have tried. Have made this so many times and now we prefer it to restaurant alfredo. We do reduce the Parmesan just a touch to make it less salty because we add salted pasta water. Just delicious!
As a “non-cooker” followed this recipe to the T && wow, can’t believe I made me some an excellent Alfredo! Thank you all for the step by step recipe! Super helpful, and more importantly yummy!
Excellent. Made as written and doubled for my family of four. Best alfredo recipe I have ever tired. I’ve tried a lot ! I enjoy budget bytes. I do find that the portions are small. For my family of four I always have to double them. Thanks so much!
Made this as a meal prep and the noodles soaked up all the sauce. Is there any way to prevent this other than keeping the sauce separate? Thanks
No, I think keeping them separate is probably the only solution there because pasta will always continue to absorb liquid as it refrigerates.
This was SO good. Thank you for sharing!
It came out super good as a first timer cooker ! THANK YOUUUUUUUU
I made this last night and I would recommended starting your pasta/water when you start frying the chicken. I have a glass/flat top stove and I used a nice copper bottom pan, but I ran into an issue with needing to recruit my husband to whisk the garlic, butter and heavy cream to keep it from burning while I started the water and pasta and WAITED for that to boil and then cook. Possibly I had too much deglazing going on from the chicken bits or my pan stayed too hot (after turning to med-low) but my “sauce” was more of a brown color. I did add some half and half (I had used all my heavy cream, I had just enough for this recipe) and I added some of the pasta water as recommended as well. The flavor was still good, but my husband couldn’t help but comment that he thought Alfredo sauce was supposed to be white. :(
I had the same issue (smooth top stove), our burners don’t change temperature as quickly as turning down a flame. I also had to add more cream, but it was still good in the end.
I only gave 4 stars because I just am not an Alfredo fan.
then why would you make it your opinion is wrong
Yeah, my alfredo was also brown and I think I had the same issue. I don’t think affected the taste, though.