Homemade Chicken Alfredo is so easy to make and has the best creamy consistency! Made with tender fettuccini pasta, white meat chicken breasts, and delightfully rich alfredo sauce, this classic Italian dinner is always a huge weeknight hit.
What’s in this Chicken Alfredo Recipe
The best homemade chicken alfredo recipes have a short list of ingredients. Inexpensive kitchen staples come together to make a creamy, flavorful, and easy pasta dinner!
- Chicken Breast: Use boneless, skinless chicken breast. You can use boneless chicken thighs if you’d prefer.
- Fettuccine: This pasta is a must for classic chicken alfredo! However, you can swap them with any other noodles of your choice if you’d like.
- Olive Oil: I like to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the very best flavor.
- Chicken Stock: Use a low sodium chicken stock. This will help you to be able to control the saltiness of the dish so it’s exactly to your liking.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will yield much better flavor than pre-minced.
- Heavy Cream: For the best creamy consistency, do not substitute this ingredient with any other dairy product!
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan cheese will create better flavor and consistency than the bagged pre-shredded stuff.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley is the best final touch for this dish! It adds an herbaceous vibrancy that elevates this simple pasta dinner.
- Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice! Anything bottled/from concentrate won’t lend the same tangy fresh flavor.
Pro Tip: Go the extra mile with some homemade chicken stock. It adds the best flavor!
What else can I add to homemade alfredo?
This easy homemade chicken alfredo is my tried and true recipe for the perfect flavor, but you can add some other ingredients for slight variation.
Try mixing in steamed or sautéed broccoli, or a handful of spinach, for more greens. Add some red pepper flakes, either in the sauce or as a finishing touch, for just a tiny bit of heat. Skip the chicken for a vegetarian-friendly fettuccine alfredo.
Fettuccine is my pasta of choice when making homemade chicken alfredo, but there’s certainly room for creativity. Linguini is also a great option and I won’t hold it against you of you choose to use penne! After all, there’s no such thing as bad pasta, right?
Technically, yes. However, keep in mind that the signature creamy consistency of alfredo sauce that we all know and love is created by the addition of heavy cream. Without that key ingredient, your sauce won’t be quite as thick and creamy.
Yes! They are the exact same thing, but different brands title them differently.
How to Store and Reheat
Let your leftover chicken alfredo fully cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. Stored properly in the fridge, it will keep for about 2-3 days. Feel free to reheat simply in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time it stops, until reheated all the way through.
How to Freeze
Place homemade chicken alfredo in a freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let the pasta slowly thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. Keep in mind that the texture of the alfredo sauce and noodles may change after freezing.
What to Serve with Homemade Chicken Alfredo
This creamy alfredo pasta pairs well with so many side dishes! Some of my favorites include veggies like lemon parmesan roasted broccoli and crispy garlic asparagus.
Chicken Alfredo Recipe (Homemade)
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken breast
- 1 pound fettuccine noodles
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmesan
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Wash chicken breast then pat dry. Cut into thin strips1 Chicken breast
- Boil fettuccine pasta according to box instructions, when ready, set aside.1 pound fettuccine noodles
- Heat a non-stick pan with olive oil and add chicken strips. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side until golden brown, on medium heat. Remove chicken from pan when ready and set aside3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Add minced garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with chicken stock, add lemon juice and bring to boil1 ½ cup chicken stock, 1 garlic clove, Juice of 1 lemon
- Add heavy cream, then add the cooked pasta and chicken.1 ½ cup heavy cream
- Add parmesan and stir until everything is well combined.1 cup parmesan
- Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!¼ cup parsley
Kailee Essmann says
Turned out great, just jazzed it up with a few spices! I get that a lot have people have had problems with it being soupy or the cheese not melting right, that’ll happen if you don’t get the temps just right. If you’re not sure you can do it then just make a roux before adding in the chicken stock and it’s fool proof!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for sharing, Kailee!
Amber Moyer says
I made this tonight. It came out really great. As long as you know how to use the heat properly on the stove top it comes out perfect.
I instead of boiling the noodles in water, i actually cooked it in the sauce. Got sauce to boil dropped in my noodles. Stirred constantly once started boiling with noodles in down heat to almost a simmer for 20 minutes while stirring.
I needed to add another cup of cream and an extra cup of broth. I used fresh herbs parsley,oregano, chives, salt, pepper. Once noodles cooked i turned up the heat for about 10 minutes stirring constantly to ensure sauce got to my thickness preference.
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Amber!
Donna says
Way too runny in my opinion. Taste was good. I would use only 1 cup of stock and 1 cup of cream and add more if needed.
Becky Hardin says
Sorry, it didn’t work out for you! Definitely modify the recipe if needed!
Ruby Westbrook says
Incredible
Rachael Brown says
My 8,10,14 year old love love love this along with my hubby and myself! The hubby likes it extra creamy so I add extra heavy whipping cream and parmesan cheese instead of olive oil in the skillet I used grape seed oil to cook the chicken. I am great full for this recipe, and just a FYI it taste great, just the way it is offered to us. I’ve tried it with white wine in replace of lemon juice and I think it’s good to try it yourself with both options to see which way your family likes it best.
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for sharing!
John Doe says
I loved this recipe so much! Everyone I made it for loved it!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for sharing!!
John Doe says
I loved this recipe so much!!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for letting us know!
Pam says
The only reason I waited it at 2:00 is because nowadays you never wash chicken with water if you look at the top chefs they do not do that that is not sanitary and it’s not right
Ted Resendiz says
Assisted me a lot, just what I was looking for : D.
Bob says
Wet and watery the sauce never thickens! Also to strong a Parmesan flavor, I have been making Alfred a long time and thought this would be quick and delicious it’s not.
Becky Hardin says
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you as expected, Bob!
Me Nikki says
This recipe as mentioned is too soupy, I would recommend finding another recipe to make
Becky Hardin says
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! You can certainly continue to cook down the sauce to a thicker consistency if that’s your preference!
Bren says
This was super great!!! It was too soupy and I added some cornstarch dissolved in cool water. Thickened it perfectly without taking away any of the deliciously flavors. I actually used shrimp in place of chicken. Sooooo
Good. Quick and easy. Gourmet quality. Thanks for the recipe.
Becky Hardin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Bren!