Mom’s creamy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo has been a family favorite for years. Classic Chicken Alfredo is a feel good comfort food – so creamy but light!
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Mom learned how to make this “Pollo Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo” in culinary school. She made it for us when we were kids and we were crazy about it. Now I make the same alfredo recipe for my family. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. Watch the video tutorial and learn how to make chicken alfredo.
Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
Ingredients for Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo:
We usually use chicken breast but chicken tenders would work well if that is what you have on hand.
Fettuccini is the pasta of choice here but we’ve been known to swap with angel hair or vermicelli. You can use a variety of pastas. P.S. sometimes we sneak in the full pound of pasta when feeding a crowd.
Substitute for Half and Half?
This recipe calls for half and half, but you can substitute with equal parts of milk and heavy whipping cream. The half and half thickens as it simmers and even more as it rests. If you prefer a creamier or thicker sauce, you can use heavy whipping cream instead.
How to Make Chicken Alfredo (Video below):
1. Cook fettuccini in a large pot of salted water (4 qts water with 1 Tbsp salt,) according to package instructions then drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice chicken breast into strips and season all over with salt and pepper. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat and saute chicken until light golden and cooked through (5 min). Remove chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.
3. In the same pan over medium/high, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft (5-7 min), stirring frequently. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
4. Add half-n-half and simmer over medium/high heat 8-10 min, or until just beginning to thicken. Add chicken back to pan, along with 1/4 cup parsley and season sauce to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
5. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat another minute until warmed through then turn off the heat, cover and let pasta rest 10-15 minutes then stir to combine and serve garnished with more parsley.
After the pasta rests, you will have a creamy but light Alfredo sauce that coats the noodles perfectly.
Creamy Pasta Recipes to Try Next:
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta – juicy shrimp in alfredo sauce
- Mushroom and Leek Pasta – this sauce tastes gourmet
- Chicken Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce – easy, excellent dinner idea
- Chicken Tetrazzini – Creamy and scrumptious pasta casserole
Watch How to Make Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo:
See Natasha make her Mom’s Chicken Alfredo Recipe. If you enjoy our videos, please on Youtube and click the bell icon so you will be the first to know when we post a new video!
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⬇️ Print Friendly Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo:
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Breast
- 3/4 lbs fettuccine pasta , (or angel hair or vermicelli pasta)
- 1 lb white mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 1/2 cups half and half, *
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped,, plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste, plus more for pasta water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Cook fettuccini in a pot of salted water (4 qts water, 1 Tbsp salt,) according to package instructions then drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, slice chicken into strips and season all over with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat and sauté chicken until lightly golden and cooked through (5 min). Remove chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.
- In the same pan over medium/high, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter. Add onion and sauté 3 min until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft (5-7 min), stirring frequently. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add half-n-half and simmer over medium/high heat 8-10 min, or until beginning to thicken. Add chicken back to the pan, add 1/4 cup parsley and season sauce to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
- Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat another minute until warmed through then turn off the heat, cover and let rest 10-15 minutes then stir and serve garnished with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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This is definitely a feel good chicken fettuccini alfredo. It’s so creamy and satisfying, but light! Since it isn’t heavy-cream based, it fills you up without the guilt 🙂 I can’t even count how many times my Mom made this growing up. I hope this becomes a go-to pasta recipe for you as well!
Do you have a favorite food that you loved growing up and now make as an adult? I want to hear all about it in a comment below! 🙂
Another delicious recipe, thank you! I did do 2 cups heavy whip and 1.5 cups whole milk, instead of half and half and it was perfect! Will add red pepper flakes (to my bowl) next time, I love a little heat. How would you reheat this on stove top next day?
Thank you for your review! You can refrigerate your alfredo pasta within 3 hours of cooking time and you can store it in the fridge for up to 3–4 days. Add 1–2 tablespoons per serving of liquid: you can use milk, heavy cream, or even chicken broth or reserved pasta water when you reheat it the next day. Heat it slowl on medium to low heat.
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it was delicious. My husband is very particular about what foods he likes and he loves this dish. It really surprised me,because I didn’t think he’d like it. Thank you so much for the recipe.
You’re very welcome, Wanda! I’m so glad he loved it.
Love just about all of your recipes. Unfortunately this was not one of them. Lacked in flavour and much too liquid. I believe it could have used some cheese and thickening.
Hi Bernie, as I mentioned above, this is a light Alfredo sauce, but you could definitely use a heavy cream for a thicker sauce. I also have an amazing creamy alfredo sauce in my Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook that I think you’d love.
Just a note about the prep time listed as 20 minutes. Realistically this takes 2 hours to prepare (cutting, seasoning, and cooking the chicken will take a 30- 40 minutes alone). Once everything is gathered, chopped and otherwise prepared, your cooking time for the noodles and sauce would be about 20 minutes. I would also add fresh parmesan or romano cheese to the sauce and if you only use half and half (10%) cream, you will need the cheese or will need to thicken it with flour as it would be thin and runny. Other than that I have made this several times and it is great.
Great recipe, I made this for dinner tonight. This turned out great and both my husband and I loved it, I did add some grated Parmesan cheese just for fun. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome! So glad you enjoyed it.
Can I use heavy cream instead of half and half?
Yes, that will work too!
Was there something I missed? The half n half never thickened but curdled the way milk would for yogurt.. the half n half was not expired..
Oh no, I’m so sorry that happened! A few things could cause half and half to curdle – It usually comes down to the temperature being too high or an acidic ingredient being added (like wine or lemon juice), though this recipe doesn’t call for anything acidic. Since high heat can cause it to separate, it’s important to bring the half and half to a gentle simmer without letting it boil rapidly.
Usually love all your recipes and want to give this one a try. I was wondering though. Could I add Parmesan cheese to this?
Hi there! Yes, you can add cheese to this recipe if you prefer.
Can you omit the mushrooms ? Will it change the taste ?
Hi there, we love this recipe with mushrooms but yes, you can omit them. It will still be delicious!