Chicken Alfredo
Three delicious components collide to create the ultimate chicken Alfredo – golden, pan-seared chicken, perfectly tender pasta, and a satiny parmesan-garlic cream sauce. The dish may look and taste gourmet, but it’s actually quite easy to prepare!
This recipe was written for the Arizona Republic.
What’s the origin of chicken Alfredo? To understand the history of chicken Alfredo, we must first delve into the origin of fettuccine Alfredo, a dish dating back to early 20th-century Rome. In 1908, Italian restaurateur (and new father) Alfredo di Lelio created a dish for his wife to rouse her appetite after the birth of their son. The simple dish consisted of fresh fettuccine pasta and a two-ingredient, luxurious sauce of butter and parmesan cheese. This humble meal soon became a cherished restaurant staple in Alfredo’s Roman restaurant. As is the case with many popular international dishes, fettuccine Alfredo made its way outside of Rome and across the pond to the United States in the early 1920’s, where it was tweaked and Americanized. While some recipes for fettuccine Alfredo stick to its modest roots, the American version often features a heavy cream-spiked sauce, and the addition of herby, pan-seared chicken.
Here’s what you need for this easy chicken Alfredo
- Pasta. Traditionally, long, flat fettuccine noodles are used for Alfredo; the thick noodles provide a wonderfully wide surface area for the sauce. If desired, you may also use linguine, or a short pasta with ridges, such as penne and rigatoni. Any pasta shape works, but I recommend wide, flat noodles, or something with ridges. Pro tip: Don’t forget to reserve some pasta cooking water to thin the sauce. You might not need it, but it’s great to have on hand.
- Chicken. Choose boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. You can opt for thin-sliced, or regular chicken breasts. When using regular chicken breasts, halve them through the middle to create two thinner breasts from each breast half. Since chicken breast halves vary widely by weight, use 1 pound of chicken for this recipe (versus the number of pieces). Pro tip: Don’t over-cook your chicken; use an instant-read meat thermometer and stop cooking the chicken when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Italian seasoning. Italian seasoning is a medley of basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and sometimes sage. The herb blend is a one-stop-shop for great flavor, and we use it two places in this recipe – seared into chicken and to perfume the sauce. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use equal parts dried oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme.
- Olive oil. Olive oil is used to pan-sear the chicken before it’s braised in butter. I suggest using good-quality olive oil for the best flavor.
- Butter. We use 1 tablespoon of butter to braise the chicken after it’s seared in oil. We use 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter as the base of the Alfredo sauce. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Heavy cream. Heavy whipping cream and butter simmer together to create a sublime sauce for the pasta. Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are essentially the same product, boasting at least 36% milk fat; the only difference is the name use by different brands.
- Garlic. Fresh garlic reigns supreme here and infuses the cream sauce with deep, zesty flavor.
- Parmesan cheese. Since parmesan cheese is one of the main flavor components of the sauce, choose good-quality, freshly grated cheese. Please avoid shelf-stable, pre-grated cheese as it won’t melt properly and the flavor pales in comparison to fresh cheese. If desired, you may use the freshly grated parmesan cheese sold in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper. Salt and black pepper are used to season the chicken and the sauce; both elevate the flavor of everything.
- Parsley. While optional, fresh chopped parsley adds a burst of color and flavor just before serving.
What’s the secret to perfect Alfredo sauce? As mentioned above, the original Alfredo sauce consisted of two ingredients – butter and parmesan cheese. In this recipe, we use heavy cream to add richness and stretch the sauce to ensure it coats every noodle. Depending on the variety of pasta you use, you may need to adjust the thickness of the sauce. To thin the sauce, use some of the reserved pasta cooking water. For thicker sauce, simply take the pan off the heat and set it aside for one to two minutes; the sauce thickens as it sits.
Can you make a lighter version of this dish? As you may have noted, this dish uses more than 1/2 cup of butter, 2 cups of cream, and 2 cups of cheese. It’s decadent and fabulous. That said, if you want to shave off a few calories and fat grams, swap in half-and-half or whole milk for the heavy whipping cream. Note, when substituting half-and-half or milk, the sauce will be much thinner.
Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
For the Pasta and Chicken
- 16 ounces fettuccine pasta, or pasta of choice
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin-sliced, or regular chicken breasts halved through the middle to create thinner pieces
- 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the Alfredo Sauce
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving, optional
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken with the 3/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter and swirl the pan to evenly distribute the butter around the chicken. Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes (or while you make the sauce). Cut the chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, combine the 1/2 cup butter and heavy cream in the same pan over medium-low heat. When the butter has melted, whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and bring to a simmer, whisking in any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly thickened, whisking constantly.
- Reduce the heat to low, whisk in the parmesan cheese, and cook until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.
- Remove the pan from the heat and immediately fold in the cooked pasta.