Chicken Alfredo
Updated Sept. 14, 2023
- Total Time
- 55 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 10tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2large boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 pound total), patted dry
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1pound fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti
- 1½cups heavy cream
- 6ounces (about 2 cups) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Fresh nutmeg, for grating (optional)
- Fresh chopped parsley, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
942 calories; 56 grams fat; 31 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 47 grams protein; 713 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Take the butter out of the fridge, cut it into 10 tablespoons and set aside. Season both sides of the chicken breasts well with salt (about 2½ teaspoons total) and pepper. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta.
- Step 2
In a large pan that can accommodate the pasta later, place the oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, reduce heat to medium and add the chicken; cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, swirl it around the pan and continue cooking until the chicken is golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Flip the chicken, add another tablespoon of butter, swirl it around and cook the other side until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, lift the thinner end of each chicken breast to press the thicker ends on the pan to fully cook and take on a little color, about 1 minute each. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and rest for 3 minutes. Slice the chicken in ½-inch-thick diagonals and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Discard the oil, then wash and dry the pan.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, according to package directions. While the pasta cooks, add the cream to the pan and warm through over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Watch the cream very closely, reducing the heat if necessary to maintain a low simmer; you do not want it to come to a boil or simmer rapidly and split. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, stirring occasionally, until melted. If the pasta is not ready when the butter has melted and the cream sauce has slightly thickened, remove the sauce off the heat until ready to use.
- Step 4
When the pasta is ready, place the sauce over medium heat and set the pasta pot next to the saucepan. Use tongs or a spider strainer to transfer the pasta to the sauce. Alternatively, you can drain the pasta, if you prefer. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and quickly toss with the pasta and sauce. If using, grate a little fresh nutmeg onto the pasta, toss, then taste for salt and add as needed. Top with the sliced chicken and serve immediately, topped with parsley, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
No need to use a food processor to grate your cheese. With a fine grate microplane, you’ll get 2 cupsful in under two minutes, and you can clean the plane in 30 seconds. Using a food processor you’ll spend longer than that just getting it out and assembling it, the cheese won’t be as finely and consistently grated, and you will spend a heck of a lot of time cleaning the myriad parts.
I've made versions of this for years. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally, then cut into pinkie-sized strips. When water boils, saute chicken in butter until they swell and turn white (2-3 minutes). Add parsley & fresh marjoram (oregano will work, but use less). Boil fresh egg pasta (fettuccine is best) at same time. If fresh, it should be done with chicken. Drain and mix with noodles. Add cheese. If desired add cream and nutmeg before chicken. S&P.
I like to add garlic. Otherwise, the recipe's picture tells the story. Dee-lish.
Made it as is except I did not wash the pan used to cook the chicken. As a result, I used only 8 tbs of butter total. The sauce is slightly brown but the flavor was very good. We don’t like white meat and prefer dark meat, but I used breast to stay true to the recipe and the chicken was surprisingly good. Pretty tasty and not too dry. found there’s a bit too much sauce and 2 cups of cheese is a lot. I notice that hand-grated cheese is lighter and fluffier than food processor grated one. I assume the recipe calls for the more dense food processor one. The next time I think I’ll just use 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of cheese and add a splash of pasta water if I need to thin it out. My family doesn’t like it too creamy anyway. I did not need to add salt to the sauce because the cheese is already salty plus the pasta water was heavily salted. Family loved the dish so we’ll add it to the rotation. This feeds a family of three. Recipe’s serving size is ridiculously small.
2 1/2 teaspoons sounds like a LOT of salt on two chicken breasts. Or am I just salt-shy these days?
I loved the sauce, easy and cheesy. But next time I will avoid the oil splatter on my range and cook the chicken some other way. Or skip the bird altogether.
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