This easy chicken alfredo is a quick and easy weeknight meal that is on the table in less than 30 minutes. Made with just a handful of ingredients, this chicken pasta is made without cream yet is still wonderfully rich and creamy.
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Chicken Alfredo Recipe
We have pasta at least once a week in our house, and I’m pretty sure a lot of you guys are the same! Quick and easy to make, this chicken alfredo is a great addition to your weekly meal plan.
It’s made without any cream, yet still rich and flavorful!
How To Make Easy Chicken Alfredo
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
Prep: Cook your pasta, drain and reserve the cooking water. If you are using raw chicken, cook in the oven or in a skillet and set to one side (you can use pre-cooked).
Make: Add some pasta water to a skillet on the stovetop and bring it to a simmer before whisking in the butter. Add the cheese, whisk until smooth and then whisk in the remaining pasta water.
Combine: Add the cooked pasta to eh sauce and ensure the noodles are well coated. Cook until the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid.
Serve: Place the pasta on a plate and topped with sliced chicken breast. Garnish with parmesan and fresh herbs.
What’s the best chicken to use?
You can use any chicken in this dish, just make sure that it is full cooked before adding it to the pasta.
You can use pre-cooked cubed chicken from the store or cook your oven breast or thighs in the oven or on the skillet.
Is this pasta creamy?
This easy chicken alfredo recipe doesn’t use any cream, yet it is creamy, silky and rich in flavor.
The “cream” is developed by the emulsion of pasta water, butter and Parmesan cheese – so be sure to remember to reserve that pasta water!
What’s the best pasta to use for chicken alfredo?
I like to use fettuccine in this recipe – it is a fairly wide noodle so it catches all that amazing sauce.
Any dried or fresh pasta will of course work, but I prefer to use a long pasta. Linguine and spaghetti will both work well.
Tips!
- Any type of cooked chicken breasts or a combination of light and dark chicken meat can be used. Four chicken breasts equal about 4 cups cut up chicken meat.
- This final outcome of this recipe will be determined by the quality of ingredients, especially the butter and Parmesan cheese.
- This easy chicken alfredo is best served immediately, but if you have leftovers keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
- Pesto Baked Rigatoni
- Classic Italian Pasta Salad
- Caprese Pasta Bake
- Pasta Pomodoro
- Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Alfredo Recipe (No Cream)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breasts pan-seared, sliced, or 4 cups cubed chicken. Keep warm. See *Note
- 12 ounces fettuccine or other long pasta
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups reserved pasta cooking water
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cubed. Do NOT use margarine.
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving (very good quality)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Garnish: Chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta, stirring often, until al dente. Drain (**this is very important) reserving 2 cups pasta cooking water.
- Set a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1-cup pasta water. Bring just to a low simmer, then whisk in 1 tablespoon of butter, one piece at a time, until melted.
- Gradually add the cheese, whisking constantly, being sure it is melted and incorporated thoroughly before adding each addition.
- Whisk in the additional 1-cup pasta water.
- Add the pasta and mix to coat until noodles are covered in sauce.
- (Note – if using cubed chicken, add it now and mix well.)
- Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
- Cook over low heat, about 3-5 minutes, just until the pasta absorbs most of the liquid. Stir often to avoid scorching the cheese-covered pasta.
- To serve, place 1/4th of the pasta on a plate and add 1 sliced chicken breast.
- Top with a heaping helping of grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
Nutrition Information
We just finished dinner–wow! I’ll be making this again, that’s for sure. I reduced the recipe to serve 2 but I found the amounts of pasta water don’t adjust accordingly, so I kind of winged that part. I also added some chicken bouillon to the pasta water, as another contributor mentioned. All in all, I have to say, this is a real keeper. I don’t know why some people had trouble with cheese sticking to the skillet. I didn’t have any problems–except to STOP EATING!! LOL
Thanks for sharing your success with us, Gay!
Frankly the recipe was superb
Thanks for stopping by, Ese!
Disaster!
This is the worst recipe I have ever prepared from the Internet in my many many years of cooking. I am still trying to extricate the cheese from the pan and the tools. My very expensive
Parmesan Reggiano stuck to the tools even after adding them gradually. I added vinegar to the water and the
cheese will still not come off. This recipe
is again the worst ever.
I am sorry to hear it wasn’t successful for you!
I made this today and added cherry tomatoes. It was pretty good. Next time may replace the pasta water with chicken stock.
That looks scrumptious, Cyndi!
You may only want to replace *some* of the pasta water. What helps it become thick despite being cream-less is the residual starch from the pasta! :)
This recipe was super easy and absolutely delicious! My husband and son couldn’t get enough! I am so impressed with the sauce without the cream…I’m not sure I will ever use cream again…it was that good!
I’m so glad I could help mix things up for you guys!!
Totally failed to emulsify, and the time is incredibly deceptive. This failed and just did not work at all. Waste of time.
I am sorry this didn’t work out for you Eric!
What do you consider good quality Parmesan Cheese? Thanks
Either the kind you grate yourself or they sell it freshly grated!