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.
What’s in this Chicken Alfredo Recipe?
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!
- Cooked Chicken Breasts: This recipe is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken breasts. You can use sliced or cubed cooked chicken. You can also use cooked chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Kosher Salt: Helps to season the pasta water, adding rich flavor to this dish.
- Fettuccini: The best noodle, in my opinion, for alfredo.
- Pasta Cooking Water: Don’t forget to reserve 2 cups of the water you cooked the pasta in before draining it. This is crucial to creating a creamy sauce.
- Butter: Unsalted butter helps bump up the creaminess of this sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese: Be sure to use good-quality, freshly-shredded Parmesan cheese for the best tasting sauce.
- Black Pepper: An optional addition that helps elevate this dish.
- Parsley: I love garnishing my pasta dishes with parsley for a pop of color.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have leftover chicken on hand, sauté diced chicken breasts in a bit of butter and olive oil, then remove them from the pan before adding the pasta water.
Variations on Chicken Alfredo Pasta
You can change up the taste of this chicken alfredo by swapping out the Parmesan for Pecorino Romano or Asiago cheese. You can also swap out the cooked chicken for cooked steak or sausages. For a spicier take on chicken alfredo, add some crushed red pepper flakes into the cheese sauce.
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.
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!
I like to use fettuccini 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.
How to Store and Reheat this Easy Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Store leftover chicken alfredo in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second bursts until hot or in a skillet set over medium-low heat until warmed through.
What to Serve with Homemade Chicken Alfredo
Serve chicken alfredo with garlic bread or rosemary focaccia and an Italian salad. You could also serve it with a side of roasted veggies!
Chicken Alfredo Recipe (No Cream)
Ingredients
- 4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced (or 4 cups cooked cubed chicken – see note)
- Kosher salt to taste
- 12 ounces dry fettuccini or other long pasta (¾ box)
- 2 cups reserved pasta cooking water divided
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cubed (1½ sticks)
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves; optional, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta, stirring often, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.12 ounces dry fettuccini, Kosher salt
- 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.2 cups reserved pasta cooking water, ¾ cup unsalted butter
- Gradually add the cheese, whisking constantly, being sure it is melted and incorporated thoroughly before adding each addition.1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 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.Freshly ground black pepper
- 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 ¼ of the pasta on a plate and add 1 sliced chicken breast.4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Top with a heaping helping of grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves.Chopped fresh parsley
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
- Chicken: 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.
- Do not use margarine in place of the butter.
- If using salted butter, do not add any kosher salt.
- The final outcome of this recipe will be determined by the quality of the ingredients, especially the butter and Parmesan cheese. No cream is used, so the “cream” is developed by the emulsion of pasta water, butter, and Parmesan cheese. The final result is fantastic.
Nutrition Information
This recipe was amazing 🤩
It was so delicious! Thank you!
That looks so good, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing!!
This was so great!
Happy to hear, Mary!
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!