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Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Alfredo is all cooked in ONE POT! Ready and on the table in less than 20 minutes!
Crispy golden seared chicken is mixed through a super creamy garlic parmesan Alfredo sauce! My favorite chicken alfredo recipe with the pasta cooked right in is perfect comfort food at its finest.
Chicken Alfredo
Move over store-bought Alfredo sauces and even restaurant Alfredo. This chicken alfredo recipe has the best homemade Alfredo sauce! SO MUCH FLAVOR!
This recipe is for those emergency dinner moments, a throw-it-all-in-a-pot recipe you can do in minutes! Just a simple pot and humble stovetop needed.
How to Make Chicken Alfredo
Sear chicken thighs (or skinless chicken breasts) first to enjoy the crispy golden texture through the creamy pasta, then remove them to ensure juicy chicken pieces.
You’re more than welcome to dice the chicken first, sear it, then leave it right in the pot to continue cooking as you add in the rest of your ingredients.
Alfredo Sauce
The sauce in this recipe naturally thickens as the starch from the penne pasta is released into the sauce while cooking. If the sauce for your chicken Alfredo pasta is too thick for your liking, add extra cream (or evaporated milk) in 1/4 cup increments until smooth and silky. While I use penne for this one-pot method, you can easily swap it out for long noodles if you prefer a classic chicken fettuccine alfredo.
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Tips for One Pot Alfredo
There are three main steps to this recipe. CHICKEN → ALFREDO SAUCE → PASTA.
- The sauce I use includes wine. I love wine in this, but you can leave it out altogether if you wish.
- If using wine, please use a good quality dry white wine. I use a $20 bottle of Pinot Grigio in most of my recipes on this site, but a good Sauv Blanc or Chardonnay will suit the flavors in this creamy sauce.
- You can substitute the heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) with half and half, light cream, or a reduced-fat cooking cream to lower the overall fat content and reduce the calories. My secret for a smooth texture is sticking to the full-fat options, but you can also use evaporated milk depending on your dietary requirements.
- Using freshly grated parmesan cheese enhances the flavor and ensures the cheese melts through your chicken alfredo sauce. Please don’t use powdered parmesan.
- The sauce in this recipe naturally thickens as the starch from the penne pasta is released while cooking. If the sauce for your chicken alfredo pasta is too thick, add hot water, extra cream, or evaporated milk in 1/4 cup increments until smooth and silky.
- Remove the pot off the stove while there’s still a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pot and the pasta is cooked al dente (firm to the bite). The sauce begins to evaporate quite quickly while it sits waiting to be served, and as you mix it through adjusting salt and pepper.
Chicken alfredo has never been easier!
More Pasta Recipes
Pasta is so versatile that you can create tons of recipes with it. I love to have it with a piece of garlic butter bread to soak up the sauce. There are so many ways to switch it up, from a simple dinner dish to a lighter version with bacon.
You can also take pasta in a different direction with pan-seared chicken breasts with Tuscan mac and cheese.
If you have extra skinless chicken thighs on hand, they’re also great for making chicken with champagne sauce.
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One Pot Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 pinch salt to season
- 1 pinch cracked pepper to season
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced, or 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup dry white wine optional
- 8 oz brown mushrooms sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream divided, thickened cream, light cream, evaporated milk can also be used
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch pepper to taste
- 8 oz dry pasta penne or fettuccini
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 pinch fresh parsley chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Heat half of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs and sear on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil in the pot. Fry onion until transparent, stirring occasionally (about 2 minutes). Sauté the garlic until fragrant (30 seconds), then add in the white wine and allow to reduce to half (about 4-5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and cook for about a minute, while stirring occasionally.
- Pour in broth and 1 cup of cream (or evaporated milk); season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer then add the pasta. Mix well, reduce the heat to a slow simmer while stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente (about 15 minutes).
- Stir in the parmesan cheese until it melts through the sauce. Remove from heat immediately and slowly add in 1/4-1/2 cup remaining cream if sauce it too thick for your liking. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
- Slice the chicken into strips and stir through the pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley and extra parmesan, if desired
Notes
- Fridge: Let your pasta cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: I highly recommend eating this fresh. Freezing is not ideal because cream-based sauces tend to separate and become grainy when thawed, and the cooked pasta will turn mushy.
- Reheating: The pasta naturally absorbs the liquid while it sits in the fridge. When reheating chicken alfredo, add a splash of milk, broth, or extra cream to the pot or bowl to bring the sauce back to life. Heat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. If using a microwave, warm it in short 30-second bursts, stirring in between so the sauce doesn’t break.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely loved it!!! I jazzed it up a bit seasoning wise, just a tad, but it was a fantastic recipe! My boyfriend LOVED it and chicken Alfredo is his fav. I love this cooking blog, I stand by all the recipes! Thanks so much!
Have tried many different recipes for Alfredo but this has been the best. Husband is super picky but went back this time for seconds!
Really delicious recipe , used chicken thugs instead of breasts but very flavourful .
Thank you for this recipe, I’m so glad I stumbled across it. I’ve made a few different versions on one pot fettuccine alfredo, and this one far and away takes the cake (and I even forgot to add the wine). Thanks again!
I followed the recipe very closely other than a few steps. I started off by cooking bacon in the pan before the chicken (which goes great with almost any Italian dish) and I roasted some tomatoes with salt and pepper and added them in around the same time as the mushrooms… turned out amazing. The bacon fat really seals the deal. It takes a bit longer to cook the chicken and onions but it turns out really amazing!
This recipe is great and really versatile. Consider bumping it up with veg and spinach so you have a great lunch the next day! You’ll be glad you did. Oh, and if you don’t have white wine – I subbed dry white vermouth and it was perfect.
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was fantastic! I followed the recipe as written, except that I cooked up some bacon and used the bacon fat to cook the chicken. Hubby raved about it and had seconds. The one pot method makes this so easy. The only downside was that it was rather time consuming chopping, mincing, and grating. This is a winner!
We loved this, last Friday, so much we are having it again tonight.
The kids gave it 11/10 and my hubby, who used to be a chef, said it was restaurant quality food !
Used good wine as you suggested,…. better get on with cooking it again 🙂
Just made this tonight – my whole family approved! I can’t wait to try more recipes from Cafe Delites!
This is fantastic! I made it as directed and it was the best alfredo I have ever made. And I LOVE that it’s only one pot to clean! I also loved that it didn’t taste floury, I sometimes have difficulties with roux and I was pleased that I did not have to make one for this recipe!