It’s a restaurant-quality dishes that’s destined to become one of your favorite chicken recipes!
Let’s get started!
Jump To…
What I Love About This Recipe
Because our chicken alfredo recipe is entirely made from scratch, you control the quality of the ingredients. You also control how much salt you use, allowing you to adjust the seasonings to your family’s tastes. I love that this recipe:
- Feels rich and decadent
- Includes a serving of veggies
- Uses fresh, homemade sauce
Recipe Notes
Our version of classic chicken alfredo recipe comes together in one pot, in under an hour. This tasty dish is perfect for company but also easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
One Pot Chicken Alfredo Ingredient Notes
Noodles: No penne? No problem. If you have other short, ridged or tube-shaped pasta, it will work well in this recipe.
Milk: Rather than cream, I use a combination of milk and a half and a half. It creates a slightly thinner sauce but helps leave room for the richness of all the impending cheese.
If you use low-fat milk, you will lose some of the creaminess of the sauce. Whole milk contributes to the smooth mouth-feel of this recipe.
Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms are my absolute favorite for this chicken alfredo recipe. They have a deep, complex flavor, with a slightly meatier texture than white button mushrooms. Either will work, and both are readily available at the supermarket (even pre-sliced!).
Have picky eaters in your family? Mushrooms can easily be omitted from this recipe.
Chicken: To save time, you can substitute rotisserie or even leftover chicken. Just do your best to keep the pieces around one-inch in size. Although the chicken may already have plenty of flavors, I’d still recommend adding the Italian seasoning. Also, you may not need the full two teaspoons of salt if your chicken is especially salty.
Cream Cheese: The secret ingredient I add, which I think makes this the best chicken alfredo recipe, is cream cheese. There’s just a small amount, but I find it not only ups the creamy factor (because we obviously need more!) but it also helps stabilize the sauce. Sometimes adding lots of cheese too quickly can change the texture, or cause the sauce to separate, and the cream cheese mitigates that.
Spices: Don’t have Italian seasoning on hand? Make your own blend with dried basil, oregano, and parsley. For extra zest, add in a few dried red pepper flakes.
Tomatoes: The last ingredient is chopped tomatoes, and while they definitely add little acidic bites to balance out the sauce a bit, they also provide a wonderful contrast in color.
In an ideal world, you would peel every tomato before adding it to this really easy recipe. Here’s a little trick if you opt for peeling. Cut a small “x” in the bottom of your tomatoes, drop them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then plunge them immediately into ice water.
The peel will come off much more easily and without wasting any tomato from a lack of knife skills!
Peeled or not, you should still core and seed them for this dish.
Chicken Alfredo With Cream Cheese Storing Tips
Like many pasta dishes, the noodles tend to absorb the sauce the longer they sit. An extra splash of milk in the storage container can help keep the sauce creamy. Try to keep your chicken alfredo tightly covered to prevent it from drying out in the fridge.
Can You Freeze This?
When frozen, cream cheese and cream sauces have a tendency to separate into a goopy mess. Because of this separation, the sauce doesn’t reheat properly. We don’t suggest freezing this meal.
Chicken Alfredo Sauce Make Ahead Tips
If you do meal prep at the beginning of the week, you can easily include our recipe. Cook the chicken in advance and prepare the sauce according to the instructions. Store them together in the fridge.
When you are ready to eat your chicken alfredo, cook the noodles. Reheat all the components by simmering them together in a large skillet. If the sauce has thickened too much, add milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
Cooked leftovers are best eaten within 3-5 days for the best flavor and freshness.
More Chicken Pasta Recipes
If you would love to try more pasta dishes, check out these delicious options:
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Lasagna
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast
- 3 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper divided
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 16-ounce box penne
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 8 ounces Mozzarella cheese
- 3 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
Instructions
- Cut the chicken tenderloins into 1-inch cubes. Toss chicken with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and Italian seasoning and coat evenly.
- In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook without stirring, until one side is browned about 2 minutes. Turn the chicken and brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. Wipe out the skillet.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta well.
- Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, begin the sauce; Melt the butter in the skillet. Add onion, garlic, and mushroom and saute until veggies are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk and half and half and stir constantly, until smooth. Stir in Parmesan, Mozzarella, and cream cheese and cook gently until cheeses are melted. Add reserved cooked chicken and tomatoes. Serve over cooked pasta.
Fans Also Made:
Conclusion
Need a tasty one-pot dinner? Loaded with healthful chicken and veggies, chicken alfredo recipe is a meal you’ll love to make. And with that silky, creamy sauce, chicken alfredo is sure to be devoured by the whole family!
Make-ahead or last minute, chicken alfredo is an excellent choice for dinner tonight.
Did you make this recipe? Do you have questions? Leave a comment below.
Can this be made with shrimp, if so would directions be the same or changed a bit?
Gosh, shrimp would be amazing in this Carrie! The directions would be essentially the same. Just adjust the cooking time for the shrimp so it doesn’t overcook and get tough. Please come back and tell us all about your new creation. I’m excited to hear about it. I can’t wait to make it that way too <3
can this be made with other cheeses. i dont have any mozarella or parmesean.
Absolutely. You can customize it and use what ever cheese you like best.
Query: the ingredient list calls for 1tsp salt. However, in the instructions it calls for a total of 3 tsps of salt. Which is correct? Three tsp of salt seems a bit much.
Hey Larry. Thanks so much for asking. I’ve ammended the recipe. I use 3 teaspoons of salt in the recipe. I season generously with salt and pepper. If you’re sensitive to salt, I suggest start with 2 teaspoons. I’d season the chicken per the recipe and cut the salt in the sauce down. Let’s face it, you can always add more salt, but you can’t take it out once it’s added! Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂