Easy Chicken Linguine Alfredo
You’ll love this easy Chicken Linguine Alfredo recipe that features seasoned pieces of chicken nestled in a scratch Alfredo Sauce served with tender linguine noodles. Ready in about 30-minutes!
This is one of our favorite family dinners and it’s oh-so-much-better-than the Olive Garden Grilled Chicken and Alfredo Sauce! And you don’t have to leave the house to get restaurant-quality Italian food!
I usually serve this with a crisp Caesar salad, steam asparagus or roasted broccoli and some garlic bread.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts, linguine pasta, butter, heavy cream, garlic powder, ground nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, salt and black pepper
How to make it
Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and oregano; place in a lightly oiled baking dish; cover with foil and bake on 400°F until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
If you want a crispy exterior, take the foil off the baking dish and let the chicken roast for about 5-8 additional minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and slice on the diagonal.
- Cook pasta according to package directions
- While pasta is cooking, make the Alfredo sauce
Heat 12-inch skillet and melt butter on low heat; add room temperature heavy cream (also known as heavy whipping cream) and whisk until smooth. Keep the temperature on a medium-low heat whisking constantly.
- Season lightly with garlic powder, nutmeg, a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of ground white pepper (you can use ground black pepper if that’s all you have); gradually add in fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Continue whisking until cheese is melted.
Note: Authentic Alfredo Sauce does not contain heavy cream, whole milk, low-fat milk, sour cream or cream cheese; it’s just melted butter with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Adding thick cream is an American spin on this Italian pasta dish.
Recipe Tips
- Take the heavy cream out of the fridge about 10-minutes before you start to make the sauce so it can come to room temperature (if you add super cold cream to melted butter, it will curdle.)
- This recipe yields 1 cup of sauce. If you’re serving folks who like a lot of sauce, double the recipe.
- To thicken the Alfredo Sauce, add 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the pasta water to the sauce and whisk well.
Storage and make ahead
You can make the alfredo sauce up to 3 days in advance. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Re-heat the sauce on the stovetop on low heat; it may thicken upon refrigeration, so you may need to add a few tablespoons of water when reheating.
To re-heat cooked linguine, either place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for a few seconds or, bring a pot of water to almost boiling, drop the noodles in for a few minutes, then drain and plate.
This easy Chicken Linquine Alfredo dinner is downright comfort food and ideal for busy weeknights or special occasions! Serve it with a crisp salad, a side of green beans, asparagus, broccoli or kale.
More easy pasta recipes
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Pasta Carbonara with Ricotta
- San Marzano Pasta Sauce
- Creole Shrimp Pasta
- Bolognese Sauce
- Baked Greek Shrimp
Easy Chicken Linguine Alfredo Recipe
Equipment
- whisk
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 pound linguine noodles
- 6-8 cups water
- 1 tablespoon salt for pasta water
- 4 tablespoons butter (½ a stick); salted or unsalted
- 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, oregano, to season chicken
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley ,garnish (optional)
- extra parmesan cheese , garnish (optional)
- fresh ground black pepper , garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Set the heavy cream out on the counter to come to room temperature1 cup heavy cream
- If baking chicken, preheat oven to 400°F
- Pat dry chicken and lightly season both sides with salt, pepper and oregano; bake covered or uncovered about 20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F; if sauteeing on stovetop, add 2 tablespoons of oil and cook breasts until they reach 165°F; remove and set aside; cover with foil2 chicken breasts, 1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, oregano, to season chicken
- Bring 6-8 cups of salted water to a boil; add linguine and cook 10-minutes; drain pasta and place in large serving bowl6-8 cups water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 pound linguine noodles
- While the pasta is boiling start the sauce: melt butter in large saucepan; once butter is melted, whisk in heavy cream; whisk until fully blended4 tablespoons butter, 1 cup heavy cream
- Add garlic powder and nutmeg; continue to whisk¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Add Parmesan cheese; continue to whisk until cheese is melted; seasosn to taste with salt and pepper1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste
- Drizzle half of the alfredo sauce over pasta; toss and coat well
- Slice chicken breasts, place on pasta and drizzle remaining alfredo sauce
- Garnish with fresh parsley, parmesan cheese and/or fresh ground black pepperfresh parsley, extra parmesan cheese, fresh ground black pepper
10 out of 10. Followed recipe and absolutely delicious! I don’t usually like Alfredo either, so pretty impressive recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Mandy, for trying the recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe rocks! I have made it and it is delicious!!
Loved this easy chicken pasta dish! The alfredo sauce was the best and didn’t clump ip! I’ll make this again.
Thank you for the great instructions! I’ve never made this before and my husband loved it!