Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo
Chicken and broccoli fettuccine alfredo is a decadent, yet surprisingly easy pasta dish. Make this homemade chicken alfredo in under half an hour for far less than ordering it from a restaurant!
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Weird but true fact.
Cooking pasta makes me happy.
It must be my Italian roots.
But nothing makes me happier than eating the pasta I’ve cooked.
I’m a woman of simple pleasures really.
And, friends, this chicken and broccoli fettuccine alfredo is the stuff of my dreams.
Why? Well:
- It’s easy, ready in under 30 minutes.
- So much more delicious and affordable than restaurant chicken alfredo.
- You can add as much (or as little) garlic as you want.
- You can shortcut it by making the chicken and broccoli on a sheet pan in the oven and tossing it with the cream sauce.
- And lastly, it’s family friendly. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN MY HOUSE, including my picky children, eat this meal. Happily. Which in turn makes me happy.
Have I convinced you to give it a go yet?
You will be oh so happy you did!
Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies
To make chicken and broccoli fettuccine alfredo, you will need:
- Chicken Breast – We cut this into about 1 inch pieces to both cook them faster and spread around more of the seasoning.
- Broccoli – We use fresh broccoli crowns cut into smaller pieces for similar reasons.
- Garlic – You will want about 4 to 6 cloves, crushed or minced. We use half for the alfredo sauce and half to cook the chicken and broccoli.
- Seasonings – For the chicken and broccoli, we use Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Olive Oil – This helps to coat the chicken and broccoli before baking.
- Parmesan Cheese – You want to use half for baking the chicken and broccoli and the other half for making the alfredo sauce.
- Heavy Cream – This gives body and thickness to the alfredo sauce.
- Butter – You use this to saute the garlic for the sauce.
- Fettuccine – You can use linguine if you like, or a short pasta, like farella.
You do not need any special equipment, but you will want to pull out your:
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo
1. Prepare the chicken and broccoli.
Preheat your oven to 425 F.
Wash and cut the chicken and broccoli into roughly 1 inch pieces and florets.
Pat the pieces dry and then place on a prepared cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.
Add the olive oil, seasonings, half the garlic, and half the parmesan cheese on top of the chicken and broccoli.
Use tongs or spoon to toss the chicken and broccoli right on the pan and then spread it out to make an even layer.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken cooks through.
For more in depth tips and tricks on this, check out this post on sheet pan chicken and broccoli.
2. Prepare the pasta.
Once you get the chicken in the oven, start your pot boiling.
Once it is boiling, add your noodles and cook according to the package’s instructions or about 10 minutes.
Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of pasta water.
3. Prepare the alfredo sauce.
When the pasta and chicken are done, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add in the remaining half of the garlic and saute for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
Turn down the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream.
Add the cooked fettuccine directly into the pot with the heavy cream and stir it to coat.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese and a quarter cup or so of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Use tongs to add the noodles directly to the skillet and toss to coat with the alfredo sauce.
Add in the cooked chicken and broccoli and toss to combine.
Stir in any remaining pasta water as needed.
Remove from heat and serve fresh from the stove top with a side of bread or a salad.
Serving
Chicken and broccoli fettuccine alfredo makes a complete meal by itself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fill it out a bit more.
A side of homemade bread or garlic bread goes really well with alfredo.
You can also make a Caesar salad or other side salad for additional greens.
Storing
Chicken and broccoli fettuccine alfredo is best right after you make it.
The longer you let it sit, the more the sauce will thicken.
If you do have leftovers, you can put them in an air tight container and store it for 3.
Reheat it over low heat on the stove, stirring in extra heavy cream as needed to loosen the sauce up.
Tips and Tricks
- When you reheat, add some additional cream or milk to thin out the sauce.
- Use fettuccine noodles or a pasta like penne. You don’t want to use thin pasta like spaghetti or angel hair as it won’t hold up to the richer, thicker sauce.
- If you don’t want to cook the chicken and broccoli in the oven, you can cook it on the stove following the instructions for the chicken in this Creamy Chicken and Pasta and boiling the broccoli florets for 2 to 5 minutes (depending on how done you like your broccoli) with the pasta.
- You can use larger chicken strips if you like, but you may need to adjust the cooking times so the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165 F.
- Another option for the chicken is using Easy Italian Grilled Chicken on top of the alfredo.
Other Creamy Pasta Recipes
Looking for other creamy pasta recipes that will rival restaurant quality? Try these:
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- Easy Lobster Alfredo
- Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo
- Easy Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Pasta
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Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast (cut into 1" pieces or chunks)
- 12 ounces broccoli stems removed and cut into equal sized pieces
- 6 cloves garlic (divided, can be more)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- As it heats, clean and cut your chicken into small, roughly 1 inch sized chunks.
- Slice larger broccoli crowns into halves or quarters.
- Put the chicken and broccoli on a large cookie sheet or mixing bowl and toss it with olive oil to coat it. Once it is coated, toss it with half the crushed garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.
- Spread the chicken and broccoli out over your cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.
- When you put the chicken in the oven, fill a pasta or stock pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Add in the noodles and cook according to the box's directions for al dente, about 10 minutes.
- While the pasta cooks and only has a couple minutes left, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, saute the remaining garlic over medium heat for 1 minute or until it becomes fragrant.
- Using tongs, add the fettuccine directly from the pot to the skillet.
- Pour in the heavy cream and toss to coat the pasta.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Remove the chicken and broccoli from the oven and transfer it to the skillet with the pasta, trying to get as many of the bits from the pan as possible into the skillet.
- Stir to combine.
- Serve fresh from the stove top in bowls or plates, topping with more parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- You can cook the chicken on the stove if you want. In order to do that season it as instructed. Melt the butter and saute the garlic as directed above. Add the chicken and saute it for 6-8 minutes, or until golden on the outside and cooked through.
- If the sauce is very thick, you can add a small amount of pasta water to help thin it out. If it is too thin, you can add more heavy cream or parmesan cheese.
- The sauce will thicken very quickly after you add the noodles and again after you add the cheese.
- This gets thicker the longer it sits.
- When you reheat it, reheat it in a large skillet on the stovetop so you can add more heavy cream as needed to thin the sauce back out and also avoid rubbery microwaved chicken.
