This delicious Chicken Alfredo Linguine takes just 25 minutes to make, but the result looks and tastes like you’re eating in a fancy Italian restaurant! Perfect for busy days when you still want to eat well.
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What exactly is Chicken Alfredo?
I love a good recipe story! Apparently this dish was first invented by a man called Alfredo di Lelio in Rome in 1908. He originally made a much simpler version of this dish, called “Fettuccine all’Alfredo” for his wife, who fell ill after giving birth. The original dish was just fettuccini, butter and parmesan.
Later, he started selling Fettuccini Alfredo in his restaurant and it became very popular. In 1920, two American film stars visited the restaurant and fell in love with “Fettuccine all’Alfredo” and spread the word among their influential friends back home.
This dish eventually made its way into American restaurants, where it was adapted to better suit the American market – for example, by adding cream, chicken, garlic and parsley. And the fettuccini is sometimes subbed for different pasta shapes, such as linguine, spaghetti, penne or fusilli.
Although the Chicken Alfredo we have today is most not an authentic Italian recipe, it is most definitely a very delicious one… and a surprisingly easy one to make at home too.
This delicious Chicken Alfredo Linguine takes just 25 minutes to make, but the result looks and tastes like you’re eating in a fancy Italian restaurant!
How to make homemade Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Alfredo is super easy to make at home!
All you need to do is fry 3-4 small chicken breasts in olive oil, then allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, cut into bite-size chunks. (Or you can slice or shred it if you prefer.)
Next, cook the pasta according to your own preference. When cooked, drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, melt the butter then fry the garlic for 30 seconds before adding white wine. Bubble the white wine for 2 minutes, until well reduced.
Then add double cream, parmesan, salt and pepper, and turn the heat down to medium. Bubble for 2 minutes until a little reduced and thickened.
Finally, add the parsley, the cooked chicken and the drained linguine, together with a splash of pasta cooking water. Stir together well, and serve, scattered with grated parmesan, more black pepper and more parsley.
What to serve with Chicken Alfredo Linguine
Chicken Alfredo Linguine is a complete meal in it’s own right, and that’s how I usually like to serve it.
However, if you are feeling extra hungry, you can absolutely add some sides! I recommend garlic bread or crusty French bread, and a green salad.
What to drink with Chicken Alfredo Linguine
Creamy chicken pasta dishes go really well with Chardonnay – both oaked and unoaked styles work well. But personally, I would choose a Chardonnay with a bit of oomph from somewhere like the South of France, Chile, Australia, California or South Africa.
Other possible options include Soave, Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc.
Personally, I would not recommend a rosé or red wine, as I they don’t tend to pair well with creamy sauces.
Make it your own!
This Easy Chicken Alfredo is so easy to adapt to your own personal tastes or to whatever you happen to have in your cupboards / fridge. For example, you could:
- Add bacon (fry immediately before adding the butter)
- Add cooked prawns (add in with the cream)
- Swap the chicken for turkey, salmon, smoked salmon or Quorn pieces
- Add in some onions, mushrooms, peppers or aubergines (fry in olive oil immediately before adding the butter)
- Add in some sundried tomatoes or fresh halved cherry tomatoes
- Add in a handful of spinach
- Add in some peas
- Coat the chicken in some cajun spice rub before frying
- Use dill or basil instead of the parsley
I’d love to hear about any adaptations you make to this dish! Let me know in the comments section below.
Can you reheat leftover Chicken Alfredo Linguine?
No – this is a dish that’s best served fresh!
Can you freeze leftover Chicken Alfredo Linguine?
No – this is a dish that’s best served fresh!
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
Chicken Alfredo Linguine
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 500 g whole chicken breasts (See Note 1)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 300 g linguine (Or any pasta shape you like! This also works well with penne, tagliatelle, fettucine and spaghetti.)
- 15 g butter
- 4 cloves garlic (grated or crushed)
- 50 ml white wine (optional - See Note 2)
- 300 ml double cream (US - heavy cream)
- 35 g grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- More grated parmesan to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat for 1 minute. Meanwhile, pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen paper and season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan and fry for 1 minute on each side on high, then 4 minutes on each side on low.
- Remove from the pan and allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes. Once rested, cut into bite-size chunks.
- While the chicken is resting, cook the linguine according to packet instructions / your own preferences. When cooked, drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. (See Note 3.)
- Meanwhile, in the pan you just used for the chicken, melt the butter over a low heat, then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, stirring frequently, taking care not to let the garlic go brown or burn.
- Pour in the white wine and turn the heat up high. Bubble the white wine for 2 minutes, until well reduced.
- Add the double cream, parmesan, salt and pepper, and turn the heat down to medium. Bubble for 2 minutes until a little reduced and thickened.
- Add the parsley and stir well, then add the cooked chicken and the drained linguine, together with a very small splash of pasta cooking water. Stir together well. (If the pasta is looking too dry at this point, you can add an extra splash of pasta cooking water – but don’t go too mad. The sauce is supposed to be quite thick and cling to the pasta.)
- Turn off the heat and serve, scattered with grated parmesan, more black pepper and more parsley.
Notes
- For best results, I recommend you go for 3-4 small chicken breasts here rather than 2 large ones. If you do choose to go for 2 large ones, you may like to use a meat tenderizer to make them thinner / a more even thickness before cooking.
- I strongly recommend using white wine here as it really ‘makes’ this sauce. The white wine cuts through the creaminess of this sauce and stops it feeling too creamy, as well as adding a lot of extra ‘depth’ to the flavour. However, if you don’t want to use wine, you can use chicken stock instead. If you do use wine, use one you would be happy to drink. If you put bad wine in this recipe (or any recipe!) it will make the food taste bad! (It doesn’t have to be your best wine, just one you would happily drink.)
- I recommend cooking the pasta until it’s nearly but not quite your desired texture as it will cook a little bit more in the sauce.
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Una says
Hi
Would love tinge this, but is there anon alcoholic alternative to the white wine?
Thanks
Eb Gargano says
Yes there is! Simply use chicken stock in place of the white wine. Let me know how you get on!
Jack Hay says
Hi Eb, As you may know I am a great fan of your recipes/food. Many in my recipe book (probably over half!), with a few adjustments here and there to suit or adjust to our taste.
I have just downloaded the Chicken Alfredo Linguine which looks straight up our street and I will report back on the result which I will try later this week or next week. Thanks for that.
I don’t mean to complain, but when you state in your blog go ‘straight to recipe’ it doesn’t go straight to the recipe. It repeats all the previous recommendations seen beforehand.
Just saying.
Kindest…
Jack
Eb Gargano says
Hi Jack – great to hear you are enjoying my recipes! Do you mean the ‘Jump To Recipe’ button at the top of my blog posts is not working for you? I have just double checked it and it is working just fine for me, so I am not sure what can be going on there. You could try in an incognito window. If it works there but not in a regular window it may be you need to clear your cookies or something. Anyway, yes, please do let me know how you get on with the recipe! Eb 🙂