Chicken Alfredo Linguine

5 from 1 vote

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.

Course Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine American, Fusion, Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 788kcal

Author Eb Gargano

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)

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition