Grilled Chicken Alfredo

Grilled Chicken Alfredo is a quick and easy pasta recipe. With succulent, juicy chicken and a creamy sauce this makes the perfect dinner! Satisfying and comforting this hearty dish packs protein and carbs into one. This grilled chicken alfredo recipe works well any night of the week!

Recipes like the Fusilli Alfredo, Spaghetti Gorgonzola and Rigatoni Gorgonzola help us get our creamy, cheesy sauce on.

The Salmon Fettuccine, Fettuccine Bolognese and Pesto Fettuccine use the same type of pasta as we do in this alfredo recipe.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Dinner made easy: pasta is easy, chicken is easy, the natural pairing of the 2 makes things simple. This grilled chicken alfredo recipe will tick the dinner box with minimal effort.
• Everyday ingredients: all of the ingredients needed for the recipe are simple and easy to find at the local store. The chicken breasts freeze really well, so you can have some in the freezer and grab them out to whip this up when the craving or occasion arises.
• Comfort food: when we use both cream and cheese in a recipe we know we are heading in the comfort food direction. This grilled chicken fettuccine combination works well and delivers delicious results.
• Family friendly: the seasoning for the chicken is mild and the creamy sauce flavorsome but not too bold. The whole family will love and be able to enjoy sharing this dish for an easy dinner idea.
• Taste and texture: the sauce brings the flavour and the chewy succulent chicken, the variety of texture in the dish. Whether you like to get your twirl on or pierce your fork into the yummy pieces of chicken, the balance between the al dente pasta and protein works so well as a combination!

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Chicken breast: we use 2 of these and are going to slice them in halves lengthways.
• Garlic powder: a great ingredient to have in the pantry to add season to recipes.
• Onion powder: a complimentary pairing to the garlic powder above.
• Paprika: the red spice you see in the photo above. This has a mild flavour to it.
• Dried parsley: an excellent herb to use in the kitchen and especially flavorsome with chicken recipes.
• Salt and black pepper: we only need a little of each of these and they too are used to season the chicken before we grill it.
• Olive oil: we add this to the grill pan and use it to cook the cook the chicken.

🍜 Alfredo Sauce

• Heavy cream: this ingredient forms the base of the creamy cheesy white sauce.
• Butter: this gets added to the pan as a starting point and we let it melt as the 1st step in making the alfredo sauce. Unsalted butter is best as we add salt to create the sauce as a separate ingredient.
• Parmesan cheese: after we add the cream, we add in some freshly grated parmesan cheese and let it melt and mix with the other sauce ingredients.
• Garlic: chunky minced from a jar or fresh garlic cloves (2-3) will work well also.
• Salt: a little of this balances the cream and cheese flavours in the dish. It gets sautéed with the garlic in the melted butter.
• Fettuccine noodles: cooked to al dente, so that it brings a chewy texture to the dish.
• Garnish (optional): ideal to add colour and additional texture. I recommend a trio of finely chopped fresh parsley, cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese.

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making the recipe. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the grilled chicken alfredo. We start by combining the ingredients to season the chicken. A glass and small whisk are handy for these initial steps.

• Gather chicken seasoning ingredients (Photo 1)
• Whisk to combine (Photo 2)
• Slice chicken breasts in halves lengthways (Photo 3)
• Pat dry with paper towel (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Grilled Chicken Alfredo

Start to make the recipe by combining the ingredients for the chicken seasoning. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dried parsley, salt and pepper to a glass and use a mini whisk to stir and consistently combine.

Next place the chicken breasts flat on a chopping board. Use a knife to cut them in halves lengthways.

Then fold a piece of paper towel into a square and use this to pat both sides of the chicken dry.

• Season both sides of the chicken (Photo 5)
• Cook for 3 mins, flip and cook for 3 more mins (Photo 6)
• Add butter to pan and melt (Photo 7)
• Then add garlic and salt, cook 1 to 2 mins (Photo 8)

Sprinkle the chicken seasoning over one side of each cut chicken breast, then flip and sprinkle the seasoning over the other side.

Then pour olive oil into a grill pan and begin to cook the chicken. Start with 3 minutes for the 1st side then use kitchen tongs to flip and cook the other side, also for 3 minutes.

Next start to make the pasta sauce by adding the butter to a pan on the stove using high heat. Let it melt, then add the minced garlic and salt to the pan. Stir and let these cook and combine for 1 to 2 minutes.

• Add cream to pan (Photo 9)
• Then add parmesan cheese (Photo 10)
• Reserve some of the pasta water (Photo 11)
• Slice the chicken into pieces (Photo 12)

Pour the cream into the pan, then add the cheese and turn the heat down to medium. The cheese will melt and combine with the cream in a delightfully easily manner.

You can use this time to also cook the pasta. We need to scoop out some of the pasta water to add to the sauce later and you can see this in the process shots above. Use a heatproof jug and set it on the bench (on a tea towel) until we are ready to pour it in to the pan.

Then use a knife and slice the grilled chicken into pieces.

• Stir to finish off making the alfredo sauce (Photo 13)
• Then add the cooked pasta to the sauce (Photo 14)
• Pour in the reserved pasta water (Photo 15)
• Then add the chicken and garnish the dish (Photo 16)

When tossing the fettuccine through the alfredo sauce, use a wooden spoon and or kitchen tongs. We want this to be consistently combined before we add the sliced chicken on top of the pasta.

Next we can garnish, pop on the dinner table, grab some bowls, forks and spoons and call the eaters to dive on in!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

This is a very filling complete meal and satisfying recipe, it is unlikely that you will need or want a side dish.

However using smaller portion sizes, you can then add sides or a salad if you are looking for more diversity in taste and texture.

In which case, the Turkish Garlic Bread, Garlic Ciabatta or Garlic Pizza Bread will work.

The Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad, Herb Salad and Panzanella Salad will offer light, bright and colourful sides.

Be liberal when garnishing the dish and use a generous amount of parsley, parmesan cheese and black pepper.

The creamy, cheesy, chicken and pasta combination is a winner that you will find yourself wanting to make time and time again.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftovers of the grilled chicken alfredo in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge. They can be refrigerated for 3 days and are best reheated before being consumed.

How to Freeze

If wanting to be organised and have some ingredients on hand, my recommendation is that you can purchase the raw chicken breast, freeze then thaw and use to make the recipe. I say this as creamy pasta sauces can have mixed results when frozen and thawed. For that reason I do no recommend freezing leftovers of the dish.

How to Reheat

The microwave is the most convenient and fast way to reheat leftovers. 2 to 3 minutes on high will be enough to heat both the chicken and alfredo pasta through again.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use a different type of pasta in the recipe for example spaghetti, penne pasta, linguine, homemade pasta or your favorite pasta.
• Switch out the parmesan cheese and switch in pecorino romano cheese in its place (equivalent amount).
• Use low-fat cream if you prefer it to full cream.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts are what I use when making this dish. Another option is boneless skinless chicken thighs. They will be much thinner than chicken breasts, so you won't likely need to cut them in halves.
• Or you can use a shredded rotisserie chicken for convenience (no need to season) simply shred and allow to heat through.
• Both curly and flat leaf parsley can be used for the recipe.
• If you would like a citrus flavour in the dish, you can provide lemon wedges for serving and these can be squeezed over the alfredo pasta recipe by the individual eaters 👌😊.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• When cooking the pasta, taste a strand around the time that it should be ready, we want to keep it al dente (a little chewy) not soft and over cooked as it will be mushy.
• Resting the chicken after grilling it allows the juices to go back into the meat. It only takes a couple of minutes, but is an important step to ensure the chicken doesn't dry out.
• Gluten free pasta can be used for the recipe as required.
• I scoop out 1 to 2 cups of the pasta water, but we only need ½ cup to make the sauce. It can be handy to have extras however as once you have drained the cooked pasta, you can't get any of it back!

What makes chicken Alfredo taste better?

Seasoning the chicken before grilling it ensures a flavorsome and full bodied chicken alfredo recipe.

What should alfredo sauce taste like?

Alfredo sauce has a creamy cheesy taste with hints of garlic and butter.

Is chicken Alfredo and carbonara the same?

No, chicken Alfredo and carbonara are different. Despite both seeming like creamy sauces, alfredo is made with heavy cream and cheese whereas carbonara is made with eggs and cheese. They are 2 totally different recipes.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

You won't stress about 'What's for Dinner?' when you have a number of recipes offering variety through taste and texture up your sleeve. These also have an array of cook times, proteins and cooking methods. I hope you enjoy!

• Crumbed Lamb Cutlets
• Penne Bolognese
• Garlic Pepper Beef
• Penne Alfredo
• Pesto Pasta Bake
• BBQ Lamb Ribs
• Pesto Rigatoni
• Tagliatelle Pesto
• Greek Lamb Chops
• Easy Lamb Bolognese

You can also find all of my chicken recipes in the one spot. It is time to alfredo it my friend!

Adrianne

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