This is how to make a One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta with al dente pasta and a silky creamy sauce. The secret? Simple. Add the cream and parmesan at the end to avoid gluggy sauce and unevenly cooked pasta. Watch the video and see how easy this is!
One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
This is not meant to be an authentic Italian pasta. It’s a quick mid-week meal that you can get on the table in just over 15 minutes and is stellar for effort vs output.
I don’t want to offend pasta-purists (or the entire nation of Italy for that matter!), and to be honest, I never thought I would ever share a (long-strand) one-pot-pasta recipe. I’ve previously declared on multiple occasions that I’m not a fan. I tried a couple of recipes, ended up with unevenly cooked pasta and a gluey sauce. Once it was so gluey that I was able to make fritters without using egg to bind them. 😳
So I gave up, and stuck to the classic way of making Alfredo. It wasn’t until a friend (who’s a huge fan of all things one pot) bluntly asked me “have you tried to fix it?” that it even occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, there was a better way to make a creamy long-strand pasta in one pot.
And so I experimented. And fixed it.
For fellow food nerds out there, here was my thinking: With the classic way of cooking pasta, the sauce and just-under-cooked pasta is tossed in the same pan with a splash of the pasta cooking water. What happens is that the oil in the sauce and starch in the pasta cooking water transforms into a glossy sauce that clings to every strand of pasta (it’s called emulsification). So when you serve it, there is no watery pool of sauce on the bottom of the bowl, it’s all in your mouth via the pasta!
If you dump cream with milk/broth/water into a large pot / skillet with the pasta, the reason you end up with a gluey rather than silky sauce at the end is because you’ve been emulsifying the sauce for the entire pasta cooking time (i.e. fat in cream, starch in pasta). Plus, the cream makes the cooking liquid thicker which makes the pasta cook unevenly.
Solution: Cook the pasta in just milk + chicken broth, add cream at the end.
End result: Near perfectly* cooked al dente pasta + silky sauce.
* I say “near perfect” because the fact is, pasta cooks more evenly in a large pot of boiling water than in a skillet with the sauce. Just being honest!
I was so paranoid about ensuring this One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta delivers on my promises, I made it four times last week to quadruple check that it works as I’m describing. I filmed it three times – once making a plain Alfredo, once using cubes of chicken and once searing whole chicken then slicing it.
I was contemplating sharing the version with bite size pieces of chicken that stays in the sauce while the pasta cooks. And that’s an even easier variation, but you’ll end up with slightly overcooked chicken with far less caramelisation. So I opted for my favourite way which is to sear chicken until golden brown, rest it for optimum juiciness before slicing and tossing through the pasta.
I know there are many people out there who are thinking “how hard is it to cook pasta in a separate pot??”. And sure, it sounds easy. But you know those crazy days when your household is in chaos and you’re trying to get dinner on the table for your family? When you’ve just had an awful day at work, you hate your boss, you’re tired and tempted to order a greasy pizza?
This is for those days. I know boiling a pot of water and cooking pasta isn’t a big deal. But when you can cook it all one pot, it’s just one less thing to think about, one less pot to wash.
And know this is easy – and it works as promised. Watch the video below! – Nagi xx
PS Just to clarify, I’ve always been a fan of one pot short pastas – risoni, penne/ziti, macaroni etc because the shape makes them easy to stir and cook evenly in a sauce. Like stove top Mac N Cheese, One Pot Vegetable Pasta, Cheeseburger Casserole and Chili Mac. And this Italian Chicken & Risoni/Orzo. Long strand pastas are where I always had an issue!
More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!
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Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!
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Browse all pasta recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
One Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe video!
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One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 200 g / 7oz chicken breast, cut in half horizontally
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g / 8 oz fettuccine
- 2 cups milk, any fat %
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock / broth
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup thickened / heavy cream (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (Note 2)
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Use a skillet large enough to fit the pasta.
- Heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Remove onto plate and rest for 5 minutes, then slice while pasta is cooking.
- Add milk, chicken broth and garlic. Bring to simmer then add pasta.
- Move pasta around every 30 seconds or so until it is softened (around 3 minutes) so it doesn't stick. Once pasta is softened, reduce heat to medium and stir every couple of minutes.
- At about 9 - 10 minutes, the pasta should be almost cooked but there should still be liquid covering the base of the skillet. Add cream and parmesan and mix.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~2 minutes, until sauce is thickened and pasta is cooked. If you cook it too long and the sauce goes gluggy, add a splash of hot tap water - will go back to silky with a few tosses.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately, garnished with freshly grated parmesan and parsley!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
It was one of those days when I just couldn’t deal with a soaking wet dog at the end of a long, tiring day. So I popped a rain jacket on him before taking him out to the dog park, intent on keeping him on the grassy area and out of the water.
Honestly, I don’t know why I bothered.
If you’re tempted to substitute evaporated milk for cream, don’t. Maybe there’s a recipe out there for evap alfredo that can mitigate the weird flavor; I added a little nutmeg and it did improve a little. I figured if it bombed I could make pasta fritters, which won’t help me lose weight or reduce my blood sugar levels, but I’ll try that tomorrow. Maybe I’ll just end up with weird-tasting fritters?
On second thought, it might be that I used chicken boullion cubes instead of stock- maybe the evap milk clashed with that. If I tried again I’d leave out the boullion. Cheap chicken boullion cubes seem to ruin everything I put them in.
Delicious…did not disappoint! My pasta seemed to take a little longer to cook so had to add a bit more broth. I also added mushrooms and a dash of nutmeg! Easy and super tasty. Fabulous recipe!
How does it go with fresh pasta? Do you just cook it off for a bit first and thicken then add it or just leave it as is and let it soak it up?
As usual, foolproof and delicious!! My husband said it was absolutely wonderful, the depth of flavour was great (I used my own chicken stock) and loved the one pan convenience. My own fault – next time will watch the milk/stock constantly as it boiled over with my back turned!
I paired this with the sexy lentil salad, worked really well!!
Made this last night, added chicken, spinach and a little nutmeg. Omg so good and easy. Will never make the traditional way again.
It was absolutely delicious. I need to add some more liquid to the cooking pasta as it was still very ‘al dente’ but that was probably more to do with the pasta I was using. However, you’re right – the recipe is very forgiving and the extra water didn’t dilute the wonderful flavour. Will definitely be a staple from now on.
A splash of tap water? How about telling people the way Italians do it, reserve some of the starchy pasta water and use that in your sauce.
I definitely recommend reading the recipe before making and commenting. In this recipe the pasta is cooked in the milk and broth. Hence the title “one pot” alfredo pasta. Dw i made the mistake of not reading the recipe thoroughly beforehand also. It all turned out beautifully anyway. Another winner Nagi!
Did you read the recipe, there is no pasta water as it’s a one pot dish
My kids find traditional Alfredo too rich and love this recipe. So quick, less dishes and all the comfort of a traditional Alfredo.
Thanks Nagi!
Sorry to recipe purists. I did a major riff. After I’d cooked the chicken exactly as Nagi said, I sautéed an onion and red pepper base then added a few mushrooms. I then added some short pasta and the liquid. I used only stock (substituting the milk for more stock). Towards the end of cooking I added some broccoli and cauliflower cut up small. I then went back to following the recipe. Although it really couldn’t be called Alfredo it was light to eat and we liked it. Thank you Nagi for giving us a great framework.
Have so missed creamy pasta since becoming Dairy intolerant but this recipe worked perfect! I substituted with almond milk, DF sour cream and sheep cheese..was absolutely beautiful and no one picked it was Dairy free! Thanks for the awesome recipe once again!
Made this last night and it was an absolute hit! I just added some garlic powder and paprika to my chicken but the rest are on point! Thanks for this fantastic recipe.
This was so easy and equally delicious. Everyone loved it even the fussy kid. Thanks for another fab family recipe
This recipe was amazing! Simple and only a few ingredients! And Quick!! I actually grilled the chicken ahead of time and it added to the fettuccine.
I made this today with dairy free subs of rice milk and coconut cream (I left in the parmesan this time) and it was fantastic! The kids liked it too. Thank you 🙂
Hi lovely Nagi, How would I adapt this for fresh pasta whcih doesn’t need to cook for as long? Thank you!
Last night and cooked this recipe omg delicious. Definitely will make again soon thankyou Nagi
This was lovely and creamy and the only thing we changed was the type of pasta, only because the shop didn´t have Fettuccine so we used spaghetti instead, was enough left over for the day after with some garlic bread. Thank you. Going to marinade the bbq beef brisket recepi from you later on and eat it for new years day, can´t wait to taste it! X
I made this last night turn out great! I had to add 2 more minutes for the pasta to cook, Loved it, it was quick to make, love all your recipes. Thx Nagi !
LOVE this recipe. It is always a favorite of the whole family! I double it and love the leftovers too.
Can I make this and keep it warm in a crockpot for about five hours for a potluck event?
Loved this! And so did my kids! Quick, easy and yummy, thanks Nagi