Mom’s creamy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo has been a family favorite for years. Classic Chicken Alfredo is a feel good comfort food – so creamy but light!
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Mom learned how to make this “Pollo Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo” in culinary school. She made it for us when we were kids and we were crazy about it. Now I make the same alfredo recipe for my family. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. Watch the video tutorial and learn how to make chicken alfredo.
Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
Ingredients for Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo:
We usually use chicken breast but chicken tenders would work well if that is what you have on hand.
Fettuccini is the pasta of choice here but we’ve been known to swap with angel hair or vermicelli. You can use a variety of pastas. P.S. sometimes we sneak in the full pound of pasta when feeding a crowd.
Substitute for Half and Half?
This recipe calls for half and half, but you can substitute with equal parts of milk and heavy whipping cream. The half and half thickens as it simmers and even more as it rests. If you prefer a creamier or thicker sauce, you can use heavy whipping cream instead.
How to Make Chicken Alfredo (Video below):
1. Cook fettuccini in a large pot of salted water (4 qts water with 1 Tbsp salt,) according to package instructions then drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice chicken breast into strips and season all over with salt and pepper. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat and saute chicken until light golden and cooked through (5 min). Remove chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.
3. In the same pan over medium/high, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft (5-7 min), stirring frequently. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
4. Add half-n-half and simmer over medium/high heat 8-10 min, or until just beginning to thicken. Add chicken back to pan, along with 1/4 cup parsley and season sauce to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
5. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat another minute until warmed through then turn off the heat, cover and let pasta rest 10-15 minutes then stir to combine and serve garnished with more parsley.
After the pasta rests, you will have a creamy but light Alfredo sauce that coats the noodles perfectly.
Creamy Pasta Recipes to Try Next:
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta – juicy shrimp in alfredo sauce
- Mushroom and Leek Pasta – this sauce tastes gourmet
- Chicken Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce – easy, excellent dinner idea
- Chicken Tetrazzini – Creamy and scrumptious pasta casserole
Watch How to Make Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo:
See Natasha make her Mom’s Chicken Alfredo Recipe. If you enjoy our videos, please on Youtube and click the bell icon so you will be the first to know when we post a new video!
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⬇️ Print Friendly Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo:
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Breast
- 3/4 lbs fettuccine pasta , (or angel hair or vermicelli pasta)
- 1 lb white mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 1/2 cups half and half, *
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped,, plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste, plus more for pasta water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Cook fettuccini in a pot of salted water (4 qts water, 1 Tbsp salt,) according to package instructions then drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, slice chicken into strips and season all over with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium/high heat and sauté chicken until lightly golden and cooked through (5 min). Remove chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.
- In the same pan over medium/high, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter. Add onion and sauté 3 min until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft (5-7 min), stirring frequently. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add half-n-half and simmer over medium/high heat 8-10 min, or until beginning to thicken. Add chicken back to the pan, add 1/4 cup parsley and season sauce to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).
- Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat another minute until warmed through then turn off the heat, cover and let rest 10-15 minutes then stir and serve garnished with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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This is definitely a feel good chicken fettuccini alfredo. It’s so creamy and satisfying, but light! Since it isn’t heavy-cream based, it fills you up without the guilt 🙂 I can’t even count how many times my Mom made this growing up. I hope this becomes a go-to pasta recipe for you as well!
Do you have a favorite food that you loved growing up and now make as an adult? I want to hear all about it in a comment below! 🙂
My parents and I made this tonight for dinner and we followed the recipe exactly. It turned out amazing! It was exactly what I was craving and for a fraction of the price at a restaurant, plus we have plenty leftover to enjoy tomorrow! Definitely a keeper! My only question though… What kind of salt is used in this recipe? Since they vary in how concentrated they are, it would be helpful to know. 🙂
Hi Corinne! I’m so glad you loved this recipe.
I used sea salt. You can click on the red font words, they are links. I linked the sea salt brand that I used.
I understand this is supposed to be a lighter sauce but the flavor was lacking immensely, after following directions to a T, the sauce tasted like half and half. Had to doll it up with more of all seasonings and a dumb amount of Parmesan cheese to get it to a consistency that it would stick to the noodle. Very upsetting.
Hi Kayla, I’m sorry to hear that since this is one of our personal favorites that we’ve enjoyed for years. Normally this should have plenty of flavor even though the recipe is pretty simple. Did you possibly leave out the mushrooms or make any substitututions?
Kayla,
A great tip for getting any sauce to stick to your pasta noodles, is to always add in a couple tablespoons of the starchy water that the pasta was cooked in.
This recipe is goldmine. Everyone enjoyed, even my toddler who is very picky. My hubby ate twice as much. Спасибо большое. ❤
Thank you, I’m so glad!
I love this recipe! Made it many times. I wonder if I can use chicken thighs instead? Think I may try since it’s already in my fridge.
Hi Diana! That would be fine.
Could not get the sauce to thicken despite following directions. Very disappointing. Now I’m reading the comments and many others has this problem.
Hi Lauryn, This is supposed to be a lighter sauce than the one we used on Shrimp Alfredo – Please see the note at the bottom of the recipe card if you prefer a thicker sauce.
wondering if you can make this in a crockpot or at a minimum keep warm in a crockpot? Planning on making this for family Christmas and can’t make the quantity on the spot, need to do ahead of time to some degree. BTW, did a test run of the recipe and it was really good.
Hi Pam! I’m glad you loved the recipe. I haven’t tested making this in a crockpot, but I assume you can keep it warm in a crockpot.
I have made this a couple times. I love the receipt good taste, I have modified it with 2 Tbsp of corn starch and 1 cup of fresh shredded parmesan cheese. Everyone loved it.
I’m so happy you all enjoyed this Aldredo recipe. Thank you for sharing that with us, Jeffery!
TERRIBLE! So bad I had to throw it in the trash. I typically like recipes from Natasha but this one is a no.. it was just noodles in milk.
HI Sarah, I haven’ thad that experience, but I definitely would not recommend using milk or it will be too thin. If you like a thicker cream sauce, I suggest trying the sauce from our Creamy Shrimp Alfredo Pasta.
I wish I had read the reviews first.. it’s like eating a bowl of cereal pasta. The cheese is really needed to thicken up the sauce. This is noodles in milk. I do not recommend this. It Is not alfredo
Did you use any substitutions for this recipe especially for the half and half?
Very simple and easy to follow with just a few ingredients. I made this tonight and it turned out very tasty! Much more fun than buying a jar with all kinds of strange things in it. Thanks! I will probably make a shrimp alfredo next.
Thank you for your review, Tom. We’re happy to know that you enjoyed this recipe a lot!
Sooooo good!!!! Thanks again for another wonderful recipe, you’ve become my favorite food/recipe blogger! I always thought fettuccine Alfredo had cheese in it, so I did add some shredded parm to the recipe. Excellent and devoured by my family!
Aw, thank you, Arlene. I’m so glad to hear that.
Did your Mom’s Fetticcine tonight, Smells Awesome!! and tastes even better!! Thank you for your recipes! and hints when you don’t have the ingredient!!!
Love it! Thanks so much for sharing, we’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much.
Natasha,
All you recipes are really great. My kids love this recipe and we’ve made it many a times.
However, if I can make a comment about your website. Ayayayay…..the number of ads that take up the space is insane. I have to think twice to decide whether I want to suffer through it to get to a recipe, or go somewhere else. Recently, I’ve been choosing other places.
The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. You may also close the ads after a while just click the x button.
I appreciate your feedback and I hope you love every recipe you try.
The sauce was pure water. And 1/4 cup parsley was disgusting. Sorry but absolutely not. Waste of money.
Hi Stacia, the sauce would be watery if you used milk rather than half and half. Milk won’t thicken at all. This is supposed to be a lighter sauce than the one we used on Shrimp Alfredo – Please see the note at the bottom of the recipe card if you prefer a thicker sauce.
Love this recipe… I use it all the time now..
It all gets eaten so what more can I say..😉
That’s awesome! We’re glad that you love this recipe a lot.
Hi Natasha, this came out perfectly with nice super thick sauce because I work years as a Chef and Caterer in Florida so I knew to really ensure the chicken was thickly coated with Flour. The chicken was soft to bite into and so, so flavorful. Thanks for an easy quick dinner in under 20 mins.
Hi Michael! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe.
What can I replace Cream with in a lot of say, Alfredo etc recipes, I cannot tolerate cream but love the cream pastas
Congratulations on all your great recipes
Hi Olga! I’m sorry, I haven’t tested a substitute.
Hi Natasha the sauce wasn’t very thick which is typical when you use half n half or milk ( in my case I only had 2 cups of half n half) and this is what I’m afraid of every time I make an Alfredo type sauce. Any suggestions?
Patti
Hi Patti! This sauce isn’t very thick but it could also be because you used less than recommended. Generally a higher-fat cream results in a thicker sauce. This recipe also does not contain cheese like other traditional Alfredo recipes. You may enjoy my creamy shrimp alfredo pasta recipe which uses heavy cream and cheese.
I don’t cook often because I always mess something up. This was super easy and delicious. I had my husband season the chicken, he added a little heat for the spices. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly as written and everyone enjoyed it. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Amy! Thank you for the feedback!
Thank you Natasha for all the yummy recipes you share with us
Thank you, Dora! I hope you get to try all of them!