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!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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!
Thanks so much for subscribing! We are so excited to have over 287K subscribers now and it’s growing fast. We love hanging out with you on our !
⬇️ 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
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
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! 🙂
Hello dear
I adore your cooking and your stunning face inspiration and smile ! Your funny. Anyway will half and half be ok with skimmed milk and double cream? I’m from UK
Hello Andi, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Made it for Valentine’s Day. Really runny, no flavor, and needs cheese to be considered Alfredo. Ordering out tonight. Very disappointed.
Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear that but I am always happy to help troubleshoot. When using a light cream (half and half), it is important to simmer the sauce until it thickens slightly or it will be too loose and won’t coat the noodles easily.
I made this with a few modifications to make it healthier. I had never made Alfredo sauce before and it turned out great. I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used spinach fettuccine, majority milk, plus half and half and cream. I also added green peas to make it a one dish meal. Very good!!
That sounds lovely, Mary! Thank you for that wonderful review!!!
Does the sauce have to be used immediately? Looking to make it ahead and add chicken later?
Hi Mel, We like it fresh and I believe it is best that way. But it does reheat well.
Some parts are a little vague. Lots of liquid when chicken is cooked. I assume you drain?? Also lot of liquid from sautéed mushrooms. I assume you leave in? Has a good taste but a little on the bland side. Definitely needs some Parmesan and extra pepper. Maybe white pepper.
Hi Kevin, I am always happy to help troubleshoot. It could be bland if there was extra liquid in the pan. Frozen chicken can give off liquid especially if you cook it and it isn’t fully thawed. You would definitely want to thaw first and if you end up with liquid after cooking chicken, drain that before proceeding. Also, with mushrooms, when you sautee – in order to get a browning on the mushrooms, they will release liquid which evaporates and then they will properly brown. Hope that helps and you can add parmesan and season to taste at the end.
Omg Natasha! thanks for taking the time to answer the thing about the chicken. I attempted this recipe twice so far, and both times I was wondering why the pan got so liquidy, and why the mushrooms I cook look nothing like what is shown in your video. I’m going to attempt this again and drain the pan after cooking the chicken! hopefully I see results!
You’re so welcome, David!
Hi Natasha. I’m planning to use half milk and half heavy whipping cream but I only bought whipping cream not heavy whipping cream. Will it be fine if I use it? Thank you.
Hi Leslie, it will not thicken the same as using heavy whipping cream but may still work.
Natasha,
There is no Parmesan or cheese of any kind in this recipe? Just making sure…
Hi Betty! There is no cheese in this recipe, you definitely can serve with cheese if you prefer 🙂
Man, that was good. Followed the recipe exactly, except I didn’t have parsley. Added parmesan. Great!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Hi, I want to make this a few hours ahead of time. Ideas on keeping it tasty until I can serve it?
We like it fresh and I believe it is best that way. But it does reheat well.
5 Stars, undoubtedly. I was a little shocked to see no parmesan in the recipe. When my son tasted it before the parm, he said it was just a bechamel sauce and while good, it wasn’t Alfredo. I added a cup of freshly grated parm and it went from delicious to spectacular. I now have a house full of people talking about how good it is. I had a group of people who aren’t fond of mushrooms and I KNOW it is because they haven’t had a well cooked mushroom. I diced them medium fine and cook them for about an hour over a low light with some butter and olive oil with a splash of soy sauce after 30 minutes.. They become crispy, super concentrated in flavor and amazing as a topper…so EVERY mushroom hater has put THOSE mushrooms on their pasta.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Hi natasha
Awesome.
Yumilicious
Extremely tasty.
My kids relished.
Superb
Fantastic
God bless you and your family.
I’m so happy you loved that! Thank you for the great review!
Hi natasha! Just want to ask if you do not have any of the half and half, is it okay to use regular milk? Love u!
HI Mairah, regular milk would not thicken properly. You might be able to adapt the recipe like I did our florentine pasta but substituting straight across would not work.
Awesome dish, just made it and family love it! I double the mushroom and garlic plus sub white to dark meat. Beside that thanks your mom for this amazing dish.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :).
Hi Natasha
I was wondering about how many people this serves.
Thank you
Hi Sarah! This recipe serves about 8 people!
Hi, It looks like a good recipe. I will try to prepare it and then inform you.
Thanks you for the help.
You’re so welcome!
Natasha, I’m getting ready to make the chicken fettuccine tomorrow. We r a large family and I need to feed 16. I was thinking of just doubling the ingredience. What do u think?
Grandma of 10
Hi Julie, that should work fine but keep in mind you would probably need 2 pans to cook the sauce or it would take a long time for the sauce to thicken up slightly making a double batch. To speed up the process, you could replace some of the half and half with heavy whipping cream.
This recipe was amazing and super easy for prep and clean up! I substituted the mushrooms with broccoli and I also added a chicken bollioun cube while sautéing the chicken in addition to the salt and pepper. Yummy!!! Also, I added about two cups of grated Parmesan cheese to the pasta/sauce mixture while it was still hot. Delicious, loved by all, and we had at least 6 generous servings!
Hi Ella! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for the great review!
Creamy and delicious!! And there’s enough for leftovers. Thank you for another great dinner recipe!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Liza!
Can I use margarine instead of butter?
Hi Lisa, margarine should work. There will be a subtle change in taste however. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
thats looks realy good
It is delicious!
Can I use butter for cooking the chicken instead of olive oil? I’m out of olive oil!
Hi Karen, I think you can. Just be sure not to over hear your pan as butter tends to burn faster with it’s lower heat point than oil.