Quick & Easy Fettuccine Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
There is truly nothing better than pasta drenched in a creamy sauce and served with cooked chicken and broccoli florets. Pasta, protein, and veggies all in one! My chicken broccoli alfredo recipe is a quick, 30-minute pasta dinner with a creamy, delicious, homemade alfredo sauce that the whole family will love- even the kids!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Fettuccine Alfredo is a classic comfort food that tastes like it took all day but is actually really quick and easy to make. Throw in some fresh broccoli, chicken breasts, and creamy homemade alfredo sauce, and you have the most delicious Chicken Broccoli Alfredo recipe loved by kids and adults.
This broccoli chicken pasta is the perfect 30-minute dinner! It’s ideal for busy weeknights, date nights, or a big batch for Sunday family dinner. An easy recipe loved by the whole family!
Watch The Recipe Video
Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.
The BEST (& Easiest!) Homemade Creamy Sauce
After learning to make my super easy alfredo sauce, you will never use a store-bought jar of alfredo sauce again. You can make your own creamy alfredo sauce almost as fast as opening a jar, but it tastes a million times better. All you need is some butter, garlic, heavy cream, and grated parmesan cheese.
While it’s not exactly the healthiest, I can promise you it is the tastiest. I’ve made “healthier” versions of alfredo sauce, and it’s just not the same. If it’s fettuccine alfredo you want, you’re craving this!
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta: If you don’t have fettuccine on hand, 1 pound of your favorite pasta would work. Even gluten-free. Jovial makes my favorite gluten-free pasta. This chicken broccoli alfredo is all about the sauce, so the pasta part is up to you!
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: I like to cube my chicken breasts before cooking. This way, they cook much quicker in the skillet. I cut my chicken breasts into 1″ bite-sized pieces.
- Broccoli: I use 2 heads of raw broccoli for this recipe, chopped (about 3-4 cups). If you prefer to use frozen broccoli, just be sure to heat them up on the stovetop or microwave and drain the water before putting them in your skillet.
- Garlic: I recommend using fresh garlic or minced garlic for a wonderful deep flavor in your alfredo sauce.
- Grated Parmesan: I also include a bit more to garnish my pasta. Feel free to use a little or a lot, depending on your preference.
- Salt & Pepper: Season to taste. You can use grated black pepper if you prefer it.
- Olive Oil: I recommend only using olive oil and not a different oil for this recipe.
- Heavy Cream
- Butter
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. Once boiling, add your pasta, reduce the heat, and cook according to package instructions. If al dente is preferred, cook for one minute less.
- While the pasta cooks, heat a cast iron skillet (or any large skillet) over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the broccoli, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook the broccoli uncovered for 4 minutes until bright green. Add in 1/4 cup water, and cook uncovered until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is crisp and tender. Transfer the cooked and tender broccoli florets to a medium-sized bowl.
- In the same skillet you cooked the broccoli, heat another tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the chicken in an even layer—season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, turning the chicken several times. Transfer the cooked chicken to the same bowl as the broccoli.
- In the same skillet, melt the butter, then cook the garlic for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then add the heavy cream and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the grated parmesan cheese and cook until melted and just starting to bubble. Turn the heat to low.
- When the pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta from the water, then add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Add in the tender chicken and broccoli and toss to combine. If necessary, add pasta water to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.
- Serve your chicken broccoli fettucini alfredo warm and garnish with parmesan cheese on top!
Expert Tips
- Frozen Broccoli: You can use frozen broccoli if that’s what you have! About 1 pound. Thaw first, then add in to warm through.
- Protein: Chicken breasts are my go-to, but you could also use chicken thighs for this chicken broccoli alfredo if that’s what you have. Shrimp, salmon, or steak would be great, too! Even better, if you have leftover chicken breasts from the night before, use them!
Serving Tips
Serve warm, topped with additional parmesan cheese! This dish is perfect by itself or with a side salad and some crusty garlic bread.
Storage Tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet. Add a little water or butter to break up the pasta and restore its creamy texture.
To freeze, store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat in a large skillet over medium heat until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
I’ve tried to adjust the alfredo sauce with healthier alternatives, and it just never has turned out quite as delicious. If want to try it yourself, I recommend using Miyokos Vegan Butter, Silk Dairy-Free Heavy Cream, and Trader Joe’s Dairy-Free Shredded Parmesan Cheese.
These are all newer alternatives that I have not tried myself, but I bet would be closer to the real version than the ingredients I’ve used in the past!
If you’re really looking to make this recipe lower-carb, try Natural Heaven Hearts of Palm Linguine as your pasta swap! Maybe one of these days I will perfect a healthy version, but in the meantime, let me know how this works for you in the comments!
More Creamy Pasta Dishes
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Quick & Easy Fettuccine Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 pound fettuccine pasta
- 2 heads of broccoli, chopped, about 3-4 cups
- 24 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- salt + pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a bowl. Season the water with salt.
- While waiting for the water to boil, heat a cast iron skillet (or any large skillet) over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the broccoli, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook the broccoli uncovered for 4 minutes until bright green. Add in 1/4 cup water, and cook uncovered until the water has evaporated, and the broccoli is crisp tender. Transfer the cooked broccoli to a medium size bowl.
- Add the fettuccine to the boiling water, and cook according to manufacturers instructions.
- In the same skillet you cooked the broccoli, heat another tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the chicken in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper. Cook about 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked thru, turning the chicken several times. Transfer the cooked chicken to the same bowl as the broccoli.
- In the same skillet, melt the butter, then cook the garlic for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Then add the heavy cream, and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the grated parmesan cheese, and cook until melted and just starting to bubble. Turn the heat to low.
- When the pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta from the water, then add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce, and toss to coat the noodles. Add in the cooked chicken and broccoli, toss to combine. If necessary, add in pasta water to thin the sauce to desired consistency.
- Serve this broccoli chicken alfredo warm, topped with grated parmesan cheese.
- See the Recipe Notes below for more tips, FAQ's and ingredient substitutions.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Frozen Broccoli: You can use frozen broccoli if that’s what you have! About 1 pound. Thaw first, then add in to warm through.
- Protein: Chicken breasts are my go-to, but you could also use chicken thighs for this broccoli chicken alfredo if that’s what you have. Shrimp, salmon, or steak would be great, too! Even better, if you have leftover chicken breasts from the night before, use them!
179 Comments on “Quick & Easy Fettuccine Chicken Broccoli Alfredo”
I used Jovial GF pasta and this was delicious! So flavorful and easy!
I love Jovial GF pasta too! Such a great swap to make this recipe gluten-free!
Made this last night. This was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Ever. This was better than Olive Garden’s chicken fettuccini alfredo which is my weakness.
A few changes I made and/or will make in the future:
1. I didn’t like the pan crispy broccoli! I will probably steam it next time!
2. I added more than 1 cup of cheese. I like my kind of thick, with little bits of solidified parmesan. So I actually shredded about 1.5 cups of parm and added that.
3. I didn’t cut my chicken into chunk. As I mentioned, I love Olive Garden’s pasta so what I did was butterfly the chicken (flattened it), I dredged the chicken with a seasoning coat of: flour, garlic, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Then I cooked it until it was no longer pink inside. After it was cooked, I covered in foil and let it sit while the rest of the dish was prepared. The end result was juicy, moist chicken. And something about the very lightly breaded chicken allows the sauce to be soaked into the chicken and making better, flavorful bites! My boyfriend told me it was the best chicken he’s ever had.
4. I added a little salt to the sauce, which brought out the parmesan flavor. It was salted to taste though.
5. Used less garlic. I’m not a huge fan of garlic, so end result was rather delicious!
6. I only added about 3/4 of the pasta water. (also, as a blooper… I forgot to save the pasta water. So I had to pour some water into the noodles, mix it around and then pour it back out for “makeshift” pasta water.
Overall, this dish was a masterpiece. I will be using more recipes from this website in the future. It had me feeling like a chef!
Hi Dorothy! Thank you for your feedback! I love the tweaks you made to fit your own preferences. They’re so smart! After reading your comment, you really do sound like a chef! Good job! Honored to have you here!
Just made this tonight for the family and it was a hit.
Everyone loved and went back for seconds.
The picky teenage girls even loved it :)
Hi Jay! Love love love to hear this! Winning over picky eaters is always so satisfying right? So glad your family enjoyed this recipe!
My go to recipe! Everyone loves it and wants leftovers!
Yea! This made my day! Thanks, Beth!
My family and friends can’t get enough of this amazing meal. If I could rate it 10 stars, I would.
The sauce is light and tasty, making it in one skillet brings all the flavors together. You’ve got to try this amazingly delicious, quick receipe.
You are so nice! Thank you so much! I love this recipe too, and I am just so happy your family AND friends love it too! So honored!
Made this dish tonight and we loved it!
I added some onions and mushrooms at step 5, which complemented the other ingredients very well and the whole dish was delicious.
Glad I found your site and this new addition to our menu!
Thanks for sharing!
This is so nice to hear! Thank you, Sylvie! Love the addition of the mushrooms. Honored to have you here!
Everyone enjoyed this even the picky 6 year old and 3 year old….a little too rich for me though. Next time instead of heavy cream I will use 2% milk.
Omg! It’s the best when the picky ones love it too! Thank you, Meme!
Parsley is in the video not in the ingredients
“Bring a large pot of water to a bowl*. Season the water with salt.”
Think you meant boil
ammm soooo yummmmm! no one can beat this taste <3
I use shredded parmesan cheese instead of grated.
Sounds delicious Valerie! Thanks so much for sharing.
Amazing recipe!! All 5 of us agreed, so 5 stars! Thank you!
So glad all 5 of you really enjoyed it Lise. Thank you so much for the feedback, it really means a lot to me.
I apologize but I don’t understand your question Jon. This recipe isn’t smoked on a grill. Were you asking about another recipe?
I am looking for some good blog sites for studying. I was searching over search engines and found your blog site. Well i like your high quality blog site design plus your posting abilities. Keep doing it.
This is our favorite Broccoli recipe and I have tried many for my Best friend!!!!
I am so flattered that my broccoli alfredo is your favorite recipe Henry! That makes me so happy. Your best friend is lucky that you make it for them!
This is our favorite Fettuccine Alfredo recipe and I have tried many.
So happy you both enjoyed my fettuccine Siri! Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
This is a warm and excellent idea and an ideal place to greet close friends.
Thank you have a share
You’re so welcome Maria! I am so glad you liked it.
So delicious, healthy and comforting!
I am so happy you liked my fettuccine Cole! Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
Look yummy! One of my favorite Broccoli Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will make this for family this weekend.Thanks you!
I sure hope your family likes my fettuccine Thomas! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Delicious and very easy to make. One to keep in recipe book.
I am so happy you liked my fettuccine Debra! Even better that you are going to keep the recipe on hand. That is music to my ears!
This is my first time making this dish and I must say I’m very impressed with the finished meal… My family loves it!!! Goodbye Olive Garden
I am so happy you like my fettuccine alfredo Breneika! That is fantastic that your family loved it too! Isn’t it great to be able to make a restaurant quality meal at home? Happy cooking!
My family loves this dish!! I have made it multiple times it’s always a hit! :)
I am so happy you like my fettuccine Tina! That is great that your whole family enjoys it. I am glad it has made it into your regular recipe rotation.