This Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is a super simple yet delicious recipe to make for a restaurant quality dish, ready in just 30 minutes. So creamy and cheesy!
Fettuccine Alfredo is one of my favorite dishes to order when I go to a restaurant. There’s something really special about enjoying a plate full dreamy creamy pasta laden with cheese. It just makes me feel real good inside. To me creamy and cheesy pasta is the ultimate comfort food.
This recipe here is my go to recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo and it has a special ingredient, and that is ricotta cheese. It just makes this sauce extra creamy and cheesy, believe me you’ll never make it any other way again! The other great thing about this recipe is that it’s ready in only 30 minutes!
Did you know that Fettuccine Alfredo was invented by a Roman restaurateur called Alfredo, who became famous for serving it with a gold fork and spoon. Well I didn’t serve with a gold fork and spoon, but it was fantastic nonetheless.
The next time you feel like carbo-loading because you’ve been eating too much salad this week and you strive for balance in your life, or because you’re hungover, etc., make this chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and I guarantee you’ll feel better in an instant! And if you don’t feel better, just have another serving!
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Pasta – I used dry fettuccine today but you can use whatever you’d like!
- Butter – Unsalted as to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Chicken – Boneless and skinless chicken breast, cubed up into bite sized pieces.
- Cheese – We’re using both Parmesan and ricotta cheese today.
- Cream – Heavy cream to form a beautiful creamy sauce.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper always to taste.
- Parsley – Minced up nice and fine and sprinkled liberally over top.
Can I Use Other Types Of Pasta?
This dish will work with many other types of pasta if you have some in the pantry you’d like to use up. The Alfredo sauce is just so delicious, it’s good with anything! I like to use fettuccine as it’s a bit more traditional but small shapes with lots of ridges for the sauce to cling to work wonders as well! I especially recommend something smaller like penne, fusilli, elbow, or bowtie.
How To Make Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Prep the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in the pasta all at once and quickly bring the water back to boil, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.
- Cook the chicken: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan melt the 2 tbsp of butter. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to the saucepan. Cook until slightly golden and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Create the sauce: Melt the 8 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat in the same pan then add the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and stir to combine everything together. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and season as necessary.
- Finish the Alfredo: Add the chicken and fettuccine back to the saucepan and toss everything together and continue cooking until heated through. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Why Ricotta?
I add ricotta cheese to this chicken Alfredo to make it more rich and smooth. You could leave it out if preferred, but I recommend trying it.
How To Make The Best Creamy Alfredo
- You can add a few tsp of Italian seasoning, a pinch of nutmeg or red pepper flakes to add some flare to this sauce. Feel free to get creative with seasoning.
- You can adjust the ratio of cream to milk in this recipe to suit how rich you’d like it to be.
- The sauce will seem thin when you start to mix in the pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give the the perfect consistency, so don’t fret!
Leftovers
You can store this recipe easily in the fridge. In an airtight container it’ll keep for 3 – 5 days just be sure it’s properly cooled before storing. Unfortunately this dish doesn’t freeze well so I recommend either making it day of or a few days before and storing in the fridge.
How to Serve
This rich, creamy dish pairs beautifully with light and simple sides like salads and roasted veggies. This pasta bake is completely satisfying on its own so if you’d rather just curl up on the couch with a big old bowl, I won’t stop you.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Greek Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Kale And Quinoa Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
Craving More Creamy Dreamy Pasta? Try These
- Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Fettuccine
- Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine
- One Pot Fettuccine with Beef Ragu
- One Pot Chili Mac And Cheese
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- One Pot Creamy Parmesan Pasta
- Easy Pasta Alfredo
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Easy Creamy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 12 ounce fettuccine uncooked
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 pound chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces, about 2
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 8 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus extra to serve
- 1 tablespoon parsley fresh, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in the pasta all at once and quickly bring the water back to boil, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan melt the 2 tbsp of butter. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to the saucepan. Cook until slightly golden and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Melt the 8 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat in the same pan then add the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and stir to combine everything together. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and season as necessary.
- Add the chicken and fettuccine back to the saucepan and toss everything together and continue cooking until heated through.
- Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- I add ricotta cheese to this chicken Alfredo to make it more rich and smooth. You could leave it out if preferred, but I recommend trying it.
- You can store this recipe easily in the fridge. In an airtight container it’ll keep for 3 – 5 days just be sure it’s properly cooled before storing. Unfortunately this dish doesn’t freeze well so I recommend either making it day of or a few days before and storing in the fridge.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
I found this recipe when I suddenly found myself with too much chicken and ricotta cheese on hand (long story). We really liked it, but thought it would be better with some added spices for a kick, so I added a small bit of garlic powder, Italian seasonings and minced onion. I also figured out a way to freeze this since I’m making it just for two of us–after adding the chicken, I take half of it out and put it in a freezer safe container and only make half the fettucine. When reheating, I add just a splash of milk to the sauce to make it smooth again. This has become my new comfort food in cold weather.
One tip on the ricotta–use a good quality ricotta and you’ll get better results. The first batch I made with inexpensive ricotta from that store that starts with an A. Next time around I used a big name brand and it made a ton of difference in both flavor and how it cooked.
The tip to use ricotta cheese is a freakin’ game changer. I struggled with classic Alfredo sauces regarding consistency but the ricotta resolves this issue completely cooking up a beautifully smooth sauce. Thanks so much for this!
It does cook up thick, as someone else noted, and its even thicker after storing in the fridge and reheating it as leftovers, just FYI. I like my Alfredo sauces thick so I’m not put off on that, but others could retain some of the pasta water to thin it out or use more cream, or a touch less of ricotta.
Anybody complaining it lacks flavor should of course season as they see fit, although I think the Alfredo-y flavor is pretty spot on, but I also use fresh pressed garlic standard in any pasta dish I’m cooking.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This was easy and interesting. Not sure I’ll be making it again though. The sauce was VERY thick. Good thing I always reserve some pasta cooking water so I used it to thin out the sauce. I’ve made Alfredo sauce before and felt this recipe was missing some flavor. Maybe some garlic sautéed in the butter before adding the ricotta, cream, and Parmesan. I feel it also needed a lot more Parmesan to get that classic Alfredo flavor. I think I’ll stick to my regular Alfredo recipe, but thanks for sharing.
So good and ricotta cheese is such a good touch
I must have screwed something up….mine turned out dry and gritty 🙁 It tasted wonderful though!!
AMAZING fettuccine alfredo recipe. My very first time making it and I was very impressed and satisfied with how delicious and creamy it came out to be. My oldest is a huge pasta lover (just like her mama lol) and chicken fettuccine is her favorite. She was very pleased with this dish. Definitely a keeper.
I’m so glad to hear this. 🙂
Ahhhhhh so good!! An instant hit!!
I loved this recipe, its real creamy comfort food, perfect for a cold winter’s day during lockdown…my picky eaters all had seconds! A great addition to my pasta recipes. Thanks Jo!! 🍝
I was in need of some serious comfort food – had some ricotta to use up and was just going to throw it into some Alfredo on a whim but was a little nervous about how it would turn out – so glad I found this wonderful recipe to confirm this was a good idea, and help me with measurements. Delicious and definitely will keep this in my recipe box – thank you, Jo!
No need for seconds. Omg. Yum. This meal turned out better than I anticipated. Will primarily use ricotta from now on. Loved it Jo, and so did my whole family – even the picky eaters.
I LOVE this recipe!! U can judge how rich u want to make it plus add different spices to your liking!! Super super good!! Personally I add a good bit of Italian seasoning and some garlic..oh and a little extra Asiago cheese
This was delicious! I don’t like alfredo at all, but I was making it for someone’s birthday that loves it and he said it was absolutely amazing. I liked it because it wasn’t think like alfredo usually is, it’s a nice thick sauce. I would defintely make it again.
This is the way to take Fettuccine to the next level>>>>>