Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

5 stars from 3 reviews

Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

Chicken Alfredo Pasta is a popular restaurant dish that is so easy to make at home! Our copycat tastes better than the Olive Garden recipe!

Author: Donna Elick

Servings:

Prep Time8

Cook Time20

Total Time28

Ingredients

8 ounces dry fettuccine or other pasta of choice

For the Chicken

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (2-3 breasts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to your preference
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to your preference
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend divided

For the Alfredo Sauce

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup whole milk
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or a combo of Parmesan and Romano
Fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

Boil fettuccine noodles according to package directions in a large pot of heavily salted water. Before draining pasta, reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water.

Chicken

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken. Preheat a grill to 400°F (or a grill pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop).
Using paper towels, pat chicken breasts completely dry. Drizzle chicken with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning.
Cook chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature at the thickest portion of the breast registers 163°F. Transfer chicken from the grill to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Alfredo Sauce

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Sprinkle the flour over the butter and garlic to create a roux; cook for 1 minute, until bubbly.
Slowly and gradually, whisk the cream and milk into the roux, until a smooth sauce forms. **Do not pour all of the liquid into the pan at one time or the sauce will have clumps of flour in it.
Increase burner heat to bring sauce to a low simmer. Add remaining teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and then the freshly grated cheese, one handful at a time, stirring continuously until smooth. Remove pan from the heat. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
Toss cooked fettuccine with the Alfredo sauce, using the reserved pasta water to loosen the mixture and thin the sauce as needed.
Serve sliced chicken breasts over the Alfredo pasta with a garnish of chopped parsley.

Notes

Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Chicken breasts will cook more evenly and quickly on the grill if they are first sliced in half to create 2 thinner pieces.

Instead of grilling, the chicken can be cooked in a skillet over medium-high heat until the internal temp reaches 163°F.

Alfredo sauce is thick and rich. I like to thin it with pasta water - the pasta water works well because it is already salted and it has the starches from the pasta, so it maintains a good texture for the sauce.

Nutrition