How to Make Chicken Alfredo?

Chicken alfredo is one of those recipes that people can’t get enough of. It’s challenging to beat golden brown pan-seared chicken with thick cheesy alfredo and fettuccine noodles, all seasoned to perfection! It’s a stomach filler and a recipe we turn to repeatedly for a quick midweek meal. Alfredo sauce is a delicious combination of parmesan cheese, butter, heavy cream, and seasonings. It’s great in anything from chicken cordon bleu lasagna to pizza sauce to chicken alfredo.

How to Make Chicken Alfredo?

Alfredo sauce is a buttery, dreamy pan sauce prepared with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. There are a few modifications and additions that have been made. Unlike béchamel, another classic sauce, Alfredo is best served immediately after preparation. Alfredo sauce can coat broccoli or, more famously, fettuccine. We’ve combined it with spaghetti and golden crispy chicken breast for a meal that can elevate even the most mundane Thursday night.

How to Make Chicken Alfredo?

To enjoy the crispy golden texture of the chicken thighs (or breasts) through the creamy pasta, sear them first, then remove them to ensure juicy chicken chunks. You are welcome to dice the chicken first, sear it, and then add the remainder of the ingredients from Step 2 in the recipe box to continue cooking.

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces boneless chicken breast
  • One-piece Knorr Chicken Cube
  • One lb. fettuccine cooked according to package instructions
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • ¾ cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • Six tablespoons butter
  • Two tablespoons parsley chopped
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • Two tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions

  • Cook fettuccine according to package instructions. Drain water and set it aside.
  • Season chicken with salt and pepper. Let it stay for 10 minutes.
  • Melt three tablespoons of butter in a pan. Add olive oil.
  • Pan-fry chicken for 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pan. Slice into serving pieces. Set aside.
  • Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Pour heavy cream. Stir and let boil.
  • Add Knorr Chicken Cube. Put the Parmesan cheese into the pan along with the chicken. Cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add Fettucine. Toss. Add parsley and season with ground black pepper.
  • Serve warm. Share and enjoy!

 

Is Chicken Alfredo Healthy?

This is primarily due to the Alfredo sauce’s cheese, butter, and cream. While the calcium in fettuccine Alfredo is essential for bone strength and heart health, bear in mind that this meal’s saturated fat and cholesterol are not. Fettuccine Alfredo is one of the unhealthiest pasta dishes to order if you wish to stick to healthy eating options for one straightforward reason: the sauce’s combination of butter, cream, and parmesan cheese easily clogs your arteries.

What Can I Add to Alfredo to Improve the Flavor?

Because this is a creamy sauce, to begin with, the addition of cheese is ideal. Any melty cheese, such as cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, or cream cheese, can add up to 1/2 cup, alternatively, up to 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Avoid using low-fat cream cheese to avoid a low-quality, gritty result.

Extra seasonings and spices will go a long way toward enhancing the flavor of a bland sauce container. Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, onion powder, or seasoned salt are some of my personal favorites. To minimize over-spicing, start with tiny amounts (1/2 teaspoon at a time) and increase as needed.

What are Some Excellent Alfredo Seasonings?

Alfredo sauce is a simple white/cream sauce, and butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese are used to make it. While the original version is delicious, I prefer to make Alfredo sauce even better by adding garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. I occasionally change it up, but my go-to herbs are basil, chives, and parsley. They truly make a difference in this dish! I could eat a mountain of this stuff if I wanted to, but I don’t. While it can be served as a main dish, I prefer to serve it as a side dish to grilled chicken.

I occasionally change it up, but my go-to herbs are basil, chives, and parsley. They truly make a difference in this dish! I could eat a mountain of this stuff if I wanted to, but I don’t. While it can be served as a main dish, I prefer to serve it as a side dish to grilled chicken.

How Do You Thicken Alfredo Sauce?

To make a slurry, whisk together a little cornstarch and cold water (or other liquid) in a small bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk the slurry into the simmering saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Slowly whisk the slurry into the spicy sauce until it reaches the appropriate consistency.

1. Cream Cheese

Softened cream cheese should be cubed and whisked into the Alfredo Sauce in a pot over low heat until smooth. It may take a few minutes for the cream cheese to melt and smooth out, so be patient. Unless you’re okay with a heavier cream cheese flavor, start with a small amount of cream cheese at a time.

2. Parmesan Cheese

Toss in some freshly grated, high-quality Parmesan cheese. The most acceptable option is freshly grated full-fat Parmesan cheese, and I prefer to get a large block of Parmesan and grate it myself from Costco. If you get what I mean, it’s a lot better than anything you’ll find already grated in the pasta section on the grocery store shelf.

3. Shredded Cheese

It’s also good to add some good quality cheese that you’ve shredded yourself. If you must, use pre-shredded cheese; however, pre-shredded cheese does not always melt nicely in sauces, so stick with a brand you know and trust. Use a box grater or even a food processor to shred your cheese. Depending on your preferences, mozzarella, provolone, or even white cheddar are good options.

4. Heavy Cream

In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk a little heavy cream into the sauce and bring to a simmer or a little more thickness. However, thickening a considerable quantity of sauce with cream might be expensive, so it’s not always a good idea.

5. Cornstarch (or Arrowroot)

To make a slurry, whisk together a little cornstarch and cold water (or other liquid) in a small bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk the slurry into the simmering saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Slowly whisk the slurry into the spicy sauce until it reaches the appropriate consistency.

6. Flour

In a small bowl, mix some water into some flour until smooth, just like cornstarch. While the sauce is cooking in a pan, slowly whisk in the flour mixture.

7. Egg Yolks

  Make sure you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your sauce with this one! In a small bowl, crack an egg yolk or two (or more, depending on how much sauce you have.) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and a dash of spicy sauce. Continue whisking in more hot sauce into the yolks until the sauce has been diluted and the eggs are heated. The yolks are then whisked into the hot sauce in the pan. You’ll have thick curdled eggs if you whisk cold egg yolks into a hot sauce. I’ve been there and done that, and it’s not fun.

8. Vegetables

Yes, you read that correctly. Some veggies can be puréed and added to the sauce. Puréed cooked cauliflower (such as steamed) would be fantastic! As long as you don’t mind the flavor of vegetables in your sauce, that is.

9. Butter

In a small basin, blend equal parts softened butter and flour until well incorporated into a paste-like consistency, similar to the roux. In a simmering sauce, whisk in a bit until it thickens.

Is Chicken Alfredo Unhealthy?

Alfredo sauce contains a lot of saturated fat. According to health experts, the amount of fat in a single meal is excessive, making fat and calorie breakdown more difficult. One serving of Fettucini Alfredo includes ten grams of fat, comprising seven grams of unsaturated fat and three grams of saturated fat. Fettuccine Alfredo is one of the unhealthiest pasta dishes to order if you wish to stick to healthy eating options for one straightforward reason: the sauce’s combination of butter, cream, and parmesan cheese clogs your arteries easily.

Ingredients that Make Alfredo Sauce Unhealthy

When ingested at moderate to high levels, numerous elements in authentic Alfredo Sauce are considered unhealthy. Cream cheese and oil are used to make most Alfredo sauces, and these are the disadvantages of Alfredo Sauce when we look at it more closely.

Calories

Six hundred sixty calories are in a two-cup serving of Fettucine Alfredo. This can eat up to 33% of a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. It’s best to consume this meal in moderation because it can completely derail a diet if consumed in excess. The sauce accounts for some calories, but the pasta also plays a role.

Saturated fat

A steady diet of Alfredo sauce can harm your heart’s health and lead to calorie overconsumption. The reality is that we’re not going to stop eating Alfredo, but some deliciously healthy alternatives are available. One of these is low-calorie, low-fat cream cheese, and whole-grain pasta is another option. You can still enjoy your Alfredo if you are aware of harmful aspects and make wise substitutions. It’s not technically more unhealthy than fast food, but it’s deceiving until you know what’s in it, making it worse than fast food.

Cholesterol and sodium

Fettucini Alfredo has 10 grams of cholesterol per serving. A daily maximum of 300 grams or less is recommended. This is 3.3 percent of the total limit. When levels in the bloodstream exceed the permissible percentages, this form of cholesterol can cause clogging of the arteries. The sodium in Alfredo Sauce is the next potential health hazard. One serving has a salt content of 1,280 mg, close to the American Heart Association’s suggested daily limit of 1,500 mg. This, along with cholesterol, is another reason to limit your Alfredo Sauce use.

A steady diet of Alfredo sauce can be detrimental to your heart’s health and cause you to overeat calories. The reality is that we’re not going to quit eating Alfredo, but there are some delicious alternatives out there that can help reduce the health hazards. One uses low-calorie, low-fat cream cheese, and another option is pasta made from healthy grains. You can still enjoy your Alfredo if you know the harmful components and make intelligent substitutions for unhealthy items. It’s not strictly more unhealthy than fast food, but it’s misleading until you know what’s in it, making it worse than fast food.

Conclusion

Add the pasta and mix well once the chicken has thawed in the sauce. As the sauce sits, it will thicken. You may need to add some chicken broth to thin out the sauce to make it thinner. Afterward, add extra parmesan cheese and parsley to each serving. It will be delicious and filling! And the chicken will taste great when served with pasta! And, it’s best when you use boneless chicken breasts.

If you want to prepare a large batch of homemade chicken alfredo at once, you can freeze it if you will use it within the next two weeks. To reheat the frozen dish, you can thaw the chicken overnight in the refrigerator. It can then be reheated on the stove, but be sure to add some liquid to prevent it from drying out. The sauce will also need to be refrigerated until it is used.