Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe

This quick and easy chicken pasta recipe takes 30 minutes or less from start to finish. It’s loaded with a creamy homemade alfredo sauce, sliced chicken breast, and al dente noodles for a simple weeknight comfort food your family will love!

 

You Will Love This

• It has a delicious (and SUPER easy) cream sauce! Making your own alfredo sauce doesn’t have to be intimidating, and this recipe gives you an easy (and seriously fast) way to make a deliciously creamy alfredo sauce that’s better than store-bought!
• It’s basically a one-pan meal! The seasoned chicken sautés in olive oil and then the juices from the chicken are used to make the creamy white wine sauce! This meal could not be more simple for an easy weeknight meal!
• If you loved this chicken penne pasta recipe, be sure to check out my:
  • 20 Minute Penne Pomodoro
  • One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta
  • 30 Minute Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken Breast – Boneless, skinless chicken breast is best for this recipe. However, if you’ve got chicken thighs (or another cut of chicken) you could you could use those as well! Just be aware that you’ll likely need to bake them in the oven after searing them so that they cook all the way through. They will take longer to cook than the thinly sliced chicken breast. Also, If you want to make this dish vegetarian, you can skip the chicken breast as well but it’s such an easy way to get some extra protein in your meal!
• Herbs & Spices – Dried oregano, garlic powder, and paprika add a variety of warm and savory flavors. You can also use Italian seasoning or add dried thyme and dried sage.
• Penne Pasta – I love using penne pasta for recipes with creamy sauces because the noodles have a lot of nooks and crannies that hold onto the sauce, but you can use any pasta that you have on hand. Linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti, rotini, or rigatoni will work well too!
• Butter – Butter helps flavor and thicken the sauce. I like to use unsalted butter so that I can adjust the sodium level of the sauce myself.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic always adds a lot of fantastic flavor to recipes, so I highly recommend getting fresh and mincing it yourself. However, you can always use garlic powder, or jarred, pre-diced garlic if that’s what you have. 
• Flour – All-purpose flour helps thicken the alfredo sauce, and the thicker the sauce, the better it will coat the noodles and chicken, so don’t leave this out.
• White Wine – White wine adds a delicious layer of flavor to the creamy sauce. I like to use a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or chardonnay. Sweet wines will not work well in this recipe. All the alcohol will cook off so this is still a family-friendly dish but you don’t like to cook with wine, use chicken broth instead.
• Heavy Cream – I recommend using heavy cream for this chicken pasta recipe for the best texture and flavor. If you use half and half instead, just note that the sauce might be a little thinner, so I’d recommend adding an extra tablespoon or so of flour to help thicken it up. 
• Parmesan Cheese – As always, I love grating my own cheeses, so I typically buy a block of Parmesan to grate myself. It’s fresher, has more flavor, and melts better in my opinion and experience. Grab an 8 ounce wedge, shred it yourself, then use about 6 ounces for the sauce and garnish the pasta with the remaining 2 ounces.

Instructions

Boil pasta according to package instructions just until al dente. Season chicken and sear in olive oil until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

Transfer to a baking sheet and let rest.

Melt butter in the pan with the juices from the chicken.

Add garlic and oregano and cook for 1 minute, then add flour.

Cook, stirring frequently for about 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom, and cook for 1 minute.

Whisk in heavy cream.

Add Parmesan and stir together until it melts.

Cook until it reaches your desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add cooked pasta.

Toss to coat pasta evenly, adding pasta water as needed to thin the sauce a bit.

Slice chicken and add to the pasta. Toss to coat evenly and cook until everything is warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish the chicken alfredo penne pasta with Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!

Tips

• Salt your pasta water! Don’t skip this step!! I like to add 2-4 tablespoons of Kosher Salt to my pasta water. This is an often missed opportunity to add more flavor to your dish. It’s your first chance to flavor the pasta and it also seasons the pasta water which adds additional flavor to the sauce.
• Be sure to cut your chicken breasts lengthwise. I like to cut each breast in half lengthwise (with the knife paralell to the cutting board) to make two thinner pieces of chicken breast. This ensures that your chicken cooks all the way through in a shorter amount of time. If your chicken doesn’t cook through during the 4-6 minute saute in the pan, transfer them to an oven safe baking dish and bake them at 350 degrees until they are cooked through while you make the sauce.
• The creamy sauce will thicken as it cools. Loosen it up with a splash of heavy cream, milk or broth.

Variations

Feel free to add some of your favorites to this chicken pasta recipe! We love to add:

• fresh spinach
• grape tomatoes
• sauteed mushrooms, onion, or bell pepper
• crisy bacon
• browned Italian sausage
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

FAQ

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: You can cook the pasta ahead of the time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the chicken and the sauce. This recipe as a whole is best served fresh and warm, but you can make the components ahead of time to save cut down on prep time the day of.
• Storage: Store chicken penne alfredo leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Reheating: Reheat penne alfredo in a saucepan on the stove. Stir in a splash of cream, milk, or broth to loosen up the sauce. Stir frequently, heating over medium heat, until warmed through.

More Easy Weeknight Pasta Dinners

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