Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Published 8/8/2022
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This simple chicken broccoli alfredo recipe is made with a cheesy roux, pan-seared chicken, and broccoli florets for a balanced dinner idea.
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo – Easy 30 Minute Meal
You will not regret whipping up this chicken broccoli alfredo for dinner tonight. It is creamy, packed with veggies, and has a large serving of protein.
You can use chicken thighs, chicken breasts, and even add in other veggies if you’re feeling adventurous.
why we love this meal
- It is a healthy comfort food that everyone craves.
- This chicken broccoli alfredo is kid friendly.
- It’s a great way to use up broccoli.
- You can make it in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients You Need
Below are all the ingredients you need to make this easy weeknight dinner recipe.
- chicken thighs: we use boneless skinless chicken thighs for a more moist and flavorful chicken.
- broccoli florets: it would be chicken broccoli alfredo without broccoli! Make sure you cut them into bite sized pieces.
- all purpose flour: flour thickens the roux for this sauce.
- salted butter: butter is going to add a silkiness to this alfredo sauce.
- 2% milk – any kind of milk will work for this.
- white wine: a little white wine adds vinegar and brightness to the sauce.
- starchy pasta water – don’t forget to reserve starchy pasta water. This helps thicken the sauce.
- spices – you need garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- grated parmesan cheese – make sure to buy grated parmesan cheese as this will melt in the sauce the easiest. You can also buy block parmesan and finely grate it.
Try it!
Always Pan
The Always Pan is our favorite pan for sauteing, steaming, frying, and simmering. It’s a nonstick pan that we highly recommend.
Prepare the Chicken Thighs First!
Prepare the chicken thighs before you do anything for this chicken broccoli alfredo recipe. Letting the chicken sit in the spices will add flavor and leave you with moist chicken.
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
- Drizzle water over the chicken thigh pieces. This will help the spices and cheese stick to the chicken.
- Sprinkle the garlic, salt, pepper, and parmesan over the chicken pieces.
- Set the chicken aside to soak up all the flavors.
Boil the Noodles
After you prepare the chicken, you want to prepare the pasta. Why? Because you need to use some starchy pasta water in the alfredo sauce!
- Bring a large salted pot of water (don’t forget the salt) and add your pasta to the water.
- Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Before straining the pasta, set aside 2 cups of starch water (we always take out more just in case).
- Strain the pasta, rinse with water, and set aside for later!
You can use any type of pasta that you would like! We used fettuccini pasta for our recipe but feel free to use penne pasta, rigatoni pasta, or even linguini pasta.
Steam Your Broccoli
Steaming broccoli for your chicken broccoli alfredo is so easy and only takes a few minutes. If you want a deep dive into how to steam broccoli, check out this post. Here is a quick overview of how we steam broccoli for this recipe.
- Add the broccoli pieces in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water to the skillet and sprinkle the broccoli with a pinch of salt. Cover the skillet.
- Heat the skillet over medium/high heat to steam the broccoli. Let the broccoli steam in the skillet for 2-4 minutes or until the broccoli has turned a vibrant green color.
- Remove the skillet from heat and transfer the broccoli to a large bowl and set aside for later.
Brown the Chicken
Now that the pasta and the broccoli are ready all you have to do is brown the chicken. Heat the butter in a non-stick skillet and brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add it to the same bowl as the broccoli. Don’t wash your pan, you are going to use it to make the roux.
Chicken internal temp
According to the USDA, the safe cooking temperature for poultry is 165ºF.
Let rests: Remember that after cooking chicken let it rest for 5 minutes so that the internal temperature can continue to rise around 5ºF.
Make the Alfredo Sauce
Wondering how to make alfredo sauce from scratch? Here’s a super simple tutorial on how to do so:
- Deglaze: add white wine to the bottom of the same pan you used for the chicken to deglaze it. Use a spatula to scrape the brown bits from the bottom.
- Make Roux: add butter to the pan and fully melt. Then, slowly add flour and whisk until it forms a crumble.
- Make Creamy Sauce: add milk and continue to whisk over medium heat until the sauce has thickened. Add the milk, starchy pasta water, and spices. Continue to whisk until creamy.
- Add Parmesan: finally, add grated parmesan cheese and whisk until it has melted in the Alfredo sauce.
- Toss with Pasta: toss Alfredo sauce with cooked fettuccini noodles to fully coat.
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Q & A
You can keep chicken broccoli Alfredo in the fridge for 3-5 days if stored in an air tight container.
To reheat chicken broccoli alfredo, place the chicken broccoli Alfredo in a skillet pan and add a few tablespoons of water. Toss everything together and heat over low heat until smooth and creamy.
We recommend serving chicken broccoli Alfredo with a butter lettuce salad or a simple arugula salad. Something light because chicken broccoli Alfredo is a heavier dish.
You can add any veggies to your chicken broccoli alfredo. Our go-to veggie add is to steam cauliflower with the broccoli. You can also add bell peppers, onions, or zucchini.
We do not recommend freezing chicken broccoli Alfredo.
Side Salads Broccoli Alfredo
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons water, separated
- 1 teaspoon salt, separated
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
- 8 oz. uncooked fettuccine noodles
- 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, separated
- ¼ cup dry white wine, we used chardonnay
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 2 % milk
- 1 cup starchy pasta water
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken thighs. Begin by cutting the chicken thighs into 1-inch chunks and transfer them into a bowl. Then drizzle on 1 tablespoon of water. This will help the parmesan stick to it.
- Place ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan cheese in a small bowl and mix until combined.
- Be sure the chicken thigh pieces are coated in water and then season the chicken thigh pieces with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Toss until the chicken pieces are coated and then set aside.
- Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the fettuccine noodles. Cook the fettuccine noodles until they are al dente.
- Before straining the water from the noodles, remove 2 cups of starchy pasta water from the pot to use for later. Rinse the pasta with cold water and set aside.
- Next, place the broccoli pieces in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water to the skillet and sprinkle the broccoli with a pinch of salt. Cover the skillet.
- Heat the skillet over medium/high heat to steam the broccoli. Let the broccoli steam in the skillet for 2-4 minutes or until the broccoli has turned a vibrant green color.
- Remove the skillet from heat and transfer the broccoli to a large bowl and set aside for later.
- Brown the chicken. Heat the same skillet over medium/high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet.
- When the butter has melted, spread the butter over the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the pieces of chicken thigh to the skillet and brown them on each side for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to the same bowl as the broccoli.
- Return the skillet to the heat and deglaze the pan with white wine. Use a spatula to scrape all of the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Prepare the alfredo sauce. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium heat.
- When the butter is melted, add the flour to the skillet and whisk the two ingredients until a paste forms.
- Slowly add the milk to the skillet, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.
- Next, slowly add the starchy pasta water to the skillet, whisking constantly.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of finely grated parmesan and garlic powder to the skillet and whisk the cheese into the sauce until the cheese is melted.
- Add the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt to the sauce and whisk until combined.
- Next, add the cooked fettuccine to the cheese sauce and toss the pasta with the pasta sauce until coated.
- Finally, add the chicken and broccoli to the skillet and fold the chicken and vegetables into the pasta and sauce.
- Top with freshly grated parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.
Tips & Notes
- We highly recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe, but chicken breasts will work as well.
- If you prefer a very liquid-y sauce, feel free to add more milk or starchy water to the Alfredo sauce before adding the pasta to the Alfredo sauce.
- Feel free to add more salt to the sauce at the end of the dish.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this for my husband and 15 month old and they demolished it! Looking forwards to enjoying leftovers. I ended up using one cup of the pasta water, and the sauce consistency was perfect.
Kiddo approved!
This is very delicious! very highly recommended
– Rod Cameron Pools
This was sooooooo good! Highly recommend!