Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta (2024)

FAQs

How can I make my chicken alfredo taste better? ›

Fresh herbs will brighten and freshen the flavor of the sauce. Resnick suggests using parsley, thyme, oregano, or chervil, or mixing and matching depending on what you like. To use them, finely mince 2 tablespoons of your chosen herbs. Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce.

Use Cornstarch

This advice will leave you with the creamiest Alfredo sauce you've ever tasted. Here's how to make it: In a bowl, whisk together equal parts of cornstarch and water—about 2 tablespoons of each for four servings of pasta and sauce. Add 2 teaspoons of the slurry to the Alfredo sauce.

Add salt and regular pepper to taste. Add basil, Italian seasoning, and oregano to taste. Add a small dash of cayenne pepper. Add a small amount of orange peel (about 2-3 pinches).

Starchy pasta water doesn't just help thin the sauce to the right consistency; it also helps it cling to the pasta better and emulsify with the fat and cheese you're going to be adding.

In addition to extra black pepper, I like to add Italian spices to my alfredo sauce. I start with a dash of oregano and thyme. Then, I give it a taste to see what I think. If I still feel it needs something else, I add a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Fresh herbs

Add basil, parsley, oregano, or rosemary to add life to the sauce. The first three herbs are classic for many Italian dishes, and rosemary is a common addition to creamy potato dishes, so adding them to a jarred Alfredo sauce makes sense.

You can make the jar sauce better by adding a bit of brandy or sherry, perhaps green onion tops chopped fine to add a fresh taste, adding a bit of chopped garlic sauteed in butter, then top it off with cayenne and parmesan cheese.

Add a few dashes of garlic powder to your simmering sauce, or a clove or two of fresh sauteed garlic, to brighten up the Alfredo and make its flavor pop. You can also sprinkle in some fresh or dried herbs, like oregano, thyme, or basil, to add complexity to the sauce.

Loaded with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese, traditional alfredo sauce packs a lot of calories and unhealthy fats into one dish. So I was excited to find this recipe for Chicken Alfredo with a Twist!

Generally, you'll need 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of alfredo sauce per single serving. Cook the pasta as you would normally. Then, heat your sauce over medium heat and add your pasta in the same pan. Stir and cook the pasta and sauce for 3 minutes.

Which pasta is best with Alfredo sauce? ›

As a general rule, pair the heartier sauces with the wider noodles: Wide ribbons like pappardelle pair well with rich, meaty sauces while the thinner flat noodles, like fettuccine or linguine, are best paired with simple cream sauces like Alfredo or delicate proteins like seafood.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add garlic and sauté until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and gradually stir in flour until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and mixture is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

You could always add spicy stuff to it, but that will change the taste into something completely different. If you want to stay true to the basics of an alfredo dish, try adding a handful of freshly grated Parmesan and (to add to the rich umami taste) some chopped sundried tomatoes.

Stir in big handfuls of spinach, Kale mushrooms, zucchini, onions, broccoli, spinach, squash, or grape tomatoes after the pasta is cooked. You can also substitute zucchini (zoodles) for the pasta.