Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe
One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta
This isn’t meant to be an genuine Italian pasta. It’s a fast mid-week meal that you could get on the desk in simply over quarter-hour and is stellar for effort vs output.
I don’t wish to offend pasta-purists (or all the nation of Italy for that matter!), and to be trustworthy, I by no means thought I’d ever share a (long-strand) one-pot-pasta recipe. I’ve beforehand declared on a number of events that I’m not a fan. I attempted a few recipes, ended up with inconsistently cooked pasta and a gluey sauce. As soon as it was so gluey that I used to be in a position to make fritters with out utilizing egg to bind them. 😳
So I gave up, and caught to the traditional manner of constructing Alfredo. It wasn’t till a pal (who’s an enormous fan of all issues one pot) bluntly requested me “have you ever tried to repair it?” that it even occurred to me that perhaps, simply perhaps, there was a greater approach to make a creamy long-strand pasta in a single pot.
And so I experimented. And stuck it.
For fellow meals nerds on the market, right here was my considering: With the traditional manner of cooking pasta, the sauce and just-under-cooked pasta is tossed in the identical pan with a splash of the pasta cooking water. What occurs is that the oil within the sauce and starch within the pasta cooking water transforms right into a shiny sauce that adheres to each strand of pasta (it’s referred to as emulsification). So once you serve it, there isn’t any watery pool of sauce on the underside of the bowl, it’s all in your mouth through the pasta!
Should you dump cream with milk/broth/water into a big pot / skillet with the pasta, the rationale you find yourself with a gluey somewhat than silky sauce on the finish is since you’ve been emulsifying the sauce for all the pasta cooking time (i.e. fats in cream, starch in pasta). Plus, the cream makes the cooking liquid thicker which makes the pasta prepare dinner inconsistently.
Resolution: Cook dinner the pasta in simply milk + chicken broth, add cream on the finish.
Finish outcome: Close to completely* cooked al dente pasta + silky sauce.
* I say “close to excellent” as a result of the very fact is, pasta cooks extra evenly in a big pot of boiling water than in a skillet with the sauce. Simply being trustworthy!
I used to be so paranoid about making certain this One Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta delivers on my guarantees, I made it 4 instances final week to quadruple examine that it really works as I’m describing. I filmed it thrice – as soon as making a plain Alfredo, as soon as utilizing cubes of chicken and as soon as searing entire chicken then slicing it.
I used to be considering sharing the model with chunk dimension items of chicken that stays within the sauce whereas the pasta cooks. And that’s a fair simpler variation, however you’ll find yourself with barely overcooked chicken with far much less caramelisation. So I opted for my favorite manner which is to sear chicken till golden brown, relaxation it for optimum juiciness earlier than slicing and tossing by way of the pasta.
I do know there are various folks on the market who’re considering “how exhausting is it to prepare dinner pasta in a separate pot??”. And positive, it sounds simple. However you recognize these loopy days when your family is in chaos and also you’re making an attempt to get dinner on the desk for your loved ones? While you’ve simply had an terrible day at work, you hate your boss, you’re drained and tempted to order a greasy pizza?
That is for these days. I do know boiling a pot of water and cooking pasta isn’t an enormous deal. However when you may prepare dinner all of it one pot, it’s only one much less factor to consider, one much less pot to scrub.
PS Simply to make clear, I’ve at all times been a fan of 1 pot brief pastas – risoni, penne/ziti, macaroni and so forth as a result of the form makes them simple to stir and prepare dinner evenly in a sauce. Like range high Mac N Cheese, One Pot Vegetable Pasta, Cheeseburger Casserole and Chili Mac. And this Italian Chicken & Risoni/Orzo. Lengthy strand pastas are the place I at all times had a difficulty!
Extra methods to get your creamy pasta repair!
-
Fettucine Alfredo
-
Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta
-
Creamy Tomato Pasta
-
Creamy Garlic Shrimp/Prawn Pasta
-
Creamy Solar Dried Tomato Pasta
-
Extremely Lazy Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake
-
Seafood Gratin Pasta Bake
-
Baked Mac and Cheese – and take a look at the Shrimp model!
-
Browse all pasta recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 200 g / 7oz chicken breast, cut in half horizontally
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g / 8 oz fettuccine
- 2 cups milk, any fat %
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock / broth
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup thickened / heavy cream (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (Note 2)
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Use a skillet large enough to fit the pasta.
- Heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Remove onto plate and rest for 5 minutes, then slice while pasta is cooking.
- Add milk, chicken broth and garlic. Bring to simmer then add pasta.
- Move pasta around every 30 seconds or so until it is softened (around 3 minutes) so it doesn’t stick. Once pasta is softened, reduce heat to medium and stir every couple of minutes.
- At about 9 – 10 minutes, the pasta should be almost cooked but there should still be liquid covering the base of the skillet. Add cream and parmesan and mix.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~2 minutes, until sauce is thickened and pasta is cooked. If you cook it too long and the sauce goes gluggy, add a splash of hot tap water – will go back to silky with a few tosses.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately, garnished with freshly grated parmesan and parsley!
Notes
1. This recipe does actually work with any type of cream, even light cream. It just affects the richness of the sauce.
2. Using fresh grated parmesan ensures it melts into the sauce. You can use store bought but it tends to be larger grains so some of it may not melt into the sauce completely. Reduce to 1/2 cup (because that equates to about 3/4 cup freshly grated).
3. The key to this recipe is taking it off the stove while it’s still quite saucy because the sauce evaporates quite quickly as you toss a bit, adjusting the salt and pepper, getting plates out, serving etc. See video and photos for amount of sauce in the finished dish.
4. COOKING WITH CHICKEN: You could dice the chicken, brown just the outside then leave it in the pan to cook with the pasta. But cooking the chicken separately yields a juicier chicken + prettier because it’s golden brown.
5. If you have large brown bits stuck on the pan (e.g. if it’s not non stick), scrape off the larger bits if you want a pretty white sauce. Also, the whiteness of the sauce is affected by how clear the chicken stock is. Better value brands can be a bit cloudy. I use Campbells.
6. This recipe is very forgiving. If the sauce gets too gluggy / thick, add a splash of hot water. I like my pasta al dente, but if the pasta is still not tender enough for your taste, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup hot tap water and keep cooking.
7. One Pot Chicken Alfredo nutrition per serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
