This Chicken Broccoli Alfredo is made with an easy creamy sauce, crisp fresh broccoli florets, and juicy chicken breasts. It’s the perfect quick and easy weeknight meal!
Chicken Alfredo With Broccoli
This Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo is exactly what you want when you’re craving something quick, easy and yummy!
The sauce is thick, creamy, and deliciously cheesy. Homemade Alfredo sauce is really so much better than jar sauce, so I definitely recommend taking the few minutes to make it.
The broccoli is so tender and colorful, which adds some freshness and makes your dish pop. And that seasoned chicken is so juicy.
You can have restaurant quality food on your table for a fraction of the price. Plus, it only takes 25 minutes to cook! Yes, please!
Ingredients
Pasta: Fettuccine is the classic noodle to use in any Alfredo recipe. The wide noodles carry the sauce well, and the noodles are much less likely to clump together than thinner noodles.
Broccoli: I love including vegetables in my pasta dishes, and fresh broccoli is a delicious addition to Alfredo. I wouldn’t recommend using frozen broccoli.
Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are easy to use and really take on the flavors of the dish. I recommend using air chilled chicken because it releases less moisture while it’s cooking, and it has a better texture.
Oil: Coating the chicken in oil and herbs before you saute it makes sure that all the spices stick to it, and stops the chicken from sticking to the pan.
Spices and Herbs: For this recipe, the spices and herbs that add all the flavor are dried parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, fine sea salt, onion powder, and ground black pepper.
Butter: Butter adds tons of flavor and richness to the sauce.
Half and Half: Half and half mixes with the cream cheese to make a creamy sauce base without heavy whipping cream. I prefer using half and half because it’s more affordable and I think most people keep it on hand for their coffee.
Parmesan: Parmesan cheese adds a salty and umami flavor to the Alfredo sauce. I definitely would not swap it for any other cheese.
Cream Cheese: I love using cream cheese in my pasta recipes because it allows me to make them without heavy cream. I can never get through a whole carton of heavy cream, but I can always find a way to use up the leftover cream cheese, which is why I prefer using it. It takes a couple of minutes to melt, but it still gives the same delicious creamy taste and texture.
Chicken Broth: Chicken broth allows us to thin the sauce out without diluting the flavor.
How To Make Chicken Alfredo With Broccoli
Start by making the herb and oil mixture, then coat the butterflied chicken breasts in the mixture. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Saute the chicken until it’s cooked through. In a large pot of salted water, boil the fettuccine pasta. 3 minutes before the pasta reaches al dente, carefully add the fresh broccoli florets.
Start making the sauce in a large nonstick skillet. Melt the butter in the skillet, then add in the herbs, spices, cream cheese, chicken broth, parmesan, and half and half.
Whisk to combine the ingredients, then stir occasionally while the sauce heats. Continue heating the sauce until the cheese has melted.
Add in the pasta and broccoli, then toss to coat them in the sauce.
Slice the cooked chicken breasts, then add them to pasta, and gently toss to coat. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
How To Cook Broccoli For Chicken Alfredo
The easiest way to cook the broccoli is to add it to the boiling water 3 minutes before the pasta reaches al dente. If you don’t like boiling broccoli, you can always steam it or roast it in the oven.
Optional Adaptations
This is a great recipe to add extra veggies to. You can really bulk it up and add more nutrients in, which is always a win! My favorite ones to add are sliced sautéed mushrooms, fresh spinach stirred into the warm sauce so that it wilts down, and sliced cherry tomatoes.
If you’re not a huge fan of chicken, feel free to swap it for sausage, shrimp, bacon, or pancetta.
Fettuccine is by far my favorite noodle to use in this dish. The best substitute is tagliatelle, but you can always swap it for spaghetti, egg noodles, or gnocchi if that’s all you have on hand.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Click here to pin this recipe for later!
Creamy Pasta Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of these reader favorite recipes from our pasta recipe section!
- Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo
- BEST Crockpot Mac and Cheese
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Bacon Pasta
- Cream Cheese Pasta
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Brown Butter Sage Pasta
BEST Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Recipe
This Chicken Broccoli Alfredo is made with an easy creamy sauce, crisp fresh broccoli florets, and juicy chicken breasts. It’s the perfect easy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 8 ounces fettuccine pasta (1/2 pound)
- 3 cups broccoli florets
Chicken:
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (butterflied, about 2 large chicken breasts)
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup butter (cubed, 56 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (plus extra for garnish)
- 4 ounces cream cheese (cubed, half a brick)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente, according to the package instructions. 3 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, carefully add in the broccoli florets.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil with the dried parsley and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Toss the butterflied chicken breasts in the oil and spice blend until fully coated.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for about 4 minutes aside, or until an instant thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165 F. Remove the chicken from the pan, cover, and set aside.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, add in the half and half, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, chicken broth, remaining Italian seasoning, garlic powder, fine sea salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-high and just barely bring to a light boil. As soon as bubbles appear, turn the heat back down to medium and allow the cheese to fully melt (while whisking occasionally). Let simmer for about 4 minutes.
- While the cheese is melting, slice the cooked chicken breasts into strips.
- When the cheese has melted and the sauce is ready, add in the cooked pasta and broccoli, and toss through the sauce. Then add in the chicken strips and lightly toss to coat. If the sauce is too runny, turn heat to medium-low and let sauce thicken.
- Garnish with some extra parmesan cheese and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 563Total Fat: 31.9gCarbohydrates: 37.7gFiber: 2.4gSugar: 5gProtein: 31.2g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
This classic broccoli chicken Alfredo is creamy and completely delicious!
