This quick and easy recipe for Chicken Mushroom Alfredo is an indulgent meal that will impress your guests.
Serve this recipe alongside Homemade Garlic Bread for a delicious Italian supper.
This recipe uses simple ingredients: cream, garlic, parmesan cheese, fettuccine, mushrooms, and tender chicken. They make a classic combination of flavors for a delicious Italian dinner your family will love!
Why This Recipe Works
- Using Baby Bella or Crimini mushrooms ensures the best possible umami flavor.
- Adding Butter adds richness and gives the sauce a silky smooth consistency.
- Garlic adds an extra savory element.
- Heavy cream thickens as it cooks without using flour to thicken the sauce.
- Chicken makes the dish a complete meal.
- Parmesan cheese adds the punch of flavor every cream sauce needs.
How to Clean Mushrooms
To clean the mushrooms, use damp paper towels to remove any dirt as cleaning mushrooms with water will cause them to get waterlogged. Mushrooms absorb water like a sponge and they won’t brown well when cooked.
Chicken Breast Buying Guide
When buying chicken breast, look for chicken that’s a pink, flesh color. When starts to spoil, its color fades and turns gray. It’s best to avoid any packages of chicken with signs of fading coloring.
Brining Chicken Breasts
Chicken breasts can easily get tough and typically lacks flavor. When I make this dish I always brine my chicken in a solution of four cups of water, a quarter cup of sea salt (or kosher salt), and a teaspoon of baking soda for 30 minutes before cooking. The salt adds moisture, as well as flavor, and the baking soda tenderizes the meat.
The Best Cheese For Alfredo Sauce
The best choices are hard cheeses that are flavorful and melt easily into the sauce. Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano are perfect choices for alfredo.
I recommend freshly shredded cheese as it melts easier and produces a smoother sauce.
How to Make Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo
- Brown the chicken, set aside.
- Caramelize mushrooms and add garlic.
- Stir in the cream.
- Add chicken to the mushroom sauce.
- Pour over pre-cooked pasta.
- Top with shredded parmesan.
- Serve and enjoy!
Step by Step Instructions
Brown the chicken, remove and set aside.
Melt butter, add mushroom, and cook until caramelized, for about 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic.
Add cream to the pan and stir.
Add the chicken to the mushroom cream sauce.
Add the cooked fettuccine pasta to the pan with the parsley and coat well. Serve and enjoy!
Erren’s Top Tips
- To clean the mushrooms before cooking, use a damp paper towel. Using water to clean mushrooms can cause them to waterlog.
- If you want to use water to clean mushrooms, pat them dry with paper towels.
- Save some pasta water – it’s full of flavor and velvety starch that can be used to thin out the sauce if it’s too thick.
- Cream with high-fat content is best as it thickens when cooked without the use of a roux or thickening agent.
- Let the fettuccine finish cooking in the sauce. It will absorb the flavor and coat with the sauce better.
- Be sure to serve the dish immediately as the sauce will dry out when it cools.
- Cook the pasta until just underdone and allow it to finish cooking in the sauce so it can absorb the flavors and marry with the sauce.
- Don’t use oil when boiling pasta it makes the sauce slip off the pasta instead of coating it.
- Some Parmesan cheese is very salty, make sure you taste before seasoning.
- Don’t Have Parmesan Cheese? Use cheeses with lots of flavor and that melt well into the sauce such as Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano.
Other Italian Dishes You’ll Love
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Let’s Make Chicken Mushroom Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized peices
- 2 Tablespoons salted Butter
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced
- 1 lb fettuccine
- 4 garlic cloves minced
For The Sauce:
- 2 cups heavy cream UK double cream
- 1 stick salted butter (113g) softened
- 1 pinch nutmeg about an ⅛ of a teaspoon
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese freshly shredded, plus more for serving
- salt and black pepper to taste
- chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium-hight heat. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In the same pan as the chicken cooked, melt two tablespoons of butter, Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 10-12 minutes or until golden and caramelized.
- Meanwhile In a large pot, cook the Fettuccine until just undercooked. It will finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining.
- Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
- Add the cream and butter stir until the butter is melted and is and combined into the cream. Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until it begins to reduce and thicken.
- Mix in the nutmeg and cheese. Season with freshly grated black pepper and stir until the cheese melts into the sauce. Once the pasta is just under done, add the noodles, chicken and parsley to the pan.
- Gently toss the pasta to coat in the Alfredo sauce (adding some of the pasta water if needed to loosen).
- Top with more grated cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Tips + Notes
- To clean mushrooms, use a moist paper towel to wipe them down. Utilizing water to wash mushrooms may cause them to waterlog.
- In the event that you utilize water to clean your mushrooms, pat them dry with paper towels.
- Save some pasta water – it’s brimming with flavor and smooth starch that can be utilized to thin the sauce if it’s thick.
- High-Fat cream is best as it thickens when cooked without the utilization of a roux.
- Allow the fettuccine to finish cooking in the sauce. It will take on the flavor and coat the pasta better.
- Be sure to serve right away as the sauce will dry out when it cools.
- Cook the pasta until just underdone and allow it to finish cooking in the sauce so it can absorb the flavors and marry with the sauce.
- Don’t use oil when boiling pasta it makes the sauce slip off the pasta instead of coating it.
- Some Parmesan cheese is very salty, make sure you taste before seasoning.
- No Parmesan Cheese? Use cheeses with strong flavors that will easily melt into the sauce, for example, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano.
EVE says
Thank you for this recipe! How much nutmeg do you suggest adding in step 6 with the cheese?
Erren Hart says
It’s just a pinch of nutmeg. I’m so sorry for the confusion. Thank you for pointing out it needed clarification!
Alvies Carter says
I enjoyed making this Chicken mushroom Alfredo dish! Thanks.
Erren Hart says
I’m happy to hear that the recipe was well-received. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!