Quick & Easy Meals

20 Minute Stove Top Chicken Alfredo

Robin at Haphazard Homemaker

Stove Top Chicken Alfredo is perfect for a busy night! Toss cooked pasta and cooked chicken into a yummy creamy sauce. Maybe add a little broccoli, diced tomatoes or bacon to dress it up, and serve with toasted garlic bread and you have a restaurant quality meal!

Pictured above with broccoli, diced tomatoes and crumbled bacon.

What makes this recipe so quick to make is that it uses previously cooked chicken. I like to cook up 6 -8 chicken breasts on grocery shopping day, so I almost always have cooked chicken in the fridge or freezer available for a fast meal. Rotisserie chicken is perfect to use too.

How to Cook Chicken Quickly

If you don’t have any cooked chicken available, allowing an extra 15 minutes, chicken breasts can be cooked in a matter of minutes, still making this a quick and easy meal at 35 minutes.

These directions are included in the printable recipe below.

  1. In a large heavy duty skillet on medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
  2. Slice 2 chicken breasts in half horizontally.
  3. Cook the chicken about 5 – 6 minutes on each side. Only turn the chicken once or it won’t brown. At the end of the cooking time, check that the internal temperature is 165°F/ 73.9°C.
  4. Set aside until cool enough to handle, and then dice into bite size pieces.

Stove Top Chicken Alfredo

Printable recipe (two pages)

Prep 5 mins, Cook about 20 mins,  Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces pasta cooked according to package directions
  • 3 cups diced cooked chicken
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • Optional: chopped broccoli, spinach, diced tomatoes, crumbled bacon are all delicious additions. If adding 1 or 2 extra ingredients, add up to 1/2 cup each, if adding 3 or 4 extras, about 1/4 cup each. Note: I usually have a few slices of cooked bacon in the freezer to add a little extra touch to dishes like this. This recipe is also a wonderful way to use up a little leftover broccoli.

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups Half & Half (heavy cream or milk can be substituted, depending on desired sauce richness)
  • 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain and rinse.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, in a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in cream cheese until melted, 3 – 5 minutes.
  3. Slowly stir in Half & Half, simmer until sauce is slightly thickened while stirring constantly, 3 – 5 minutes.
  4. Add the Parmesan cheese to the milk mixture, along with garlic powder, and salt & pepper to taste. Stir until cheese has melted and sauce is smooth and creamy, 3 – 5 minutes. Thin with a little milk if the sauce thickens too much.
  5. Stir cooked pasta and chicken into the pan (along with any optional add-ins), and then heat through, about 5 minutes.

Serve with a side salad and toasted garlic bread to round out the meal.

Enjoy!

Pictured below with bacon bits.

20 Minute Stove Top Chicken Alfredo - haphazardhomemaker.com

25 thoughts on “20 Minute Stove Top Chicken Alfredo”

  6. Pingback: 20 Minute Stove Top Chicken Alfredo — Haphazard Homemaker | My Meals are on Wheels

  8. That looks good but it will take me longer than 20 minutes because I never have cooked pasta around. The cooked chicken, if I need or want that I buy one of the Rotisserie ones from the supermarket.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. This sounds like my kind of quick meal. I’m always looking for quick and easy dinner recipes especially in the hot weather where staying in the kitchen for long seems unwelcomed thought.
    Thanks for an amazing post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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