Healthy Chicken Alfredo
Enjoy this homemade Healthy Chicken Alfredo in under 30 minutes – it’s creamy, rich, and cheesy with just a fraction of the calories and fat in restaurant versions! Serve up the healthy alfredo sauce with whole wheat noodles and veggies for an instant family favorite!
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Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts or thighs cubed
- 11 oz whole wheat or gluten free fettuccine linguine or spaghetti
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cup stock low sodium
- 2 cups cold 2% or 3.25% milk
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 3 cups frozen peas broccoli or chopped spinach
- 2 tbsp parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Fill large pot with water and bring it to a boil.
- In a medium bowl, add cold stock, milk, cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt and whisk with a fork. Set aside.
- In the meanwhile, preheat large deep ceramic non-stick skillet on medium heat and swirl oil to coat.
- Sprinkle chicken with a bit of salt and pepper, add to a skillet and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While chicken is cooking, add 1 tsp of salt and pasta to boiling water. Cook for 7 minutes until pasta is al dente, stirring a few times to make sure noodles do not stick.
- Give cornstarch mixture a whisk and add it to the skillet. Stir, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until bubbly and thickened.
- Add Parmesan cheese, garlic and stir until cheese has melted.
- Using tongs, transfer noodles directly from the pot to the skillet. No need to drain in a colander. Grab a bunch at a time, hold right above the pot for a few seconds and add to the skillet.
- Stir and add peas, broccoli or spinach. Let chicken alfredo warm through for a minute.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with parsley and black pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 day. To “rehydrate” the noodles, add a splash of milk while simmering on the stove. Add as much milk as you need until desired consistency. It will taste like fresh.
Freeze: Do not!
Cooked chicken leftovers: You can use cooked chicken and skip step 4 to save time. Rotisserie, baked chicken or Instant Pot chicken breast would work great.
Vegetable substitution: If you are not a fan of peas, you can also use frozen or cooked broccoli or fresh chopped spinach. Frozen broccoli are pre-cooked and do not need to be thawed. Just give them a few minutes to thaw in the sauce and sauce to heat up after. Chopped spinach wilts right away from heat pretty much.
Thickener: You can substitute cornstarch with arrowroot powder 1:1. If you would like to use flour, you would need to double the cornstarch amount which would be 4 tbsp.
Freeze: Do not!
Cooked chicken leftovers: You can use cooked chicken and skip step 4 to save time. Rotisserie, baked chicken or Instant Pot chicken breast would work great.
Vegetable substitution: If you are not a fan of peas, you can also use frozen or cooked broccoli or fresh chopped spinach. Frozen broccoli are pre-cooked and do not need to be thawed. Just give them a few minutes to thaw in the sauce and sauce to heat up after. Chopped spinach wilts right away from heat pretty much.
Thickener: You can substitute cornstarch with arrowroot powder 1:1. If you would like to use flour, you would need to double the cornstarch amount which would be 4 tbsp.