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Chicken Alfredo with spinach is a best-in-class version of classic American comfort food. It’s plenty rich enough to honor tradition, but also balanced with extra garlic, bright lemon juice, lean protein and a generous dose of fresh spinach.
Why we love this recipe
Fettuccine Alfredo made with cream is classic Italian-American comfort food. There was a period from about 1986 to 1988 when it’s the only thing this growing Jersey girl wanted to eat.
In this popular version, I’ve leveled things up a bit while keeping it quick and easy. Chicken and spinach Alfredo:
- Is packed with bright, punchy, satisfying flavors
- Incorporates plenty of lean protein and veggies
- Uses a couple of simple but sophisticated techniques to produce a beautiful, velvety sauce that clings to the fettuccine just so
- Truly pleases a crowd
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- You can use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders. If using tenders, remove the tough white tendon before cutting into large bite-sized pieces.
- Heavy cream creates the base for the sauce. Choose the best-quality one you can. For taste, health, and environmental reasons, I always buy organic heavy cream. One egg yolk enriches the sauce and creates the perfect texture.
- Plenty of garlic and freshly squeezed lemon juice add a welcome brightness to the rich sauce.
- As ever, you’ll need more raw baby spinach than you’d think to end up with a reasonable amount when cooked. Baby spinach is sweeter and less fibrous than more mature leaves, and I prefer it in this recipe. But you can use whatever type you like. If using full-grown leaves, remove any tough pieces of stem and roughly chop leaves before cooking.
- Fettuccine is the perfect, hearty pasta shape to pair with Alfredo sauce. You’ll cook it just shy of al dente, add a bit of the starchy cooking water to the sauce, and finish the cooking all together.
- Choose a good-quality, freshly grated parmesan cheese. It adds a ton of savoriness to the sauce.
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How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a comforting batch of chicken Alfredo with spinach. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- First you’ll cook the chicken and set it aside.
- In the same skillet, you’ll make the sauce. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
- Just shy of al dente, add the fettuccine to the sauce, along with the spinach. Simmer until it all comes together beautifully, with silky sauce clinging to the noodles.
- Stir in the chicken and finish with some freshly ground black pepper. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
I love that the history of Italian-American dishes is often slightly sordid, and Fettuccine Alfredo is no exception. Technically this dish has roots in Italy, but the fettuccine burro e parmigiano, or pasta in bianco, created by Alfredo di Lelio in Rome in 1914 for his pregnant wife had little to do with the cream-based recipe that Americans call Alfredo sauce.
That dish is basically just cheesy buttered noodles, except since Italians do food so well, even their cheesy buttered noodles for nauseated pregnant women are blanketed in a light, beautifully emulsified sauce made by whisking some pasta cooking water into the other ingredients.
I’ve included that technique in this recipe, and it really levels things up.
Perfectly silky Alfredo sauce is at its best shortly after cooking, and this dish comes together quickly, so I don’t recommend going out of your way to make it in advance.
Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week and can be reheated at half power in the microwave.
More favorite comforting pasta recipes
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Chicken Alfredo with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) heavy cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454 grams) fettuccine
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup (80 grams) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 5 ounces (142 grams) baby spinach
Instructions
- Fill a large pot halfway with well-salted water and bring to a boil.
- Whisk together the cream and egg yolk and set aside.
- In a deep 12-inch frying pan, melt one tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat.
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. (Try using kitchen shears to avoid dirtying a cutting board.)
- Place chicken into pan in a single layer and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Cook until lightly browned on the underside and opaque halfway through, about three minutes. Flip once and cook until just cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- When water boils, cook fettuccine until one minute shy of al dente according to package directions. Before draining pasta, scoop out 1/2 cup of the cooking water and set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt remaining tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat in the same frying pan. Add garlic and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Pour in cream mixture. Simmer gently, adjusting heat if necessary to prevent boiling, while pasta cooks.
- When pasta is ready, stir lemon juice and cheese into sauce until smooth and creamy. Whisk in reserved pasta water until smooth.
- Add pasta and spinach, raise heat to medium, and toss with tongs for a couple of minutes until spinach is wilted and sauce clings nicely to pasta.
- Stir in chicken along with any accumulated juices.
- Off the heat, season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Divide among four shallow bowls and serve immediately.
Notes
- Perfectly silky Alfredo sauce is at its best shortly after cooking, and this dish comes together quickly, so I don't recommend going out of your way to make it in advance. Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week and can be reheated at half power in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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