Total Time: 40 minutes
Published: January 9, 2022
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Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo is the most perfectly tasty copycat recipe. Creamy, rich, delicious alfredo sauce over moist, tender chicken breasts and fettuccini — it doesn’t get much better than this!
For more Olive Garden copycat recipes, check out my posts for Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Olive Garden Breadsticks, and Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup.
I’m all about the alfredo sauce. And pasta. And chicken…and, okay, all the Olive Garden copycat recipes you can make at home. This chicken alfredo might sound complicated, but it actually couldn’t be any easier! In fact, it only takes 40 minutes to pull this whole delicious dish together! The best part? You don’t have to leave your house to get an excellent restaurant-quality alfredo pasta dish for dinner tonight.
Here’s How You Make It
Don’t be put off by the multiple steps to this recipe, it comes together very quickly!
Preparing the Chicken:
- First, get out a wide, shallow dish. In it, stir together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Now take out a second wide, shallow dish. In that one, whisk together the eggs and water.
- For each chicken piece, toss it first in the flour/breadcrumb mixture, then in the egg mixture, and then back again another time in the flour/breadcrumbs to give it a really good coating.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted go ahead and stir in the oil.
- To the oil/butter mixture, add the coated chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked all the way through. Transfer the chicken to a dish. Cover it to keep it warm while you work on the sauce.
Preparing the Sauce:
- First, cook the fettuccine noodles according to packaging’s directions. Don’t pour out all the pasta water. Keep 1 ½ cups of it and cover pasta to keep warm until ready to serve.
- Now, in the same skillet you used for the chicken, melt more butter over medium heat and stir the garlic in the butter for 1 minute till it gets nice and fragrant.
- Next, sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and garlic and stir until a paste forms.
- Then, gradually whisk the milk in until it’s smooth and fully incorporated, and add to that the salt, pepper, and the ½ cup of reserved pasta water.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste as well as the parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese is fully melted and incorporated.
- Finally, gradually whisk in more pasta water as needed to create a smooth, rich, pourable sauce. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed.
To serve:
- Slice the chicken and serve it over the fettuccine noodles and topped with the prepared alfredo sauce.
- Garnish this Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo with cracked black pepper and chopped parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Why This Recipe Works
So easy — This deliciously creamy, filing Olive Garden copycat recipe is so easy to make and comes together in just 40 minutes! It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Simple ingredients — You probably have everything you need in your pantry or fridge right now and if not, a quick trip to any grocery store will rectify that in a jiff!
Family favorite — You would not believe how often my family asks for this chicken alfredo recipe. Probably weekly, if not more often. Sometimes I even have to double it because my little kids are starting to eat more like teenagers these days! But no complaints here if we have leftovers.
Prep ahead —You can make this alfredo sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the chicken and fettuccini. I like to double it and keep half in the fridge and half in the freezer for another time.
Ideas for Customizing This Recipe
- If you’d like a lighter version of alfredo sauce, try this one made with Greek yogurt.
- Add a veggie to your Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo, like broccoli. Broccoli works so well with alfredo sauce, chicken, and pasta.
- No fettuccini? That’s okay use any pasta you have on hand.
- Chicken tenderloins work great in this recipe too. Be careful to watch when you are cooking them though as they will cook up faster than chicken breasts.
Expert Tips
- I used fat-free half-and-half because I’ve found that the heavier the fat content, the richer your sauce will be. I recommend at least 2 percent milk or whole milk, though 1 percent will work. I would not recommend skim milk.
- To me, freshly grated parmesan cheese is my preference for most recipes calling for parmesan. However, for this recipe I like to use the grated parmesan cheese that comes in a shaker can.
- The alfredo sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week. I recommend not cooking the chicken or pasta until you are ready to put the whole recipe together.
More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
Did you make this easy Chicken Alfredo recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo is the most perfectly tasty copycat recipe. Creamy, rich, delicious alfredo sauce over moist, tender chicken breasts and fettuccini — it doesn’t get much better than this!
Servings: 4 servings
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken
In a wide, shallow dish stir together breadcrumbs, parmesan, flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
In a second wide, shallow dish whisk together eggs and water.
Toss chicken in the flour/breadcrumb mixture, then in the egg mixture, and then a second time in the flour/breadcrumbs to give it a really good coating.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in oil. Add the coated chicken and cook on for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Transfer to a dish and cover to keep warm.
Prepare the Sauce
Cook fettuccine noodles according to package’s directions. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water and cover pasta to keep warm until ready to serve.
In the same skillet used for the chicken, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic for 1 minute til fragrant.
Sprinkle flour over the melted butter and garlic and stir until a paste forms.
Gradually whisk in milk until smooth and fully incorporated.
Stir in salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water.
Stir in salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese until cheese is fully melted and incorporated.
Gradually whisk in more pasta water as needed to rich a smooth, pourable sauce. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.
Slice chicken and serve with fettuccine noodles and prepared sauce. Garnish with cracked black pepper and chopped parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Parmesan cheese: I usually recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese but for this recipe I like to use the grated parmesan cheese that comes in a shaker can.
Nutrition
Calories: 471 kcal, Carbohydrates: 41 g, Protein: 41 g, Fat: 15 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 105 mg, Sodium: 1515 mg, Potassium: 778 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 12 g, Vitamin A: 475 IU, Vitamin C: 2 mg, Calcium: 443 mg, Iron: 3 mg
