Meet the chicken pasta recipe of your dreams! Creamy Chicken Alfredo with sun dried tomato, spinach and bacon, you’ll love how the seasoned shredded chicken acts like a mop for the alfredo sauce. A quick 20 minute dinner!
Chicken Pasta recipe – loaded!
This is the pasta you make when you’ve had a bad day and you need a pick me up.
This is the pasta you make when you’ve had a great day, and want to finish on a high note.
This is the pasta you make when you need a quick dinner that everyone will devour.
And this is the pasta that you make just because there are few things in this world that can rival the feeling of complete and utter satisfaction as you slurp down a big bowl of creamy chicken pasta!
What you need
Here’s what you need. Just a quick note on a few of the items:
Wine – the secret ingredient! Wine gives the sauce that extra little something-something that gives the creamy Alfredo Sauce a restauaranty edge. If we’re going to make a luxe creamy pasta, let’s do it right! Non alcoholic sub – more chicken broth.
Parmesan – make sure it’s either freshly grated OR use the store bought finely shredded parmesan that looks like small thin batons. Do not use the store bought sand-like parmesan, it doesn’t melt properly in the sauce.
Sun Dried Tomato – you can skip this if you want, but it does give this pasta recipe an extra little za-za-zoom! I use the healthy no-oil strips, but you can absolutely use the type sold in jars in oil.
You’ll love how the seasoned shredded chicken acts like a mop for the creamy alfredo sauce!
Shredding the chicken is not something I’ve done for pastas I’ve previously shared. It works really well for this chicken pasta because the creamy sauce kind of clings to the chicken, making the overall eating experience even juicier and more slurp-worthy (if that were possible! 😂).
Quick 20 minute chicken dinner
This is terrifically quick and easy to make with a nice flow to it. Cook the chicken while the pasta cooking water comes to the boil. Then make the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
You’ll have dinner on the table in 20 minutes, and plates mopped clean minutes thereafter. How good is that??! ~ Nagi x
PS If you’re worried that this is a bit more indulgent that your usual midweek pasta, don’t let that stop you. It’s totally worth it – and you can eat air for dinner tomorrow 😉
More creamy pasta recipes
Fettuccine Alfredo – classic fettuccine with Alfredo sauce
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Pasta recipe of your dreams!
Ingredients
- 300g / 10 oz fettuccine (Note 1)
- 30g / 2 tbsp butter , separated
- 2 chicken breasts , cut in half horizontally
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine (sub more chicken broth)
- 1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock / broth , low sodium
- 1 1/4 cups (315ml) cream , thickened / heavy (Note 2)
- 3/4 cup (75g) parmesan , finely shredded (Note 3)
- 70g / 2.5oz baby spinach
- 100 g / 3oz sun dried tomato strips (Note 4)
Serving:
- 120g / 4oz bacon , cooked and crumbled
- More parmesan
- Parsley , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for time per packet minus 1 1/2 minutes.
- Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of pasta cooking water. Then drain pasta.
Chicken:
- Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
- Melt half the butter in a large skillet over hig heat.
- Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side until deep golden.
- Remove chicken onto plate, rest for a few minutes then shred with 2 forks.
Alfredo Sauce:
- Turn down heat to medium high. In the same skillet, add remaining butter and garlic.
- Cook garlic for 30 seconds until golden, then add wine.
- Simmer rapidly, stirring to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Once mostly evaporated, add chicken broth, cream, parmesan and sun dried tomato.
- Simmer on medium for 3 – 5 minutes, stirring leisurely, until it reduces and thickens.
Essential Tossing:
- Add spinach, chicken and cooked pasta.
- Toss for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes on the stove, until sauce thickens and coats the pasta strands (see VIDEO). Use pasta cooking water if needed if it gets too thick.
- Serve immediately with parmesan, crumbled bacon and parsley (if desired).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Another weekend of fun at Rick Stein’s Bannisters in Port Stephens! The RecipeTin Family took our mother up for a belated Mother’s Day weekend away. This photo was taken from outside her room – top floor, stunning views, huge sunny terrace and an extra large room.
In fact, everyone stayed up in the “good” rooms while I was relegated to the a ground floor room for easy pooping access to the lawn for Dozer. 😩
absolutely stunning nagi,thankyou.
I made this tonight for Dinner & it was Seriously Really Really Scrumptious !
What a Superb list of Ingredients that make a truly Delicious Dinner!
And it was So easy! I will be definitely making this Again & Again!
Thankyou Nagi! X
Quick update on my Setter ……Eleanor..has taken to her new diet very well. Once again many thanks for such a detailed answer.
Wouyld this work with chook thighs? I much prefer them.
100% yes! No need to halve, just use about 400g/14 oz of thigh, cook then shred! 🙂 N x
Rest of your family gets the “good” rooms and you get Dozer? Sounds like you got the better deal. . .
Pasta looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Obviously your hard work has paid off if you can stay in such a deluxe place! Well done.
The recipe is on the menu this week.
Truthfully, it was actually an old run down motel that some hotel operators came in and dolled it up! So it’s definitely pitched as a deluxe place but it’s more like a very very nice motel that happens to have a Rick Stein restaurant in it 🙂 We’re now in low season for hotel rates BUT the weather is still like the end of summer which is unbelievable!! So I feel like we got a crazy good deal last weekend! N xx
Just tried this tonight! It was delicious!
Thanks Tina!
Hi Nagi!! I made this tonight for dinner and was blown away! Insanely delish.One of *the* best pasta dishes I have ever tasted – restaurant worthy. I cannot wait to serve this to company. Well done – brilliant! Cheers from Ottawa, Canada!! xo!!
I can see you and Dozer making Bannisters your ‘run-away’ place time and again : methinks my favourite photo of you two! Naturally love the pasta dish! Wine goes into most of my recipes – as none but taste is left in the finished dish, simply cannot understand people piking . . . at the same time cream is oft substituted with yoghurt – once a nutritionist . . . etc 🙂 !
This looks amazing! I can not wait to try this.
Wow, what a beautiful photo ! Love this pasta receipt. Thant you.
Yumm looks absolutely amazing. I just found out that I am lactose intolerant. Do you know the best sub for cream??
Thanks,
Mona xx
I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but Paul’s zymil lactose free cream, from Woolworths, would work. Or,if you don’t mind the flavor you could try coconut cream.
YUM! This recipe looks better than I have done in the past. A must do!
Hi Nagi, happy you and your family had no behaviour 😂 over the ‘belated Mother’s Day weekend’ … Best way to be!😂
Dozer, cute as ever
Enjoy the day! Hugs 🌺
Making this tonight. When you said to enjoy the indulgence of this dish and eat air tomorrow, I choked on coffee! A good laugh is a great way to start the day. Thanks for making my day😆
Hey Nagi,
What’s the name of the cooking wine you specifically used for this recipe?
This pasta looks incredible .. 😍 😍
This looks awesome Nagi! I definitely need some comfort food.
I’m a sucker for creamy chicken pasta and this really does look excellent Nagi. I’ll be having a go at this this week and will report back (and I can tell from the ingredient list that it’ll be all good 😉 ).