This chicken broccoli Alfredo recipe is a 30-minute dinner that you only need a handful of ingredients to make. Finely chopped broccoli is cooked in the Alfredo sauce so the whole dish is infused with broccoli flavor. It’s a creamy and comforting weeknight pasta recipe.

a forkful of broccoli chicken alfredo being lifted out of a pan.

I’m no stranger to chicken and broccoli recipes, and at the risk of doing a “repeat” of previous recipes, I’m sharing my new favorite today, which, in my not-so-humble opinion, is different from others I’ve shared before.

The big difference between this chicken and broccoli dish and others is that the broccoli is finely chopped and cooked in the alfredo sauce, so the whole dish is infused with broccoli flavor. Every bite is full of broccoli flavor.

So it’s a broccoli alfredo sauce with chicken instead of chicken alfredo with some broccoli. As a self-proclaimed chicken and broccoli connoisseur, this distinction is an important one.

Plus, this chicken broccoli alfredo only requires a handful of ingredients. It’s as easy as making fettuccine alfredo with a few extra delicious steps.

finely chopped broccoli on a cutting board.

Ingredients

Fettuccine: You can use other long pasta shapes like spaghetti or linguine. I prefer a long pasta shape, but you could also use a short pasta like penne, rotini pasta, or cavatappi.
Unsalted butter
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Broccoli florets: The key to infusing the sauce with the broccoli flavor is to chop the florets finely. You can do this with a knife or pop the florets in a food processor and pulse a few times to break them down.
Finely chopped garlic
Heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese

How to Make It

☑️ Cook the Pasta

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions. While it’s cooking, you can work on the rest of the recipe. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and set it aside.

☑️ Brown the Chicken

First, prep the chicken. I like to slice the chicken breasts in half crosswise through the middle so you end up with two thinner pieces. This way, it cooks evenly. You can also use a meat mallet to pound them to an even thickness.

Cook the chicken in some butter until it develops a golden crust and is cooked through.

photo collage of chicken cooking in a pan and broccoli cooking in a pan.

☑️ Cook the Broccoli

Sauté the broccoli and garlic in the same pan you cooked the chicken in. I like to add the rest of the butter at this point, too. As it cooks, the broccoli will release some moisture.

☑️ Make the Sauce

Add the cream to the pan and lightly simmer it for a few minutes with the broccoli. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir it all together.

Simmer the sauce until it thickens, which will take about five minutes or so.

☑️ Bring it All Together

While the broccoli sauce simmers, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the sauce and give it all a stir.

Add cooked fettuccine and toss to coat it evenly in the sauce.

photo collage showing the chicken and pasta added to the sauce.

Recipe Notes

This recipe serves four people, so using a large skillet with taller sides is helpful to make the sauce. That way, you don’t have overflow issues when you add the pasta.
To change things, use finely chopped broccolini or broccoli rabe instead of the broccoli.
I’ve never been one to turn down leftover Alfredo, but the leftovers are never as good as when it’s freshly made. If you have leftovers, add a splash of cream when you reheat to bring the sauce back together. It tends to break after it’s been chilled.
Serve your chicken broccoli alfredo pasta with garlic bread and a crisp green salad.

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