Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo is the perfect weeknight meal. Well, it’s great on the weekend, too!
This dish is so delicious and it gets even better: You can put this together in 30 minutes. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread, and you’ll love that it’s a meal in one skillet.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI ALFREDO
We can’t stress enough how quickly this dish is to prepare.
The only tool you need to make this dish is an oven-ready pan or skillet. A cast-iron works wonderfully, as does a Dutch oven.
See note in recipe card on how to make this recipe if you don’t have an oven-ready pan or skillet.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHICKEN
One of the many awesome things about this dish is that it is so adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand.
We absolutely love going with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. They are loaded with flavor and crisping the skin before cooking them ads amazing taste and texture
EXPERT TIP: You can also use boneless chicken breasts. Simply cook them in your skillet with a little oil, or butter, until fully cooked (internal temperature of 165°F). Serve whole, or cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and stir into the finished dish. This can also be done with boneless chicken thighs. If using legs, follow the recipe as written, but reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes.
THE SAUCE COMES TOGETHER VERY QUICKLY
The sauce is so flavorful and creamy, but not heavy at all!
After the chicken is finished cooking, set it aside and discard any of the rendered grease and oil from the pan.
Create a roux with the butter and flour and then add in the milk, cream, chicken stock, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until thickened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
For the pasta, go with whatever you have on hand. We prefer pasta that is smaller in sizes, such as orecchiette or shells, rather than long and tubular, such as spaghetti or linguine. The shell-shape of the pasta acts as little bowls for the sauce.
But again, any pasta will work wonderfully!
EXPERT TIP: Follow the package instructions for cooking the pasta. Don’t overcook the pasta, or it will become bloated and soggy in the sauce. Also, add the broccoli in the final 3 minutes of cooking. This goes for fresh or frozen. Both the pasta and broccoli can be cooked an hour or two in advance.
We can’t say it enough about this recipe: It’s so delicious and so versatile! And beautiful, too!
Other options for the broccoli could be peas, carrots, spinach, kale, corn, and more! Frozen, canned, or fresh all work perfectly!
And for the sauce, use milk, heavy cream, half-and-half, or almond milk. Or a combination of any of them!
Another easy 1-pot 30-minute meal is our Mediterranean Pasta with Shrimp and Artichokes!…give it a look! Not to mention our Easy Tex-Mex Pasta!
But in the meantime, we strongly recommend you making this incredible Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo!
This dish is wonderful right off the stove, however, you can make the sauce and the chicken in advance. Stir in the cooked pasta and broccoli after re-heating the sauce. Warm the chicken in a low-temp oven (200°F) for about 30 minutes and then add to the re-heated sauce.
This dish is so easy to prepare and is truly one of our all-time favorite dishes to make, serve, and eat!
Mmmmmm…makes you hungry, right?
Ready to make the best alfredo 1-pot wonder dish in town? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a picture, post it on Instagram, and tag @howtofeedaloon and hashtag #howtofeedaloon!
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Equipment
- Oven-ready skillet/saucepan (see note)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lbs chicken thighs 5 or 6, bone-in, skin-on
- 3 tsp Kosher salt divided
- 2 tsp black pepper ground, divided
- 8 oz orecchiette pasta
- 12 oz broccoli florets, fresh, if frozen, thawed
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- In a large oven-ready skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Place chicken, skin side down, in the hot skillet. Cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Shift the chicken around in the skillet occasionally to prevent sticking).
- Remove from heat and turn chicken over. Place skillet in the oven for 20 minutes until chicken is completely cooked (internal temperature of 165°F). Use tongs to remove chicken onto a platter or plate.
- Discard the oil and any rendered grease from the skillet. Leave the brown bits that have stuck on the surface of the pan.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, typically about 10 to 12 minutes, check package instructions for guidance. Add the broccoli in the final 3 minutes of cooking. Drain, and set aside.
- Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour and whisk for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the milk, cream, chicken stock, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Stir constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta and broccoli and gently stir until well-mixed. Stir in the cheese, and then nestle the cooked chicken thighs in the skillet. Serve at once.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: The recipe was originally published in April 2017, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe, tips, new photography, and a brand new fabulous video in March 2020!
Great recipe, just a bit too dijon-y for me. I think I’ll cut the dijon in half next time I make it.
Let us know how round 2 turns out!! xo Kris & Wesley
Kris, I made this and it was a big hit, especially since I doubled the recipe! I never know when kids will drop by! The sauce was so creamy and I used Farfalle since I had that on hand. Will make it again for sure!
Wanting to make your Orange Sweet Rolls next!
Carol Summers (Your Cuz!)
Carol!!! This makes us so happy! Through FB and talking to mom and dad, sounds like you and your beautiful family are so GREAT! Please give them our love and we are just so thrilled you have enjoyed some of the recipes and videos! And especially tell “Jim-bo” hello for me! Would love to see you all sometime sooner than later!! And you are going to LOVE those orange sweet rolls!!! xoxo Kris (your cuz!!)
I used cream cheese instead of half&half. Amazing!
Yum! That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, we’ll try that next time for sure! And thanks so much for the GREAT review. That means the world to us! Best, Kris & Wesley
I always mess up cream sauces. I don’t know what the difference was with this recipe (because it’s really easy) but it produced the creamiest, most delicious sauce! Very pleased.
What I liked most was the versatility of this recipe. I only had to buy a couple things (so it was cheap) and winged it with the rest, as they supported. Loved!
Hi Devin!! Woo hoo!! We are thrilled you had such great success with the dish! Sauces can be easy to mess up, you’re not alone!! Thank you for letting us know about how it turned out and for the GREAT review. That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Let me start by saying that the kitchen and I are not BFF’s, but you have proven that there is hope for bad chefs like me . I made this recipe for my family and to say that it was delicious would be an understatement. It was beyond yummy . I doubled the recipe to ensure there was enough food for 2 days (at least it was my thought), but oh no!!! My kids and husband loved it so much that everyone kept going back for seconds and it was gone on the first day.. lol . Thank you for sharing such delicious recipes and for walking us through the process. You made cooking be enjoyable again .
Hi Ursula!! You truly have no idea how much joy you filled our hearts with from reading your comment. That is so AWESOME that you were a rock star in the kitchen!!! And we are so thrilled you and your family enjoyed the chicken and broccoli alfredo! Please stay in touch and don’t ever hesitate to reach out with any questions. We’re here to help and maybe throw in a laugh, or two!! All the best, Kris & Wesley xoxoxo
Oh man that was just completely busted how good that was. I used diced chicken breast with a bit of white wine and added a bit of fresh garlic too. Gawd damn. Thanks!!!
Hi Pat! Woo hoo!! So so glad you liked the chicken and broccoli alfredo!! Diced chicken is a great choice!! And, of course, as is white wine and garlic! Thanks for letting us know and thanks for the GREAT review! We appreciate that so much! Stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
This recipe is so delicious! I didn’t have chicken thighs and used bone in chicken breast. Substituted fresh spinach for the broccoli because that’s what I had on hand. Will be adding this to my recipe rotation!! Thanks for a fabulous chicken dish!!!
That all sounds amazing, Cheryl!!! So glad you adapted to what you had on hand and so very happy that you enjoyed the dish! We love it, too!! And thank you so much for sharing!!! Best, Kris & Wesley
Another recipe that has become a family favorite. In fact, I am making this again tonight. Love the flavors and the use of chicken thighs with the orecciette pasta. Truly yummy.
That is awesome! That is a recipe I came up with while Wesley was on the slow journey of transplant recovery in Texas. By this point, he was so much better, and I believe this was this first recipe I created and we shot since we had to headed down to Texas. It’s actually shot on my parent’s backyard patio!! And we loved it, too. I remember it being extra special because I was able to share it with my folks, which doesn’t get to happen near enough. So thrilled to hear that you love it. Thank you a million times over for letting us know. xoxo