Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo

Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo is the most perfectly tasty copycat recipe. Creamy, rich, delicious homemade alfredo sauce over juicy, tender chicken breasts and fettuccine – 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 fettuccine 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:

1. First, get out a wide, shallow dish. In it, stir together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (photos 1-2)
2. Now take out a second wide, shallow dish. In that one, whisk together the eggs and water. (not pictured)
3. 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. (photo 3)
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted go ahead and stir in the oil. (not pictured)
5. 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. (photo 4)

Preparing the Sauce:

1. First, cook the fettuccine noodles al dente 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. (not pictured)
2. 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. (photos 5-6)
3. Next, sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and garlic and stir until a paste forms. (photo 7)
4. 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. (photo 8)
5. Add more salt and pepper to taste as well as the parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese is fully melted and incorporated and the sauce thickens. (not pictured)
6. 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. (not pictured)

To serve: 

1. Slice the chicken and serve it over the fettuccine noodles and topped with the prepared alfredo sauce. 
2. 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

• Olive Garden’s Fettuccine Alfredo is traditionally made with: flour, garlic, milk, cream, butter as well as parmesan and Romano cheeses. If you don’t have Romano cheese on hand you can exclude it or substitute for parmesan, Grano Pradano, Piave, Asiago, or Spanish Manchego cheese.
• It may not be entirely authentic, but I like adding a bit of cream cheese to my pasta sauce sometimes to give it the perfect richness.
• 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, any cooked pasta will work well with this chicken and sauce! 
• 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. And if you’re after a truly rich sauce, go for the king: heavy cream.
• 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

If you love Olive Garden, check out my complete collection of Copycat Olive Garden Recipes!

• Olive Garden Salad and Dressing
• Easy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
• Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Grilled Chicken Margherita
• Pasta e Fagioli Soup
• Olive Garden Breadsticks

Did you make this easy Chicken Alfredo recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!