Perfect Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Penne Pasta #chicken #pasta

These chicken breast, broccoli, garlic in a simple homemade cream sauce. Everybody (both kids and adults) love this delicious and creamy pasta dish!

I’ve made this chicken alfredo pasta so many times and used different kinds of cheeses. This recipe works with Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, all shredded. I use short pasta (penne) which I find is perfect for creamy sauces as it feels like you get more sauce with each bite with short pasta.

You’ll Need:

• 10 ounces broccoli
• 8 ounces penne pasta (for gluten free, use gf brown rice penne)
• 1.5 pound chicken breast (1 large chicken breast)
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese, or Mozzarella cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese , shredded
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cook broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain well. Cut into small florets.
2. Cook pasta al dente, drain.
3. In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium-high heat (until hot but not smoking) and saute chicken breast (seasoned generously with salt and pepper on both sides) for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the skillet from heat, cover with the lid, and let the chicken rest, off heat, covered, until chicken is no longer pink in the center and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
4. Add minced garlic to the same skillet and cook it in chicken juices and oil remaining in the pan, scraping up the chicken bits from the bottom of the pan, on medium heat for about 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant, making sure to avoid burning. Add cooked and sliced broccoli and mix in with garlic. Remove from the pan.
5. To make the creamy sauce, in the same skillet heat up 1 cup of heavy cream until it boils. Immediately add the cheese and stir until melted and nice and creamy. Reduce heat to medium-low, and slowly, in small portions, add milk, constantly stirring, simmering, until nice and creamy consistency is reached.
6. Add cooked pasta to the creamy sauce, then add broccoli. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Top with sliced, cooked chicken.