Creamy buffalo chicken alfredo with Cajun seasoned chicken is made easily in just one-pan. You can whip up with one-pot chicken alfredo in 30 minutes and with lightened up ingredients, you don’t have to feel guilty eating chicken alfredo on a weeknight.
Using a combination of milk, chicken broth and cream cheese, the pasta is cooked right in the alfredo pan sauce which is so ideal when you’re looking for a low maintenance tasty and hearty dinner.
One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
Talk about a (less-guilty) comfort food! This easy and delicious buffalo chicken alfredo is adored by kids and adults alike. Combining cream cheese and buffalo wing sauce right in the pasta sauce, you’ll get a lusciously creamy, tangy pasta without using any heavy cream. It has just a kick of heat but isn’t spicy.
Want to make this lighter? Substitute the cream cheese with cottage cheese – just be sure to blend it first to get it smooth and free of curds. See my recipe card for substitute measurements.
Key Ingredients
In this buffalo chicken alfredo, we’ll be using easy ingredients you may already have in your kitchen.
Chicken breast – boneless skinless breasts are pounded to a 1/4 inch thick to ensure maximum tender juiciness. You can also use thighs or tenderloins.
Long Noodles – use your favorite long pasta noodles such as fettuccini. Or my favorite, Mafaldine Noodles.
Buffalo Sauce – use the wing sauce, like Frank’s.
Seasonings – cajun blackened seasoning to coat the chicken and a little extra for the pasta sauce.
Garlic – fresh garlic is essential in alfredo sauce!
Butter & Olive Oil – a combination of both are used. Just 2 tablespoons of butter is all we need.
Milk – instead of heavy cream, this recipe only calls for milk. Don’t be worried about it being too light, the starch from the pasta and cream cheese help thicken this right up.
Chicken Stock – more flavorful than broth. I always recommend unsalted stock so that you can control the saltiness.
Cream Cheese – 1/2 of the block is all we use in this recipe. You can substitute this with 4 oz of cottage cheese (blended smooth).
Parmesan cheese– freshly grated or just grab one that’s already grated in the dairy aisle if you need to save time. Just be sure it doesn’t have any fillers/preservatives.
Green Onions – optional garnish but I like the light onion flavor they add.
How to Make One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
Make the Chicken
In a large skillet, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and heat to medium. Add in the seasoned chicken breasts and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Flip just once, turn down heat to low and continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Set aside on a plate tented with foil.
Make the Alfredo Sauce
Into the same skillet on medium low add 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, scraping up the brown bits in the pan as it cooks. Pour in chicken stock, milk, buffalo sauce, and 1 teaspoon seasoning. Bring to a low boil.
Add Pasta
Finish the Alfredo Sauce
How To Make This Healthier
This buffalo style one-pot chicken alfredo is already a lightened up version of it’s full-fat counterpart. There are two recommendations for making this alfredo healthier:
- Substitute the cream cheese for the equal amount of cottage cheese that has been blended smooth to rid any curds.
- Use a high protein or whole grain pasta.
- I never recommend low fat cream cheese as the taste and texture is too much of a compromise to quality in any recipe, in my opinion. But feel free to make that swap if you are a fan of light cream cheese.
How to Avoid Sauce from Separating
There are a few ways to ensure your alfredo sauce doesn’t separate or curdle. Follow these tips and you’ll have perfect creamy alfredo sauce every time:
- Room Temp Dairy – make sure your dairy is at room temperature before adding. To speed up this process, place the measured milk in the microwave in 10 second increments until the chill from the fridge is gone. Do the same process with the unwrapped and cubed cream cheese on a plate.
- No High Heat – Be sure the heat isn’t too hot in the pan. A medium low should be just fine.
- Rescue – If you do find your sauce has separated, add a 1/4 cup of heavy cream and whisk continuously until it emulsifies.
- Don’t confuse a separated sauce with the small specks of unmelted cream cheese. Just keep it on low heat and give it a few minutes to fully melt through and the small specks will melt.
Did you love this easy one-pot chicken alfredo recipe? Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback. Don’t forget to tag me on IG with any photos; @BadBatchBaking and use #BadBatchBaking
Buffalo One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast, pounded to 1/4 inch thick thighs and tenderloins work too
- 10 oz dry long noodles fettucini, mafaldine, etc.
- 3 tablespoons cajun seasoning, divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5 cups chicken stock
- 2.5 cups milk, room temp
- 1/2 cup Frank's buffalo wing sauce
- 4 oz cream cheese* cut into cubes and room temp
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Season chicken with most the cajun seasoning, reserving 1 teaspoon to add into the sauce.
- In a large skillet, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and heat to medium. Add in the seasoned chicken breasts and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes.
- Flip just once, turn down heat to low and continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Set aside on a plate tented with foil.
- Into the same skillet on medium low add 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, scraping up the brown bits in the pan as it cooks.
- Pour in chicken stock, milk, buffalo sauce, and 1 teaspoon seasoning. Bring to a low boil.
- Into the sauce, add in the pasta and once it softens slightly (1 minute), it should be flexible enough to nestle it into the pan and submerge in the liquid (or you can break the pasta in half if you prefer).
- Keep the sauce on a low simmering boil, allowing the pasta to cook through to al dente, about 8-10 minutes.
- Once the pasta is almost cooked, add in the cubed cream cheese. Stir and toss the pasta until it fully melts and there are no more specks of cream cheese remaining, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust with more buffalo sauce if you desire.
- Add in the parmesan cheese and sprinkle pasta green onions. Top with sliced chicken and optionally drizzle with buffalo sauce before serving.
Notes
- Substitute the cream cheese for the equal amount of cottage cheese that has been blended smooth to rid any curds.Â
- Be sure to use room temp dairy to prevent the sauce from separating, if it does - add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and whisk continuously until the sauce comes back together.
- To speed up the process of getting dairy room temp,place the measured milk in the microwave in 10 second increments until the chill from the fridge is gone. Do the same process with the unwrapped and cubed cream cheese on a plate.
- Don't confuse a separated sauce with the small specks of unmelted cream cheese. Just keep it on low heat and give it a few minutes to fully melt through and the small specks will melt.
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