Easy Alfredo Chicken Pasta & Broccoli (with jar sauce) is an easy recipe using simple ingredients that can be on the dinner table in less than 30 minutes!
This broccoli chicken Alfredo recipe has everything we love in a dish. It’s pasta, so it’s comforting. It is also a one pot dish and we love those (especially Lee because he usually does the dishes).
The first thing we do when we get home from work is start dinner. I like to get it done so I can move on to other things. And we are usually very hungry. Most nights we make something that can be ready in a jiffy. Not that I don’t like cooking, but we try to get the most out of our days.
I used to be a stay-at-home mom and I didn’t mind spending more time on dinner. But now that I work full-time, and try to post on my blog regularly, time is more valuable.
How to Make Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
- Brown one pound boneless skinless chicken breasts in one teaspoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add one 15 ounce jar of Alfredo sauce. Fill the jar with water and shake to get the leftover sauce from the jar, pour into pot. Stir in one 14.5 ounce can of chicken broth and one-half cup milk. Add 1 pound of penne pasta. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in two cups chopped broccoli florets, cover and cook for another seven minutes or until pasta and broccoli are tender, stirring occasionally.
- Sprinkle with one-half cup grated Parmesan cheese and allow to melt.
- Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Substitutions & Additions
We use boneless skinless chicken breasts but you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you like. You could also use ground chicken or ground turkey. I have not made this recipe using cooked chicken.
You can use homemade Alfredo sauce if you have it. There are a couple of different brands of the jarred stuff that we like so this is one of those dishes where we get help form the grocery store.
I always have whole milk on hand but you could certainly use low-fat milk or skim milk if that is what you have. I have only made this recipe using cow’s milk.
You could use another short cut pasta such as rotini or shells but the cook time on those is going to be a little less than penne.
I have listed below some other veggies that would be great in this dish.
- spinach
- zucchini
- asparagus
- peas
- mushrooms
- green beans
- cauliflower
The cooking time of these vegetables might be different so you may need to add them into the pot a little later than the broccoli. For example; the spinach would need to be added after the pasta cooks about 11 or 12 minutes because the spinach will only take about 3-4 minutes to wilt down. Just remember that the total cook time for the pasta is about 15 minutes. Some of these are really great options because there is literally no prep time involved.
What we Love About This Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Recipe
- We use our favorite jar Alfredo sauce making it easy peasy!
- We add chicken to give this dish added protein and vitamins. We eat a lot of chicken because it is low in fat. Women’s Health has a great article about the nutritional value of boneless skinless chicken breasts. Check it out!
- Fresh broccoli is one of our favorite veggies and goes so well with Alfredo sauce. We like the way it tastes and love that is is so packed with nutrition. One cup has about 90% of the daily value of vitamin C! You can read more about the health benefits of broccoli at Good Housekeeping.
- You can personalize this dish by using your favorite brand of creamy Alfredo sauce, cut of pasta and vegetable. We hope you will like this dish as much as we do!
Some other easy pasta dishes the whole family is sure to love:
Homemade Hamburger Helper Chili Mac
Chicken Spinach Tortellini Alfredo
Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells
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Alfredo Chicken Pasta & Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 jar Alfredo sauce 15 ounces
- 1 jar water
- 1 can chicken broth 14.5 ounces
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 pound penne or other short cut pasta
- 2 cups broccoli crowns
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + additional, if desired
Instructions
- Cook chicken in olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add Alfredo sauce, jar of water, chicken broth, milk and pasta stirring to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in broccoli and cook for another 8 minutes or until pasta and broccoli are tender.
- Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, cover and let melt. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
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Nutrition Facts
Mine did not thicken, so the sauce didn’t stick to the pasta. More like soup than a creamy sauce that I was hoping for. Seemed like a lot of liquids in the ingredients that didn’t keep the thickness of the sauce.
That’s a bummer it didn’t turn out right for you. In order for the pasta to cook there has to be enough liquid. I would say you didn’t cook it on a high enough temperature. If that happens then you need to cook it until the liquid is absorbed. Watch the video to see how it should have turned out.
To fix it, I ended up pouring out half the liquid and cooking it till the rest had burned off, though it made a lot stick to the bottom of the pan. Not as flavorful and creamy by the end but edible at least.
I love a simple pasta alfredo, you’ve made this look delicious too! Thanks for sharing!
We had this for dinner last night, it is one of our go-to’s. Thanks!
Made this last night and it was DELISH! It was slightly altered as I blackened the chicken and topped the pasta with it when it was all done and I also added about 1/4cup half and half since my broth can was only 14oz and we had extra half and half left from another dish. I used fettucine noodles and did frozen peas and a can of mushrooms and it was so creamy and wonderful. Thank you for the dish idea I have never cooked it like this and it really was a hit my whole family loved including two picky boys. LOL
That does sound delish, we love peas and pasta in a creamy sauce, thanks!
Quick and so very delicious too..a perfect weekday meal!
Thanks, Angie!