This One-Pot Chicken Shrimp Pasta Alfredo is a comforting dinner for the whole family that gets on the table in no time! We cook penne pasta in a creamy homemade Alfredo sauce, then add rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked shrimp – it's a fast and easy recipe for the busy home cook!
Who doesn't love easy and tasty meals with minimal cleanup? If you wonder how to make Alfredo sauce from scratch, it's super easy!
All you need is to mix butter with garlic, herbs, white wine, cream, and cream cheese. Because we cook pasta in the same pot, the starchy water thickens it up nicely without the need for flour.
We also have nothing against Alfredo from a store-bought jar, especially when making our mini spaghetti nests, but homestyle pasta alfredo sauce is absolutely the best!
📃 Why it Works
- It makes an easy and quick weeknight meal – ready in just 30 minutes!
- It's a simple and delicious dish with hardly any prep.
- It comes together all in one pot for easy cleanup - no extra pots, pans, lids, spoons, or colanders to wash.
- The sauce doesn't use thickening agents - no flour or cornstarch.
- You can easily tweak it based on what you have in stock (*see "Variations" below).
Even though I'm not a shrimp lover, except for bang-bang, this creamy pasta Alfredo with shrimp and chicken is in rotation at my house quite often (lucky for my husband).
It's a filling dish that tastes like something you'd order at an Italian restaurant, such as Olive Garden – perfect for birthday parties and family gatherings.
What is Alfredo sauce?
We owe the name of this dish to Alfredo di Lelio, who featured pasta with the rich, creamy sauce by preparing it at the table in his restaurant.
The authentic sauce consists of only butter and parmesan and is tossed with pasta (pasta al burro e Parmigiano), traditionally fettuccine.
Pasta Alfredo is prevalent in America, but with heavy cream, garlic, spices, and garnish like chicken and other ingredients.
🛒 Ingredients and Notes
Chicken: To speed up the cooking process, we use rotisserie chicken - either breast or legs with or without the skin. This dish is perfect to use up any leftover chicken or turkey meat. Or simply cook or brown/bake a large chicken breast until no longer pink.
Shrimp: Pre-cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp makes for a fast meal any day of the week, but you can substitute it with raw. Here's a good guide on how to clean raw shrimp. If using uncooked, cook the shrimp for 3-4 minutes in butter until they're are pink and opaque, then transfer to a plate before adding garlic and onion powder in step one of the recipe.
Pasta: We used penne pasta, but rigatoni and bowtie pasta work excellent, as do egg noodles or other long pasta like fettuccine, linguine, and spaghetti. It is especially scrumptious with homemade pasta (if you feel extra ambitious).
🔪 Instructions
Start by melting together some butter, garlic, onion powder, and a pinch of red pepper. Adjust the amount of the red pepper to your liking or leave it entirely out. You could also add herbs like dried oregano and basil. Cook until the garlic is fragrant but be careful not to burn it. Add white wine and simmer to reduce by half.
Then pour in water and salt and bring to a boil. Make sure your pot is large enough - mine, pictured, is a 3 q Dutch oven. Once the water boils, add penne and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes - check the package directions). Do not drain the water!
Stir in the heavy cream with softened cream cheese and parmesan, then cook until the cheeses have melted into the perfectly creamy sauce.
Now you want to add your shrimp and chicken and toss everything together. Check your seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste. Then remove from the heat and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley for additional flavor.
👉 Variations
- You can get creative with seasonings – add nutmeg, Italian seasoning, or Cajun seasoning for a dish with Louisiana flavors.
- Use different proteins: pork medallions, bacon, chorizo sausage, or smoked salmon.
- Add spinach, broccoli, or leftover veggies from another meal like bell peppers, mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, or cauliflower.
- Roasted garlic will add a deeper, richer flavor.
- Use fettuccine or bowtie pasta instead of penne.
- Drizzle with lemon juice – it brings out flavors in all pasta!
- Sprinkle with Italian-style breadcrumbs.
- Make sure your cream cheese is very soft. It will melt quickly into a perfectly smooth texture.
- Don't overcook the pasta. It will keep cooking even after you remove it from the heat. Cooked al dente (check the package directions), the pasta will keep its shape and have the perfect texture.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese is always the best, and I use it whenever I have the time. This simple grater works just as well as the more expensive ones.
- Your sauce might seem thin and excessive at first but have no fear – your pasta will absorb it as it cools down.
- You can use any leftover baked or cooked chicken or turkey meat instead of rotisserie chicken (*see "variations" above).
- I like to check my peeled and deveined shrimp for any residual veins and tailpieces before tossing them into the pot.
- If you already have raw shrimp on hand, by all means, use that. For a nice presentation, use medium to large-size shrimp and either take the tails off before cooking or leave them on (you can bite them off when you eat).
- You can easily double or half this pasta Alfredo recipe. Make sure to use a larger pot if you are making extra. You can use a large 12" cast-iron or non-stick skillet with a lid if you don't own a Dutch oven for a smaller portion.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for a lighter sauce without all the calories, use milk. Note: you might have to cook the sauce longer to thicken.
First, let it cool down at room temperature - then store it covered in a fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a bit of chicken broth or water and reheat slowly over low heat. Do not let it boil!
Dairy-based sauces and pasta don't do well in the freezer. The sauce will likely separate when cooled and reheated, so this would not be a good recipe for freezing.
- Marinated Spicy Shrimp with Pasta
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Linguine
- Thai Noodle Salad with Shrimp
- One-Pot Chicken Rice Dinner
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One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Alfredo
EQUIPMENT
- 3 Q Dutch oven or a large non-stick pot.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- A pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
- 10 oz. penne pasta
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup dry white wine
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups chopped boneless rotisserie chicken, breast or thighs
- 10-12 oz cooked medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails optional (if frozen, thawed)
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or a pot set over medium heat, melt together the butter, garlic, onion powder, and a pinch of red pepper, if using. Cook 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Pour in the wine and simmer to reduce by half (for another 2-3 minutes), scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan if necessary.
- Pour in 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, lower the heat, and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes - check the package directions). Do not drain the water!
- Stir in the cream and cream cheese and cook until the cream cheese has melted and the pasta is al dente, about 4-5 minutes more.
- Stir in the parmesan until melted and creamy. Add shrimp and chicken and gently toss everything together. Remove from the heat; stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon the pasta into bowls and top with extra parsley and parmesan if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure your cream cheese is very soft. It will melt quickly into a perfectly smooth texture.
- Don't overcook the pasta. It will keep cooking even after you remove it from the heat. Cooked al dente (check the package directions), the pasta will keep its shape and have the perfect texture.
- Your sauce might seem thin and excessive at first but have no fear – your pasta will absorb it as it cools down.
- I like to check my peeled and deveined shrimp for any residual veins and tailpieces before tossing them into the pot.
- If you already have raw shrimp on hand, by all means, use that. For a nice presentation, use medium to large-size shrimp and either take the tails off before cooking or leave them on (you can bite them off when you eat).
- You can easily double or half this recipe for pasta Alfredo. Make sure to use a larger pot if you are making extra. For half the recipe, you could use a large 12" cast-iron or non-stick skillet with a lid if you don't own a Dutch oven.
- Store cooled leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a splash of chicken broth or water and reheat slowly over low heat until very warm or hot if you prefer, but do not let it simmer.
- For variations and substitutions, please see the post above.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used and serving size.
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