Here is a healthy version of Olive Garden’s Chicken Alfredo. My kindergartener lives for Olive Garden, so we wondered if we could make a healthier version of Olive Garden’s Chicken Alfredo dish.
I added broccoli and made a lightened-up “alfredo sauce” with chicken broth, skim milk and 2 ounces of Parmesan cheese (instead of using heavy cream, butter and the whole brick of Parmesan. It turned out well! Everyone was extremely happy with this meal.
Chicken Alfredo
Servings: 4
Calories: 478kcal
Equipment
- 1 meat tenderizing mallet
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked fettucine
- 1 broccoli crown (cut into florets)
Breaded Chicken:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 egg (well-beaten)
- 2 tablespoon milk
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 pinch salt
Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon tub margarine or olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2 ounces shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 pinch white or black pepper
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Add the broccoli florets to the boiling pot of water and pasta during the last two minutes of cooking. Blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes. Drain the pasta pot, run the pasta and broccoli under cold water to stop cooking; set aside.
Make the breaded chicken:
- While waiting for the pot of pasta water to boil, start working on the breaded chicken. First, whisk the egg and milk together in a shallow bowl.
- Next, stir together the flour, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper and salt in a second shallow bowl.
- Put the chicken breast on a cutting board, remove all visible fat with a sharp knife, cover the piece of chicken with plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizing mallet to pound the chicken to a uniform thickness (about ½-inch thick.)
- Cut your flat piece of chicken breast into about 3 to 4 large pieces (for quicker/easier cooking.)
- Lightly spray a skillet with nonstick spray and pre-heat the skillet over medium heat while you work on coating the chicken breasts.
- Dip each piece of chicken in the egg/milk mixture.
- Dip each piece of chicken in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess, and lay the chicken in the hot skillet.
- Cover the skillet with a lid. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes per side. The chicken is done when a thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 °F. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate or cutting board (you may need to cook the chicken in batches.)
Make the sauce:
- You can re-use the same skillet, or wipe it clean, or get a new pan.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine over medium heat until it begins to sizzle.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, until it becomes fragrant.
- Whisk the flour and chicken broth together. Pour the flour/broth mixture into the skillet and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Whisk in the skim milk
- Whisk in the shredded Parmesan cheese and a pinch of pepper.
Put it all together:
- Add the broccoli and pasta to the skillet, stir it around until completely coated with sauce, and let it simmer until the broccoli and noodles are heated through.
- Slice the chicken with a sharp knife, and add the chicken to the pasta/broccoli/sauce mixture.
- Spoon into bowls or plates and enjoy!
