Chicken Penne Alfredo: Everything We Love About Pasta
Who doesn’t love a great pasta recipe? With so many options and ways to enjoy, there’s a favorite out there for everyone, that’s why it’s such a classic dish. Personally, I will always be partial to a creamy alfredo sauce, and if the pasta is nice and tender, I don’t care what kind the sauce goes on. So imagine my delight when we decided to make a deliciously creamy Chicken Penne Alfredo with broccoli, the complete mix of pasta, protein, and veggies all rolled together in a rich alfredo sauce!
Get Cooking Sooner
There isn’t much to it before you’re enjoying this recipe. We used Midamar’s diced halal chicken, it comes pre-cooked, all you need to do is heat it through and add your choice of seasoning, it couldn’t be simpler, and it saves you a step! Aside from the chicken, it’s hard to get simpler than boiling some penne until it’s nice and tender. If you’re using raw broccoli florets, toss them in to boil with the pasta for the last 5 minutes until tender as well. If you’re using a bag of microwaveable steamed broccoli, then you’re making the recipe even easier, and we love where your head is at!
The Secret to Any Sauce: A Good Roux
We love simplicity as much as the next busy home chef, but this wouldn’t be much of a recipe if we told you to go out and get alfredo in a jar. As an alfredo aficionado, I cannot under-state how much I think you should make your own alfredo whenever you can. The quality is far-and-away better than anything you’ll buy, and it tastes even better knowing you made it yourself!
It just takes a little time and patience to get right, but the end result makes it all worth it, and it’s something you can start while you wait for the pasta to boil anyway. Adding the milk to the pot in small batches is crucial to getting a nice, even roux with the right consistency.
Without The Sauce, You’ve Lost
The same goes for the cheese, the most important part of the alfredo! Using freshly shredded cheese is also needed to get it melted right, pre-shredded tends not to melt evenly and incorporate, leaving you with a lumpy or stringy cheese sauce. Take your time to add the cheese in small batches, mixing throughout so that cheesy goodness melts completely before adding more.
Taste the sauce as you go too so you know when to stop if it’s cheesy enough for you, then mix in the drained pasta, broccoli, and heated chicken and fold it all together until everything’s evenly coated and you’re all set.
A Pasta Classic and a New Dinner Favorite
I’ve mentioned a couple times now how much I love a good pasta alfredo, so it should come as no surprise that I loved this one too! It’s hard to beat tender pasta and richly creamy cheese sauce, but the addition of the crisp broccoli and tender chunks of chicken throughout make a great recipe greater.
