Zucchini Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Chicken zucchini pasta recipe with garlic, rosemary and a creamy but light alfredo sauce. A zucchini recipe that might have your family going back for seconds.
Zucchini is so bountiful this time of year, and I can’t get enough of it. I’m a sucker for all zucchini recipes, from raw zucchini noodles to fried zucchini. And my recipe for zucchini bread muffins with chocolate chips isn’t so bad either!
So in honor of zucchini recipe season, I thought I’d share this beginner-friendly, cheesy, creamy, garlicky chicken zucchini alfredo rosemary. It’s easy on the dishwasher — you only need a pot for boiling water and a large skillet for the rest — which makes cleanup easy. This zucchini recipe is comforting and cozy, but not so heavy that you can’t go back for seconds!
This alfredo sauce is made with whole milk and parmesan because I like to share recipes that I would be able to throw together with relative ease on a weeknight. It’s creamy, but much lighter than your typical alfredo sauce with lots of heavy cream. On your average day, I’m just not interested in a super thick, rich cream sauce.
But if you want your alfredo to be the traditional, ultra-decadent, opaque white alfredo sauce, swap the milk for heavy cream. The dish will probably even come together faster since less liquid will have to cook off of the sauce before serving. Milk has a much thinner consistency than cream.
If you wanted to cut back on the dairy in this dish, you could substitute the whole milk for full-fat, canned coconut milk. Nutritional yeast can mimic some of the parmesan flavors in this dish, but it won’t be a perfect match.
And of course, if you want to make it vegetarian, feel free to skip the chicken!
Watch Me Make This Pasta Recipe
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Ingredients
- Zucchini
- Chicken breast
- Chicken stock
- Parmesan
- Whole milk
- Pasta
- Garlic
- Rosemary (optional: substitute thyme)
- Olive oil and/or butter
- Salt and pepper
Chicken Zucchini Pasta Instructions
Generously salt a pot of water, bring it to boil, and cook pasta until al dente, or according to instructions on the box of pasta.
Add olive oil into a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add in chicken, rosemary and garlic and cook until cooked through. Avoid fussing with the chicken, but feel free to give it your pieces a turn to ensure both sides cook evenly.
Remove chicken and set aside, leaving fat in the pan (it’s OK to leave some herbs and chicken bits, too).
Add zucchini to the pan, salt zucchini, and cook for about 10 minutes. You want to ensure some of this excess liquid cooks off so it doesn’t thin out the pasta sauce later.
Again, avoid fussing with the zucchini and set aside with the chicken.
Now it’s time to make the sauce. Add stock and milk into the pan, then stir in parmesan. Be prepared to stir often to ensure the ingredients are melting together and the cheese does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If you’re worried about this, feel free to reduce the heat a little bit.
When sauce starts to thicken (after about 7-13 minutes), stir in pasta, zucchini and chicken until evenly coated in sauce. If the sauce is still not at your desired consistency, give it another few minutes on the stove.
Serve while hot and garnish with additional parmesan, if desired! You can also add parsley or red pepper flakes.
Zucchini Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
- large skillet
- medium pot
Ingredients
- 2 zucchinis cut into coins and halved (or cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 lb. chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1.5 c. stock
- 1.5 c. parmesan
- 1 c. whole milk
- 4 c. pasta such as bow-tie penne or another shape that can fit into a measuring cup (a little more than half of a 1 lb. box of pasta)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary or thyme
- 3 tbsp. butter for the pasta
- 2 tbsp. olive oil/butter for the chicken
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente — 10 minutes or less — or according to instructions on the box.
- Add olive oil into a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in chicken, rosemary and garlic and cook until cooked through, about 10 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken chunks. Avoid fussing with the chicken, but feel free to give it the occassional turn to ensure both sides cook evenly. Remove chicken and set aside, leaving fat in the pan (it’s OK to leave some herbs and chicken bits, too).
- Add zucchini and cook for about 10 minutes. Salt zucchini well to help excess water to cook off. Again, avoid fussing with the zucchini.
- Add stock and milk into the pan, then stir in parmesan. Continue to stir until cheese melts into the suace. When sauce starts to thicken (after about 7-13 minutes), stir in pasta and chicken until evenly coated in sauce. If sauce is still not at your desired consistency, give it another few minutes on the stove. Serve while hot and garnish with additional parmesan, if desired!
More Delicious Dinner + Lunch Ideas
15-Min. Lemon-Feta Chickpea Pasta
Sheet Pan Salmon + Honey-Mustard Sauce, Crispy Potatoes
Steak Skillet Dinner With Roasted Potatoes, Lemony Asparagus + Chimichurri
Spring Salmon Salad + Asparagus, Crispy Potatoes, Dill-Yogurt Dressing
Paper-Baked Jalapeńo-Ginger White Fish With Zucchini
Baked Eggs With Goat Cheese In Marinara Sauce
Miso Butter Baked Fish With Roasted Maple Carrots + Rosemary Potatoes
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Honolulu girl obsessed with farmers markets, eating, seasonal ingredients, eating, writing and eating. Read more about me here and get new recipes from me every week @feedthesoulblog.
