Honey Garlic Chicken Alfredo

Savor the rich fusion of sweet honey, savory garlic, and creamy indulgence in Honey Garlic Chicken Alfredo!

Jump to:

• Honey, Soy and Butter, on a Whole Chicken Breast
• Which of This Site's Creamy Chicken Pastas You Want
• What You Need, and What the Ingredient Photo Does Not Show
• Cooking It: One Pan, One Pot, Six Steps
• Getting the Glaze and the Cream Right
• Swapping the Protein, the Heat and the Cream
• Storing and Reheating Without Splitting the Sauce
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Honey Garlic Chicken Alfredo

Honey, Soy and Butter, on a Whole Chicken Breast

Two things make this pasta taste the way it does, and neither of them is in the sauce. The first is the marinade: 2 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce with garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika and chilli powder, sitting on the chicken for at least 20 minutes. The second is the butter it is fried in. The chicken goes into 2 tablespoon of melted butter and nothing else, and the honey in the marinade caramelizes against the hot butter until the outside is almost black. That dark crust is the whole dish, and it is why the pan photos look the way they do.

It is worth being clear about the chicken, because the word bites turns up a lot around recipes like this one. There are no bites here. It is 500 g of chicken breast as two thin, even pieces, marinated whole, fried whole, then sliced and laid across the pasta at the end. Nothing is cut up before it hits the pan and nothing is stirred through the sauce.

The cream sauce is built in the same pan straight afterwards, on top of everything the chicken left behind. That is the only reason a sauce made from cream, Parmesan and aromatics tastes of honey and soy at all.

Which of This Site's Creamy Chicken Pastas You Want

There are several creamy pastas here and they are easy to confuse, so here is the short version before you start.

• This one is the sweet and savory one. Honey and soy go on the chicken, not in the sauce, and the sauce itself is plain: garlic, shallot, cream and Parmesan. Chicken breast, served sliced on top.
• Gochujang Chicken Alfredo Pasta is the spicy one. The heat is in the sauce, not the chicken: 2 tablespoon of gochujang and a tablespoon of tomato paste go into the cream, and it uses chicken thighs.
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is the one with vegetables in it. Bell pepper and onion cook into the sauce, the chicken is sliced thin before it cooks, and the seasoning is Cajun rather than sweet.
• Creamy Cajun Shrimp Alfredo Ramen is not pasta at all. It is the same style of cream and Parmesan sauce over two packs of instant ramen noodles, with shrimp instead of chicken.
• Hot Honey Butter Chicken is the other honey and butter chicken on this site, and it is worth knowing about because the names are close. That one is deep fried in potato starch and tossed in a hot sauce and honey glaze, with no pasta and no cream anywhere near it.

What You Need, and What the Ingredient Photo Does Not Show

The ingredient shot above is only the marinade. Everything that makes it a pasta, the butter, the olive oil, the second lot of garlic, the shallot, the cream, the Parmesan and the pasta itself, is not in that photo, so do not shop from it.

For the chicken

• 500 g chicken breast: two pieces of an even thickness, which is what lets the card's 4 to 5 minutes a side cook them through without burning the glaze.
• 4 cloves garlic, minced, plus 1 teaspoon garlic powder: the fresh garlic burns into the glaze, the powder stays on the meat.
• 1 teaspoon each Italian seasoning, paprika powder and chilli powder: the paprika is what gives the raw marinade its orange color.
• 2 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon soy sauce: twice as much honey as soy, not equal parts. That ratio is the dish, and halving the honey to match the soy takes the sweetness out of the crust.
• 2 tablespoon butter: the only fat the chicken is cooked in.

For the sauce and the pasta

• 1 tablespoon olive oil: this goes in the sauce, not with the chicken.
• 4 more cloves of garlic, minced, and 1 shallot, minced: eight cloves of garlic across the whole recipe, which is worth knowing before you start peeling.
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon chili flakes, ½ teaspoon garlic powder: the same seasonings as the marinade, repeated in the sauce so the two halves taste related.
• 1 cup heavy cream and 30 g grated Parmesan: the entire sauce. There is no roux, no stock and no cream cheese.
• 140 g uncooked pasta: the recipe card does not name a shape. It was cooked and photographed with spaghetti, and long strands are what the pan shots show being folded through the sauce.
• Parmesan and chives to finish: chives, chopped fine, are the green in every finished photo.

Cooking It: One Pan, One Pot, Six Steps

The order below is the recipe card's order, and it matters. The pasta goes on before the sauce is made, not after, because the sauce comes together in about three minutes and will sit and thicken while you wait for noodles.

1. Marinate the chicken with the garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, chilli powder, honey and soy sauce. Leave it at least 20 minutes.

2. Melt 2 tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken 4 to 5 minutes a side until it is golden brown and cooked through, then set it aside. Leave everything stuck to the pan.

3. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Keep ¼ cup of the water before you drain it.

4. In the same pan the chicken came out of, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the garlic, shallot, Italian seasoning, chili flakes and garlic powder, and fry for 1 minute.

5. Pour in the cream and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat off, stir in the Parmesan, then add the drained pasta and the ¼ cup of pasta water. Toss until every strand is coated.

6. Slice the chicken, lay it over the pasta, and finish with more Parmesan and chopped chives.

Getting the Glaze and the Cream Right

Honey browns fast, so stay on medium

The marinade has 2 tablespoon of honey in it and sugar colors long before chicken cooks through. Medium heat and 4 to 5 minutes a side is the whole instruction. If the crust is going dark at two minutes the pan is too hot, and the inside will still be raw when the outside is burnt.

Do not wash the pan

Everything the honey and soy left behind is the seasoning for the sauce. The aromatics photo shows them frying in that brown residue, and it is the reason a cream sauce with no honey in it still tastes sweet.

The heat goes off before the Parmesan

Bring the cream to a simmer, then turn the burner off and stir the cheese in. Parmesan dropped into cream that is still boiling turns grainy and the fat splits out. This is the step most likely to go wrong and it is the easiest one to get right.

Keep the pasta water

The ¼ cup of starchy water is not optional seasoning, it is what loosens 1 cup of cream and 30 g of cheese into something that coats 140 g of pasta. Add it with the pasta and keep tossing until the sauce clings instead of pooling.

Swapping the Protein, the Heat and the Cream

More heat, or none

There is chilli powder in the marinade and ½ teaspoon of chili flakes in the sauce, which is mild. Add more flakes to the sauce rather than more to the marinade, because the marinade is also carrying the sugar and it is easy to tip that side out of balance.

Thighs, shrimp or tofu instead of breast

Boneless thighs take the same marinade and the same butter, and are harder to overcook, though they will need a few minutes longer. Shrimp want far less time in both the marinade and the pan, so watch them rather than the clock. For a cream and garlic chicken with no sugar in it at all, Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken is the same technique pointed at lemon instead of honey.

Vegetables, if you want them in

Nothing green cooks into this sauce as written. Spinach wilted into the cream just before the Parmesan goes in, or mushrooms browned in the pan before the garlic, both work without changing the timings. Add them to the sauce, not to the chicken pan while the chicken is in it.

Making it lighter

Half cream and half milk will still coat the pasta, especially with the pasta water, though it will be thinner and it splits more easily, so keep the heat off once the dairy is in. Cutting the honey below 2 tablespoon is the one change that stops it being this recipe.

Storing and Reheating Without Splitting the Sauce

Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 3 to 4 days. The sauce will set solid when it is cold, which is normal, and the pasta will have drunk most of it.

Reheat gently in a pan over low heat with a splash of cream, milk or water, and stir until it loosens. A microwave on full power will split a cream and Parmesan sauce, so use short bursts and stir between them if that is all you have. The chicken is better reheated separately for a minute in a dry pan, which brings the crust back, and then sliced over the top again.

Freezing is not worth it here. Cream sauces separate when they thaw and the pasta goes soft. If you want to get ahead, marinate the chicken the night before instead, which is the step that actually takes time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce?

Yes, and it saves you about three minutes. Warm it in the pan the chicken came out of so it still picks up the honey and garlic residue, and stir in a little extra fresh Parmesan. You will lose the garlic and shallot you would otherwise have fried in that pan, so add a clove of minced garlic to the jar sauce as it warms.

Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?

Not as written, because of the pasta and the soy sauce. Swap in gluten free pasta and tamari and the rest of the recipe is unchanged. Check the Italian seasoning blend too, since some of them carry anti caking agents that are not gluten free.

Can I Make This Ahead of Time?

Partly. The chicken can be marinated up to a day ahead and that is the step worth doing early. The sauce takes about three minutes from cold pan to coated pasta, so there is little to gain by making it in advance, and it will thicken and need loosening anyway. Cook the pasta fresh.

Can I Freeze the Leftovers?

It is not recommended. Cream based sauces separate on thawing and the pasta turns mushy. If you have to, freeze the cooked chicken on its own, which holds up well, and make a fresh cup of sauce when you want it.

What's the Best Pasta for This Dish?

The recipe card just says pasta, and it was cooked and photographed with spaghetti. Any long strand works the same way, so linguine or fettuccine are straight swaps. Short shapes like penne will hold the sauce fine but the chicken sits on top of this dish rather than being tossed through it, and strands give it something to sit on.

And that's it! Honey garlic chicken alfredo, start to finish in about 30 minutes, with one pan and one pot. Trust me, this recipe is going to become one of your go-tos for busy days or when you just want something comforting and tasty.

I can’t wait to see your versions of this dish! If you give it a try, tag me on Instagram (@geniuseatss) and show me how it turned out. I love seeing your creativity in the kitchen, it seriously makes my day. You guys rock!

Happy cooking, and I’ll catch you in the next one!

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