There’s something magical about sliding your fork through a plate of perfectly cooked fettuccine coated in velvety Alfredo sauce. The first time I recreated Olive Garden’s Grilled Chicken Alfredo at home, my family couldn’t believe we weren’t sitting at one of those familiar restaurant tables! Now, this 30-minute copycat recipe is one of our go-to family-favorite comfort meals on busy weeknights.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
This Olive Garden copycat Grilled Chicken Alfredo captures everything you love about the restaurant version – a silky, rich sauce that clings beautifully to al dente pasta, topped with perfectly seasoned grilled chicken. What makes it even better? You can make it in just half an hour with simple ingredients you likely already have!
The secret lies in the balance of cream, butter, and Parmesan that creates that signature Olive Garden texture without fancy techniques. It’s restaurant-quality comfort food made simple.
Equipment Needed
- Grill pan or skillet for the chicken
- Large pot for boiling pasta
- Medium skillet for the sauce
- Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients and Their Purpose
- Chicken Breasts – Provides lean protein and a hearty topping that perfectly complements the rich sauce
- Salt & Pepper – Enhances the chicken’s natural flavor and provides seasoning balance
- Olive Oil – Prevents the chicken from sticking and creates a beautiful sear
- Fettuccine Noodles – The traditional pasta for Alfredo with a flat, wide surface that holds the creamy sauce perfectly
- Heavy Cream – Forms the luxurious base of the sauce and provides richness
- Butter – Adds silky texture and depth of flavor to the sauce
- Parmesan Cheese – Provides saltiness and umami flavor, and helps thicken the sauce
- Garlic Powder – Infuses the sauce with aromatic flavor without overwhelming it
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
Here are the steps to prepare this chicken alfredo recipe:
- Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Grill the chicken on each side until cooked through.
- In the meantime, prepare the pasta in a large pot according to the directions. Cook it to al dente and then drain off the pasta water, but do not rinse the pasta.
- Combine the heavy cream and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir and heat until small bubbles form, but do not let it boil.
- Whisk in the parmesan cheese and the garlic powder. The sauce will begin to thicken up.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and add the reserved pasta. Serve with the chicken on top.
- Garnish with parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes
- I use fettuccine, but you can substitute it with linguini or spaghetti. If you enjoy that pasta, this sauce would also be nice with penne.
- When cooking the chicken, I like to saute it on the first side for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then, I flip it for an additional 3-4 minutes. I make sure it’s cooked through before serving.
- If you want to save some of the sauce, remove it from the pan before adding the pasta. Store it in a separate container so you can use it again, and keep it refrigerated.
What can you serve with grilled chicken and alfredo sauce
If you want to do a side dish with the chicken and pasta, I suggest something lighter to pair with this. For example, you may want to start with a fresh, crisp green salad or even some grilled vegetables. My air-fryer asparagus is very easy to prepare.
30-Minute Homemade Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 12 ounces chicken breast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 ounces butter
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder if desired
- 8 ounces Fettuccine or other pasta prepared according to package directions
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Brush the chicken breasts with oil and season them with salt and pepper. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes on the first side. Flip the chicken breasts and grill for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the grill and set aside. Cut the chicken into slices when ready to serve.
- To make the alfredo sauce, warm the cream and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles begin to form. Do not let the mixture come to a boil. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk quickly. Add the garlic powder, if desired, and continue to whisk. The sauce will thicken after a minute or two.
- To serve, place half of the prepared pasta on each plate. Then top the pasta with sauce and sliced chicken breast.
Video
Notes
- I use fettuccine but you can substitute with linguini or even spaghetti. This sauce would also be nice with a penne if you enjoy that pasta.
- When cooking the chicken, I like to saute on the first side for about 5-7 minutes. Then flip it for an additional 3-4 minutes. Make sure it’s cooked through before serving.
- If you want to save some of the sauce, take it out of the pan before adding the pasta. Store it in a separate container so you can use it again. Keep it refrigerated.
Nutrition
Storage and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For best results, store the pasta with the sauce coating it to prevent drying out.
When reheating:
- Stovetop method: Reheat in a skillet over low heat, adding a splash of cream or milk to revive the sauce.
- Microwave method: Cover and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between each until hot.
Get more Olive Garden copycat recipes
- Homemade Chicken Carbonara
- Alfredo with Shrimp
- Gorgonzola Steak Alfredo
- Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo
Favorite Italian recipes
- Cavatini
- Homemade Italian Sausage
- Chicken Scampi Sauce
- Olive Garden Toscana Soup Recipe
- Buca de Peppo Recipe – Lemon Chicken
- Garlic Shrimp Scampi Red Lobster
- Instant Pot Sausage and Pasta
- Mussels Luciano
- California Pizza Salad
Be sure to check out more of the best Italian recipes and easy pasta recipes.
What do you like to serve with Alfredo sauce? Let us know in the comments below. And don’t forget to share your creations by TAGGING ME ON INSTAGRAM. Sign up for my newsletter so you never miss a copycat recipe!
Looks great! Love chicken alfredo.
Thank you very much. It is a very easy dish to make too.
Thanks for this recipe the sauce came out great! I do however wish the title wasn’t “Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo” because you didn’t mention how to make the chicken the Olive Garden way, which has some sort of cheese spice mixture on top of the chicken which in my opinion is what separates OG’s Chicken Alfredo from others. I would definitely love to know how they prepare their chicken for a truly authentic experience. Maybe you can add this?
I will have to go to a different Olive Garden, I have made this the closest way I could based upon the way that my local Olive Garden made it. I will definitely be anxious to try this at another location.
Try adding cubed up cream cheese to their cheese combination. It improves taste and texture. With lobster or crab I would use a dash of nutmeg. Just a pinch. With chicken, I would leave the pinch of nutmeg out. I want to try and bake the dish with buttered panko crumbs on top. Broccoli added too.
Making this tonight for dinner. How much cream cheese did you add?
If you add about 1 to 2 tablespoons that would be enough to help thicken the sauce, but it is not necessary. You can also make the sauce thicker by how you control the heat. Bump the heat up a bit and the sauce will become a little thicker.
I tried this recipe a couple nights ago. I had a hard time getting the sauce to thicken. The recipe says it serves 2, but the amount of sauce it makes is really enough for about 6! It was just OK for me. Maybe I’ll try it again some time. I’m not the greatest cook!
Two things here. Please use the cheese that is not already grated. My next suggestion is turn up your heat just a little more than what you had it, and it should thicken.
I haven’t been to an Olive Garden in years, but now I can have this amazing sauce at home 🙂 Thanks!
I think this sauce is awesome!
hehe! I’m a Texan, too. I’ve lived in some small towns in Texas where Olive Garden was the only place to eat. I admit–I like it 🙂
Hey, I had to drive about an hour to get to an Olive Garden 😉 I like their Alfredo Sauce for sure. Thank you for dropping by.
My kids love alfredo and would certainly love this too!
I hope they enjoy this!
Truth be told I have not eaten at the Olive Garden for years, since becoming gluten-free. And lucky me; now I can make it at home thanks to you Stephanie! This is making my mouth water. Delish!
Well now you can make some Alfredo sauce and serve it up with Gluten free noodles. Thank you for stopping by!
Oh, this looks absolutely amazing!
Thank you Kelly!
Delicious!!!! Thank you ma’am!!!!
I am glad you enjoyed it Nikki!
I also grew up in deep East Texas…Lufkin, Diboll, then on to Houston.
We have had a very similar path!
can you use (half and half) cream, when two different groceries stores and thats all i can find… its Land-O-Lakes half and half.
You can, it won’t come out as thick.
tast good!
I am glad you enjoyed it.
Didn’t this recipe used to include like 3 T of cream cheese?
You can add it if you like to help thicken the sauce. I think I have made Alfredo sauce so many times now, and done videos on it, that I have demonstrated the technique well enough that I have dropped that out of the recipe.
For some reason the sauce came out thinner than I’d like. The taste was great, just too thin. Next time I’ll try using a little less heavy cream. I go a bit heavier on the garlic too. It’s hard to have too much garlic.
Sometimes I find if I turn the heat up just a little more the sauce will thicken.
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll do that when I reheat my leftover sauce. I ended up with plenty since I’m a bachelor.
I totally get this. I actually just make less if you think about this sauce in terms of a ratio you can pretty much make the amount you need.
What’s so bad about the pasta soaking up the sauce? I get storing a bit of the sauce separately if you plan on using that for a white pizza later in the week but not letting the pasta soak up flavor? That doesn’t seem right at all.
I personally don’t like it when pasta gets bloated with sauce. For me, the Alfredo sauce does this in a way I really don’t like. The fats absorb into the pasta and when you reheat it I find that in my microwave that the butter and cream separate, and then you end up with pasty pasta, and the oil in the butter separates and to me, this doesn’t resemble the sauce at all.
It is my personal preference not to have the pasta to become bloated with the sauce. I think it makes it mushy and gross to me. This is my personal preference.
What if its a dinner for 6 do i just triple recipe
I think even if you double this recipe you will have more than enough. I hope you enjoy the sauce.
The Alfredo recipe for olive garden is actually on Olive Garden’s website, which isn’t the same as this, so which one should I go with. I want it to be as close as I can to the restaurants. Thanks
http://www.olivegarden.com/Recipes/Sauces/Alfredo-Sauce/
One day I am going to do a blog post on comparing that recipe to mine. That recipe is the only one I have ever seen for Alfredo sauce that has eggs in it. I have never seen an alfredo recipe that contains eggs other than that one. Think about it, the yolks would make the sauce look dark. The sauce served at the olive garden is not yellow.
10 years ago I used to work for an Olive Garden, we made the sauce in house and the recipe was cream, butter, salt, pepper, and a “secret” 3 cheese blend which I know contained Parmesan, Romano, and a 3rd mystery cheese.
For some time I’ve been wanting to recreate it but have never done so.
I tried your recipe, it’s certainly close.
And the bread sticks were Nickles bread sticks baked in an oven for like 10 minutes then brushed with melted butter and finally sprinkled with garlic powder.
The third mystery cheese is probably cream cheese. I can taste cream cheese in their sauce.
I wondered about the eggs too! No other recipe has eggs in it.
I know, you would think the sauce would look a little yellow with all of the eggs.
I think yours was better. Thank you for posting it and my tummy thanks you too
Thank you very much. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
well if it is on olive garden’s website—that is a no brainer
I am looking for Olive Gardens old San Remo dip that they use to have it was either that name or Sam Reno can;t remember which one if you have a recipe please post it
Is this it? https://dicksstaffsoffer.us/olive-garden-sam-remo-dip/%3C/p%3E
This IS my fave alfredo sauce….I use more garlic powder though.
I like a lot of garlic too.
How much garlic powder?
1/2 teaspoon.