5.0 from 2 votes

My childhood best friend moved away when I was 7, but thankfully, our families stayed connected. What I looked forward to most every summer was having a sleepover at their house for one to two weeks at a time. There were a few reasons why I really liked spending time over there – the first was that he always had way more toys and video games than I had. The second was that his parents were super chill and let us do whatever we wanted. The best reason of all was that while I was over there, I finally got to eat a lot of the American foods that my parents would never buy or make.
One of the summers I spent there, his mom introduced me to chicken alfredo, and like many kids, that experience was a core memory for me. I became absolutely obsessed with Alfredo after that.

Chicken Alfredo with Grated Parmesan and Parsley

While the first Alfredo I had was made with just jarred Ragu, my recipe is an elevated version that’s an homage to that specific memory. As I’ve grown and my palate matured, I developed this recipe to suit my own tastes and preferences better.

A habit I picked up from my mom was that she always added a splash of fish sauce no matter what she was cooking. The fish sauce in this recipe really helps round out the rich and creamy sauce and adds this extra punch of umami to an otherwise classic Alfredo sauce.

Pan-Frying the Chicken:

Beyond the sauce, what separates this chicken fettuccine Alfredo recipe from others is how we cook the chicken. Heating the chicken up in a cold pan and slowly letting the fat render out makes the chicken extremely crunchy and moist—the perfect complement to the creamy alfredo sauce.

Step 1: Prep

The first step is prepping all of our chicken. For this recipe, we’re using skin-on chicken thighs, and we’ll have to de-bone the chicken and cut away any excess fat and skin.

Step 2: Season

Season the chicken on both sides with JUST salt. We don’t want to use any other type of seasoning here because we don’t want the chicken to burn during the cooking process. Let the chicken come up to room temperature before cooking.

Step 3: Cook

We will add the chicken skin side down to a cold pan for this method. There’s no need to add any oil, as the fat from the chicken skin will release as we render the chicken. Turn your burner on to medium, and slowly let the chicken crisp and fry in its own fat. Avoid moving the chicken around to let it develop a crust. After 4-5 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown, flip and cook for a few more minutes or until internal temp reaches 165°F. Let the chicken rest and cool down before slicing.

This chicken Alfredo recipe perfectly combines cheesy, creamy, savory, and stick-to-your-ribs pasta that is perfect for any weekday dinner.