Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach and Lemon
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Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach and Lemon is a quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe that’s delightfully fresh, mostly healthy, and family-friendly.
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Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is perennial comfort food. I can’t even count the number of times it’s been on our weekly menu.
I began making fettuccine when our son was young so I could sneak veggies into his all-time forever favorite pasta dish, and it worked!
Fast forward to today– and we’re still making this delicious Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo. Healthy-ish, packed with veggies we love!
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Substitutions
For this Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, I use bagged spinach. If you want to mix it up, kale, collard greens and even swiss chard is a great substitution.
When the pasta is tossed with this creamy Alfredo sauce and brightened with fresh zest of lemon, it’s incredibly tasty.
Keeping Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Easy
This pasta dish is exceptionally simple. Here are a couple of steps to keep it easy for weeknight dinners.
Use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. I like to keep shredded cooked chicken in the freezer for quick and easy dinners.
If you don’t have cooked chicken on hand, cook or poach a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs for 15 to 20 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Use bagged greens for the vegetables, add a slice of fresh lemon and fresh parsley if you have some.
I prefer to make my own Alfredo sauce, but using a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce is greatly enhanced by adding fresh lemon, Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach and Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 package dried fettuccine
- 1 package pre-washed baby spinach
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
- pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
To Make the Sauce:
- Melt butter and saute minced garlic in a large skillet for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour and continue to cook about a minute.
- Gradually add milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Add lemon zest and cook until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Whisk in shredded Parmesan until melted—season with a pinch of nutmeg and salt and pepper.
- When the pasta is cooked, add cooked chicken to the sauce and heat through. Then add bagged spinach and stir until wilted. Finally, add lemon juice and toss with cooked pasta.
Garnish:
- shredded Parmesan
- chopped fresh parsley
- lemon slices
Notes
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.