Low-Stress Classic Chicken Alfredo Sauce

Where the Classic Chicken Afredo Sauce recipe came from

I got this basic recipe for Chicken Alfredo Sauce many years ago from a professional chef after he had fixed it for us when we were dinner guests at his home. My husband asked if I could get the recipe. The chef said he always fixed it in large quantities for the golf club he worked at and didn’t use a written recipe, so it was a much appreciated special favor that he wrote it down.

The most labor intensive part of it has always been cooking, de-boning, and cutting up the chicken meat. My husband prefers the dark, moist meat of the chicken. But when I saw that Costco has begun selling its cooked rotisserie chicken in sealed packages, I immediately sensed possibilities. True, the Costco package was all white breast meat, but my experience with their rotisserie chickens has been that they are moist and delicious, so I bought some.

I was not disappointed. While I prepared the basic sauce, my husband chopped some of the rotisserie chicken into bite size pieces. Even for my large quantity recipe, it only took about 2/3rds of the package. The only other things to cut were the onion (to be finely diced) and the mushrooms (purchased sliced, but also cut into bite-sized chunks).

A list of ingredients, with some options

If you would like a printable pdf of the recipe, use the button below. Meanwhile, here is my yummy classic Chicken Alfredo Sauce recipe. Most of these amounts are easily divided into smaller amounts for making less sauce, but it does save well in the refrigerator and make great leftovers:

• ½ pound of real butter (two typical sticks)
• 2 generous Tablespoons of chicken base
• ½ cup white wine
• pretty close to 1 and ½ cups of white flour
• 2 cups of cream (you can, of course, make the sauce with only milk, but it will not be as tasty)
• 5 cups of whole milk  (you might add only 2-3 cups at first, then add more to reach desired consistency)
• about 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese (I usually use the Kraft brand, though you could grate your own)
• 1 Tablespoon of powdered or granulated garlic (we frequently use a mortar and pestle to grind up some of my home dehydrated garlic)
• close to 6 cups of cooked chicken pieces (it just depends on how much chicken you like in your sauce!)
• one finely diced onion (The chef told me white onion, but I rarely have one, so almost always use a basic yellow onion. After dicing, it is usually around 1 cup)
• 8 ounces or so of sliced or chunked mushrooms (optional)
• some olive oil for cooking the onions and mushrooms

How to make Low-Stress Classic Chicken Alfredo Sauce

I find it most convenient to saute´ the diced onion and cut up mushrooms first. Heat a medium sized pan (I use a cast iron skillet), then add a bit of olive oil. Cook the onions and mushrooms, stirring occasionally. You can even cover them with a lid to speed up the process and keep them on the moist side.

(If you are going to cook your own chicken, this would be a good time to do that, too)

While these are cooking, or afterward, begin making the white sauce. The sauce can be interrupted up until you add the cream and milk. At that point, you need to give it pretty constant attention so that it won’t clump or burn.

Start the white sauce by melting the butter on low heat, then adding the flour until you get a peanut butter like consistency. I typically stir this with a dinner fork. I always end up using the full amount of flour.

Now add the chicken base and white wine, mixing them evenly.

Over medium-low heat, add the cream and milk gradually while whipping with a wire whip. Once it is all blended, you can switch to stirring with a spoon, but keep stirring as the sauce thickens. It is important to be patient with this step, especially if you are making the larger quantity. It can take a while for the volume of milk and cream to heat up If you try to heat it up too quickly you will probably get lumps and or burn it on the bottom.

Once you have obtained the consistency that appeals to you, stir in both the parmesan cheese and the granulated garlic. The sauce may continue to thicken up some, but you can still add more milk if you want to.

Finally, add the onion-mushroom mix and the chicken pieces. Heat it through.

How I like it

I like to eat the sauce over bow-tie pasta, but of course, any pasta or rice will do. For leftovers, we have even had it on toast. Any green vegetable brightens up the plate and compliments the meal. Broccoli, asparagus, or green beans are some of my favorite pairings with this main course.

The sauce will thicken up even more in the refrigerator. Sometimes I heat it up separately (sauce pan or microwave) with a little added water or milk to smooth it out before I add it to my foundation of pasta or such. However, sometimes I am not willing to do this extra step and it tastes fine when heating with the noodles in the microwave. It is just usually a little more globby then.