This chicken broccoli Alfredo penne with a healthier homemade Alfredo sauce makes the perfect weeknight meal – easy to make and everyone loves it!
My family absolutely loves pasta (as most probably do), so everyone is happy when I make this chicken broccoli Alfredo penne for dinner.
It’s the perfect choice for a weeknight meal. It’s super easy to make, comes together quickly, and everyone loves it.
Plus, there’s usually some leftovers, so that’s a few less lunches to make the next day. Which always makes me happy.
The only problem comes when there’s not enough for everyone and we have to fight over the leftovers.
This recipe will be in the regular dinner rotation for a very long time I think!
What is Alfredo sauce made of?
This chicken broccoli Alfredo penne uses a lightened up homemade Alfredo sauce. It’s made with milk, butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese, with thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper for seasoning.
It’s super easy to make and is ready in less time than it takes to boil the penne.
I would highly recommend making the sauce instead of buying a bottle of pre-made Alfredo sauce, although that’s always an option if you want super easy dinner prep.
Can you use milk instead of heavy cream for Alfredo sauce?
Using milk instead of heavy cream for this light Alfredo sauce is the main difference. You need to add some flour to thicken it up, but it’s a significant reduction in fat and calories to make it with milk instead of cream. And the flavour is still fantastic.
In all honesty, I probably choose this light version over the real thing 90% of the time – mostly because I always have milk, but not cream, sitting in the fridge. Also, it’s just healthier!
What goes well with Alfredo sauce?
We absolutely love the combination of penne, chicken, and broccoli with Alfredo sauce. But feel free to change it up a bit if you like.
Any pasta shape will work just fine here, so use what you have on hand. I do prefer smaller shaped pasta instead of long pasta like fettuccine for this recipe though.
You can also change up the protein and vegetable if you like to whatever you have on hand.
How to make Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Penne:
- This recipe mixes up very quickly, but it does call for cooked chicken. If you don’t have any on hand, you can easily make it earlier in the day with this Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken recipe. Or make it while you’re cooking your penne and making the Alfredo sauce with this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe.
- I like using a lightened up Alfredo sauce for this recipe, but feel free to change it up and use the real thing. Here is the Homemade Alfredo Sauce recipe I like. For this chicken broccoli Alfredo penne you will need a double recipe of that sauce. It makes about a 1/2 cup more sauce then is called for here so you may not need it all if you go that route.
- This makes a 9×13 inch pan of pasta, and easily feeds my family of five with leftovers for at least a couple of people for lunch the next day.
Here are some more great pasta recipes for you:
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Turkey Manicotti
- Ravioli Lasagna
- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- Baked Shrimp Pasta With Mushroom Alfredo Sauce
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Penne
This Chicken Alfredo Casserole with a healthier homemade Alfredo sauce makes the perfect weeknight meal - easy to make and everyone loves it!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Penne
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 3 1/2 cups Milk, (I used 2%)
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese, divided
- 4 cups Cooked Shredded Chicken
- 3 cups Broccoli Florets, (small)
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the penne according to the package directions in a large pot of boiling water. Drain.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until it is lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring until it is incorporated and smooth.
- Add the thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese, and whisk continuously for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Reduce the heat to a low simmer until the pasta is ready.
- Toss together the cooked penne, chicken, broccoli, and Alfredo sauce, and transfer everything to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, and the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan cheese on top of the pasta.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8 recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 430Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 580mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 34g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
I’ve also shared this Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Penne over on Food Fanatic.
Chris
Sunday 10th of December 2023
Hi Stacey,
I've recently made this recipe and it was very good! I'm wondering if I can make fully cook this recipe and freeze it? Do you think it will be good to freeze? Thank you so much :)
Stacey
Wednesday 13th of December 2023
I actually just tried this a few weeks ago. The sauce freezes just fine, but the pasta ended up being pretty mushy, although I think I cooked it too long for freezing and then left it in the fridge for a day before freezing so I think it absorbed the sauce. I think if you make sure to only boil the pasta to al dente, and freeze it immediately after it cools, it should be good. You can cook it from frozen (same temp), I think it took about an hour and a half, covered with foil for the first hour. Keep an eye on it though and once it's bubbling it's ready.
Julie
Tuesday 23rd of August 2022
Do you need to worry about the sauce breaking? Normal Alfredo sauces can be very temperamental.
Stacey
Tuesday 23rd of August 2022
I haven't had a problem with this sauce breaking, but if you're worried about that, I would just skip the simmering. Once the sauce has thickened a bit, just take it off the heat until you're ready to mix the casserole together. A skin will form on the top but just whisk the sauce together and it should be fine.
Sarah
Thursday 28th of July 2022
I made this last week for my family of 4 (4 and 2 yr. old kiddos) and everyone absolutely loved it. My kids gobbled it up, and we had enough for two dinners. I pressure cooked 6 chicken thighs for this recipe (super quick) and the dish came out terrific. This is on our dinner menu again for next week. Thanks for such a quick, easy and delicious dinner recipe!
Stacey
Monday 15th of August 2022
So glad you liked it!
DeeAnn Mckinney
Tuesday 15th of March 2022
How does it work with frozen broccoli, should it be thawed?
Stacey
Thursday 17th of March 2022
I haven't tried this recipe with frozen broccoli, but I think that I would thaw it and drain any excess water before using it.
Cindee Rees-Kollmeier
Tuesday 26th of October 2021
I’d like to prep this the day before, refrigerate, and bake the next day. I have done this before with other cheese sauces based on the basic white sauce like your recipe. Thoughts? Secondly, would a store bought rotisserie chicken yield enough chicken? Thanks, Cindee
Stacey
Wednesday 27th of October 2021
Yes you can prep this the day before you bake it. You will likely need to add a few minutes to the bake time for it to be hot and bubbling since it will be cold from the fridge but it is fine to prep ahead. A rotisserie chicken should be plenty of chicken for this recipe. Hope you like it!