Fettuccine Pumpkin Alfredo With Sage Chicken
This Fettuccine Pumpkin Alfredo with Sage Chicken is the ultimate dinner to enjoy during the fall. Made with juicy and tender chicken breasts perfectly seasoned with sage and spices. Pumpkin Alfredo sauce made with pumpkin puree, parmesan cheese, coconut milk, and almond milk. It's creamy and rich yet light and healthy.
Ingredients
For Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce:
- 1 tbsp butter (any preferred butter)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
For Sage Chicken:
- 1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
- 2 tbsp fresh sage
- 1/2 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp butter (any preferred butter)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 14 oz preferred fettuccine pasta (I used brown rice pasta)
Instructions
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Pat dry chicken breasts and butterfly them. In a small mixing bowl combine all spices, herbs, butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil for chicken. Rub chicken with mixture and allow it to sit and marinade while you get the rest of ingredients prepped.
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Fill a large pot with water and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of salt. Stir and place on stovetop on high heat. Bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. How long the pasta will cook will depend on what kind of pasta it is. If it's gluten-free or wheat, what kind of guten-free flour is used and even the brand. Once pasta is cooked, drain (reserving 1 cup of the water) and place back in pot. If using gluten-free pasta, drizzle with a bit of oil to prevent it from sticking together.
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While water boils and pasta cooks, place a medium sauce pan on stovetop and turn to medium-high heat to start making your pumpkin alfredo sauce. Add butter and olive oil to heated surface. Once butter starts to melt, toss in minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Sprinkle with pink sea salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Add in pumpkin puree, parmesan cheese, coconut cream and almond milk and stir until ingredients are well combined. Sprinkle in fresh parsley and pour reserved pasta water in sauce. Bring sauce to a light simmer. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
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While Alfredo simmers, drizzle rest olive oil for chicken over a cast iron skillet. Bring to a heat on medium-high. Place marinaded chicken on heated skillet rubbing the rest of herb mixture over it if desired. Pan fry chicken for 7 minutes. Turn over chicken breasts and pan fry for another 7 minutes. Remove cooked chicken from heat and slice into bite sizes. Set to the side.
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Add cooked pasta to skillet where chicken was cooked (do not wipe skillet, this gives pasta more flavor). Pour pumpkin alfredo over pasta and toss making sure pasta is well coated. Stir in chicken also making sure it's well combined with the pasta and coated with alfredo sauce.
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Serve while still warm and garnish with more fresh sage if desired. Top with freshly grated parmessan cheese. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips for making Fettuccine Pumpkin Alfredo with Sage Chicken:
- Make sure to butterfly chicken breasts- This will allow chicken breasts to cook evenly and through.
- Follow package cooking instructions- Gluten-free pasta cooks differently from regular pasta. In addition, different gluten-free pastas cook differently from others. This varies depending on the brand, type of gluten-free flour, etc. Make sure to follow package instructions on how to cook the gluten-free pasta you’re using for cooking it al dente.
- Salt your water- This adds flavor to your pasta.
- Drizzle a bit of oil on your cooked pasta once it’s drained and rinsed- Gluten-free pasta tends to clump up and stick together as it cools off. Drizzling a bit of oil over it and stirring wile it’s still hot will prevent it from sticking together. I like to use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil for this.
- Reserve water you cooked your pasta in- Reserved pasta water will still be helpful in thickening your pumpkin alfredo sauce and adding more flavor to it.