20-Minute Dinner: Easy One-Pot Chicken Alfredo

One-pot meals are pretty much the best, and this One-Pot Chicken Alfredo Penne recipe is perfect for those lazy nights when you don’t feel like doing anything except browsing through Netflix for five hours. (No judgment here.) It’s creamy comfort food with protein and a pop of green veggies all in one, so you don’t need to serve anything else with it. And best of all, it can be on the table in 20 minutes flat. (You might even have the ingredients on hand already, depending on what you keep in your pantry and freezer.) Needless to say, this pasta’s a winner.

New to one-pot cooking? It really does work, as long as you follow few basic guidelines. Here are a few tips, inspired by this creamy chicken Alfredo recipe:

• DON’T drain the water after cooking the pasta. Trust. The pasta soaks up most of the water, and the rest goes toward the sauce. (It seems crazy, but it works!)
• But DO drain the veggies. Frozen veggies release a lot of extra water as they thaw, and no one wants watery pasta. Just drain them before adding to your recipe, and you’ll be golden. (This recipe calls for frozen peas, but mushrooms, spinach and broccoli would all work great here.)
• You can substitute any type of pasta for this recipe, but short noodles or shapes work best. If you’ve got shells, rotini or macaroni, use ‘em!
• You can find pulled rotisserie chicken at your grocery store’s deli or salad bar, but any type of cooked chicken will do. If you have canned chicken in the cupboard, or plain cooked chicken breasts in your fridge, go for it. It’s all about what’s convenient!

I think you’re going to love this dish. Enjoy!

Hungry for more? Check out all of our one-pot recipe ideas.