Delicate notes of garlic and white pepper combine with the rich depth of a creamy, cheesy sauce in this beautiful keto chicken alfredo.
Love the idea of pasta for keto dinners? Check out my cauliflower mac and cheese, keto eggplant lasagna, or my keto spaghetti squash casserole.
Mama Knows Best.
If you’re new here, hi I’m Lindsey. And my Mama taught me everything I know about cooking — well, almost everything. She’s a comfort food cook (she even has her own blog!), and makes nothing but the carb-iest, most sugar-filled dishes. She taught me everything I know about flavor, texture, and techniques — the low carb stuff I had to learn on my own.
So whenever I set out to make a new dish, I always see how Mama makes it, and modify it from there.
Growing up, her chicken alfredo was a regular. Not only because it’s full of SO much flavor, but because it takes 20 minutes to make. So here’s the low carb version. The magic is in the creamy, cheesy sauce–feel free to sub in your favorite protein or noodles here (although zucchini has NEVER tasted this good!). And enjoy 🤌 – Linds x
Fun fact: my Mom and I get to recipe test in the same kitchen! So each Little Pine Kitchen recipe has her stamp of approval before it hits the web. And now I get to teach her a few things about cooking (the low carb way).
Keto Chicken Alfredo Ingredients
Not much to it! Here’s what you need, and a few adjustments you can easily make…
- Chicken breasts – Feel free to use shrimp instead, or skip the chicken for a vegetarian alternative
- Heavy cream – traditionally, cow’s milk is used — heavy cream will significantly cut down on carbs
- Almond milk unsweetened + unflavored will help thin out the heavy cream, otherwise, the sauce will become too rich
- Red pepper flakes – add more for extra zest.
- White pepper – you can use black pepper, although white is strongly recommended!
- Parmesan – helps to thicken our keto alfredo sauce
Keto Pasta Options
I love to make keto chicken alfredo with zucchini noodles, but you can substitute your favorite keto pasta here instead. Here are some ideas for you…
- Use cauliflower rice instead.
- Use another spiralized veggie, such as summer squash, carrots, or butternut squash.
- Edamame noodles.
- Or, serve the sauce and chicken over steamed or roasted veggies! Thick chicken alfredo with broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
Psst — SKIP shirataki noodles, their texture is too “gummy” for Italian food dishes.
How do You Thicken Alfredo without Flour?
Typically, chicken alfredo sauce is thickened with flour or cornstarch. That said, you can thicken and keep alfredo sauce keto by using extra parmesan (as done here), or even adding a touch of xanthan gum. Other recipes use cream cheese or mozzarella cheese to thicken their keto chicken alfredo — I don’t love this as it changes the flavor of the sauce.
More Keto Pasta Recipes
Low Carb Keto Chicken Alfredo
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 4 zucchinis spiralized (note 1)
Chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts boneless + skinless (note 2)
- salt
- black pepper
Alfredo:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup almond milk unsweetened + unflavored
- 1/2 cup parmesan grated. plus more for serving
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
Instructions
- Zoodles. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, and the zoodles (4) and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute until softened to your liking. Option to skip this step if you like al dente noodles (note 2). Remove cooked noodles to a plate and set aside.
- Chicken. Pat chicken completely dry, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat of your skillet to medium-low, and add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, along with the chicken breasts (2). Sear on each side until golden and the internal temp of your chicken reaches 165 F. Set chicken aside on a plate and cover with foil. After the chicken has rested for 10 minutes, slice and continue to tent until the pasta sauce is ready.
- Sauce. Melt butter (1/4 cup) in the skillet, and add the garlic (1 tablespoon). Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat, and add the cream 91 cup), almond milk (1/2 cup), parmesan cheese (1/2 cup), red pepper flakes (pinch), white pepper (1/8 teaspoon) and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk as the cheese melts into the sauce.
- Assemble + serve. Add the zoodles and toss to coat, then quickly (so the zoodles don't get soggy) dish pasta onto plates. If you'd like your sauce a bit thicker, add 1/4 cup of additional grated parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley (2 tablespoons), sliced chicken breast and additional parmesan. Enjoy!
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Lindsey's Tips
- Noodles - Not a fan of zoodles? Edamame noodles are my favorite substitute here, especially when skipping the chicken (they're high in protein).
- Chicken is totally optional! (in fact, I usually skip it). You can also use shrimp-- just sear on each side until completely pink.
- How much to cook your noodles - personally, I'm not a fan of al dente zoodles, but there's a fine line between not cooked and soggy. So watch carefully!
- Zucchini will release liquid as it cooks, and can water down your alfredo sauce-- this is why it's so important to serve right after tossing the noodles in sauce. If that isn't an option, adding more parmesan will quickly thicken the sauce.
I’ve really come to love keto recipes, and I’m not even actually doing keto. I just love the idea of replacing empty carbs with things like zoodles and other healthy alternatives. This recipe is a perfect example of that.
Yay! SO glad you loved it, Beth!
This is my new favorite low carb dinner! It’s delicious and so easy!
Yay! This is one of my faves too! SO glad you liked it.
Looks like a perfect weeknight dinner! Yum!
Right, Erin?! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
This looks so creamy and delicious!! I can’t wait to try this!!
Right?! Can’t wait to hear what you think, Katerina!
I am so excited to try this! It looks and sounds AMAZING!! YUM!
Hello, Beti! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
I love how quick, easy, and tasty this is!! So perfect!
Yahoo! SO glad you loved it, Sandra!
I don’t usually have Almond Milk on hand, and don’t really want to buy a whole carton just to be able to use 1/2 cup for this recipe. Any other suggestions?
Hi Penny! Hmmm, you *could* try water? Taste the sauce, you may also want to add a dash more cream or parmesan to increase the creaminess. Hope you enjoy! We LOVE this one!
The chicken is extremely tasty and the sauce is so creamy!
Can’t wait to hear what you think, Vikki!