Chicken Alfredo

Michael Eisenwasser

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Pan-seared chicken over gluten-free fettuccine tossed in a Parmesan cream sauce with garlic-infused oil and scallion greens.

Prep 10 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 4

Gluten-free

Ingredients

Chicken and Pasta

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz / 170 g each), sliced horizontally into 4 thin cutlets
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 10 oz (285 g) gluten-free fettuccine (Jovial brown rice, Tinkyada, or Barilla Gluten Free; avoid legume-based pastas like chickpea or lentil)

Alfredo Sauce

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups heavy cream (1/2 cup per serve)
• 1 1/2 cups (160 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese (40 g per serve), plus more to finish
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons scallion greens, thinly sliced, to finish
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, to finish

Instructions

Sear the Chicken

1. Pat the cutlets dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the garlic-infused oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
3. Sear the cutlets in a single layer, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through (165°F / 74°C at the thickest point).
4. Transfer to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and rest while the pasta cooks.

Cook the Fettuccine

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the gluten-free fettuccine to the time on the package (usually 7 to 9 minutes).
2. Before draining, scoop out 1 cup of the starchy cooking water and set it aside.
3. Drain the pasta. Do not rinse.

Build the Sauce

1. Wipe the skillet clean and return it to medium-low heat. Melt the butter.
2. Pour in the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it just starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.
3. Turn the heat to low. Add the Parmesan in two additions, whisking between, until smooth. Whisk in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Toss and Finish

1. Add the drained fettuccine to the sauce and toss with tongs until every strand is coated. Use the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Add a tablespoon at a time until the sauce clings without pooling.
2. Slice the rested chicken against the grain and fold it in or fan it over the top.
3. Finish with scallion greens, parsley, and extra Parmesan. Serve right away. Gluten-free pasta tightens as it cools.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use rice or corn-based gluten-free pasta, not legume blends. Jovial brown rice, Tinkyada, and Barilla Gluten Free often work well on the low-FODMAP diet; check Monash and your brand's ingredient label. Chickpea, red lentil, and black bean pastas are high-FODMAP at pasta serves and can undo the rest of the recipe.
• Heavy cream keeps the lactose lower. Heavy cream has less lactose than milk cup for cup, and Monash lists a low-FODMAP serve at 1/2 cup. Do not swap in milk or half-and-half; both have more lactose at this volume. Lactose-free cream is an easy swap if you want a little more wiggle room.
• Keep Parmesan at 40 g per serve. Aged hard cheeses lose most of their lactose during aging, and Monash lists Parmesan at 40 g per serve. Four servings at 40 g each is 160 g total, which is what the recipe calls for. Grate from a block so it melts smoothly; pre-grated shakers often add anti-caking starches that can clump in the sauce.
• Don't add raw garlic or onion. The garlic-infused oil carries the garlic flavor because the fructans in garlic don't move into the oil when the solids are strained out. Scallion greens add that oniony bite an onion would contribute without the high-FODMAP white parts.
• Watch the nutmeg. A tiny grating deepens the sauce and is traditional in alfredo. More than 1/8 teaspoon across the whole pan will dominate; keep it very light.
• Finish the pasta in the sauce, not the pot. Tossing drained pasta directly into the cream sauce over low heat lets the starch on the noodles emulsify with the cream. Use the reserved pasta water to adjust the sauce. Add a tablespoon at a time to loosen it.

Why This Works

Garlic-infused oil does the job of garlic cloves. Fructans, the FODMAPs in garlic, are not oil-soluble, so a properly infused oil with the solids strained out carries the flavor without the fructans. The homemade garlic-infused olive oil is the foundation of this sauce — follow its food-safety storage notes, or use a commercial garlic-infused oil.

Cream and aged Parmesan are naturally lower in lactose. Heavy cream carries less lactose per volume than milk, and Monash clears a 1/2-cup serve. Aged hard cheeses like Parmesan lose most of their lactose during aging, and Monash clears 40 g per serve. Both amounts are what the recipe calls for.

Rice-based gluten-free pasta replaces wheat fettuccine cleanly. Wheat pasta is high in fructans at standard serves. Rice and corn gluten-free pastas carry no fructans and behave nearly the same in a cream sauce. Legume pastas are a common trap — they're gluten-free but high-FODMAP at a pasta serve.

Scallion greens finish the allium layer. The green tops of scallions are low-FODMAP; only the white bulbs are high. A small handful at the end gives the sauce the savory lift a sauteed onion would, without the fructans.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Cream-based sauces thicken considerably once chilled — reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk-free cream or reserved pasta water, stirring until loose. The microwave works in 30-second bursts with stirring in between. Freezing is not recommended; dairy sauces break on the thaw and gluten-free pasta turns mealy. Cook fresh when possible.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.