By Spring proper. The azaleas and the wisteria and the bees. Danielle's school is back to in-person, fully, and the relief on her face is the relief of a woman who spent a year teaching second graders through a screen and has earned the right to never look at another Zoom meeting again. She came home Thursday and said, "I hugged a student today. First hug in a year." She cried saying it. I held her and didn't say anything because sometimes the holding is the saying.
Made a crawfish fettuccine — the cream sauce version with crawfish tails, garlic, Parmesan, tossed with fettuccine. Rich, indulgent, the kind of dish you make when the world is coming back and the coming back deserves celebration and the celebration is butter and cream and crawfish and pasta and the absolute refusal to count calories when there are still crawfish in season.
A crawfish fettuccine night called for a cream pasta, and when I looked at what we had, angel hair and chicken were right there waiting — and honestly, the spirit is the same: butter, cream, garlic, Parmesan, something to toss with pasta and set in the middle of the table like a declaration. Danielle deserved a plate that said you made it without any words attached. This one did exactly that.
Creamy Chicken Angel Hair
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz angel hair pasta
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair according to package directions until just al dente, about 3–4 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining. Drain and set aside.
- Season and sear the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry and season generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, 3–4 minutes until golden. Flip and cook another 2–3 minutes until cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- Build the cream sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet. Add garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute until fragrant but not browned. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce begins to thicken slightly.
- Finish with Parmesan. Remove skillet from heat and stir in Parmesan until fully melted and sauce is smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. If sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water a splash at a time to loosen.
- Combine and serve. Return chicken to the skillet. Add drained pasta and toss gently with tongs until everything is coated and cream sauce clings to the noodles. Divide among four plates, scatter fresh parsley over the top, and finish with extra Parmesan at the table.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 680 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 29g | Carbs: 55g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 420mg