Short on time but craving something delicious? This creamy chicken & mushroom fettuccine is your answer—ready in under an hour, with big flavor to match.
This pasta dish is one of those recipes that works every single time. It’s got tender chicken, earthy mushrooms, and a silky cream sauce that coats each strand of pasta perfectly. Takes 40 minutes total and tastes way better than it should for how simple it is.
Whether you’re looking for a solid weeknight dinner or something that looks impressive when people come over, this is the kind of recipe that delivers. The flavors work together—the chicken stays juicy, the mushrooms get golden and rich, and the sauce is creamy without being heavy.
Let’s break down how to make it.
Why This Dish Works So Well
There’s something about creamy pasta that just hits different. It feels indulgent but comes together faster than you’d think. The key is good technique and fresh ingredients—nothing fancy, just paying attention to what you’re doing.
When you sear the chicken properly, you get a golden crust that adds flavor to the whole dish. The mushrooms cook in the same pan and pick up all those browned bits.
Then you build a sauce that’s smooth and luxurious without any weird additives. Everything works because each step builds on the last one.
This is the kind of dish that teaches you actual cooking skills without feeling like a lesson. By the time you’re done, you’ll understand why proper heat, good timing, and layering flavors actually matter.
What You’ll Need
For this you’re gonna need a bit of everything but nothing crazy. The ingredients are pretty standard stuff you can pick up anywhere.
The chicken part needs about 1.5 kg of chicken breasts. Three decent sized ones work best. You’ll also need 300 grams of fresh mushrooms—cremini or button mushrooms are perfect for this.
For cooking the chicken and mushrooms, grab 3 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. You need three cloves of garlic minced up, and one medium onion diced. Add salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of dried thyme to season everything.
The sauce is where the magic happens. You’ll want 1 cup of heavy cream, 3/4 cup of chicken broth, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. There’s also 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in case you want your sauce extra thick, but that’s completely optional.
To finish it all off, you need 1 pound of fettuccine pasta. Get some fresh parsley if you can, extra Parmesan for the top, and you’ll need salt for the pasta water.
How to Actually Make This
Start With Your Water
Fill a big pot about three-quarters full with water. Add a good amount of salt to it—I’m talking enough that it tastes like seawater. This isn’t something to be shy about. Put it on high heat and let it come to a boil. This takes a few minutes so start this first.
Get Your Chicken Ready
While that water’s heating up, take your chicken breasts and pat them dry with paper towels. You need them as dry as possible because moisture keeps them from browning properly.
Take one breast and put it between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound it gently with a mallet or rolling pin until it’s about three-quarters of an inch thick.
Do this for all of them. The whole point is to get them all the same thickness so they cook evenly.
Once they’re pounded out, sprinkle salt, pepper, and half your thyme on both sides. Leave them on a plate while you work on the mushrooms.
Cook the Mushrooms
Get your big skillet hot—medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Wait for it to get hot and smell nutty.
Throw your sliced mushrooms in there.
Here’s the thing people don’t know about mushrooms: you gotta let them sit. Don’t stir them constantly. Let them just hang out for 2 or 3 minutes and get brown on one side. Then stir them around and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes until they’re soft and golden looking.
Season them with a little salt and pepper. Put them on a clean plate. You’ll add them back later.
Get Your Pasta Going
Remember that boiling water? Time to use it. Throw your fettuccine in there. Give it a quick stir so the strands don’t stick together. It’ll cook for about 10 to 12 minutes depending on the brand. You want it soft but still has a little bite when you chew it.
Sear Your Chicken
Back to the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high again. Add the rest of your butter (2 tablespoons) and oil (1 tablespoon). Let it get hot and foamy.
Put your chicken breasts in the pan. This is the important part—don’t move them around. Just leave them alone. Let them sit there for 5 to 6 minutes so they get a nice golden brown crust on the bottom. That crust is where all the flavor lives.
After 5 or 6 minutes, flip each piece over and cook the other side for 4 to 5 minutes. You know it’s done when you cut into it and there’s no pink anywhere inside. If you’ve got a meat thermometer, you’re looking for 165 degrees.
Put the cooked chicken on a cutting board and let it just sit there for 2 minutes. This keeps it from being dry.
Create the Flavor Base
Use the same skillet—don’t wash it. Those brown bits stuck to the bottom are pure flavor. Turn the heat down to medium.
Add your diced onion and let it cook for a minute or two until it softens up. Add your minced garlic and cook for just 30 seconds until it smells amazing.
Grab a wooden spoon and scrape up all that brown stuff from the bottom of the pan. Mix it into the onions and garlic. All that stuff is going into your sauce and that’s what makes it taste so good.
Make the Sauce
Pour in your chicken broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and the rest of your thyme. Stir everything together. Let it bubble gently for 2 to 3 minutes. It’ll get thicker naturally as it reduces down.
If you want it thicker, take that cornstarch and mix it with 2 tablespoons of cold water until it’s smooth, then stir it into the sauce. Let it bubble for another minute and it’ll thicken up more.
Taste it right now. Seriously taste it. Add more salt if you need it, more pepper if you need it. Make it taste how you want it to taste. This is your moment to fix anything that’s off.
Put It All Together
Your pasta should be done by now. Before you drain it, save about a cup of that pasta water. This water is actually useful—don’t throw it away. Set it aside.
Slice your chicken into pieces that are nice bite-sized.
Add the sliced chicken, the mushrooms you cooked earlier, and your drained pasta into the skillet with the sauce. Mix it all around gently so everything gets coated with that creamy sauce. Every strand of pasta should have sauce on it.
Stir in your Parmesan cheese and let it melt in and mix through. If it looks too thick and heavy, add a splash or two of that pasta water you saved. It should be creamy and coat the pasta, not soupy but not super thick either.
Plate It Up
Put it on plates or bowls. Throw some fresh parsley on top if you’ve got it. Add more Parmesan if you want. Eat it while it’s hot.
What You Actually Need to Know
There’s a few things that make this work better than just following the steps.
Dry your chicken really well before it goes in the pan. Wet chicken won’t brown. Use paper towels and don’t skip it. The browning is what adds all the flavor.
Don’t mess with the chicken while it’s searing. I know it’s tempting and you think it might burn but it won’t. Just leave it alone in the hot pan. That’s how you get the good crust.
The brown bits in the pan aren’t burnt. They’re actually the best part. Scrape them into your sauce. That’s flavor right there.
Save the pasta water. Seriously. That starchy water helps the sauce stick to the pasta better and everything tastes more cohesive. It’s something professional cooks do for a reason.
Use actual heavy cream. Not the fake stuff. Real cream makes a real difference in how the sauce tastes.
Keep your sauce on medium heat when it’s cooking. High heat can mess it up and make it look weird. Just keep it steady on medium.
Let the chicken rest for those 2 minutes before you cut it. It keeps the meat moist and juicy. Don’t skip it just because you’re hungry.
Taste everything while you’re cooking. Don’t wait until it’s done. Taste and fix it as you go. That’s how you get better flavor.
Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Fettuccine in 40 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg chicken breasts
- 300 g fresh mushrooms sliced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp cornstarch optional
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- Fresh parsley for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- 1. Boil salted water in a large pot. Pat chicken dry and pound to even thickness. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.
- 2. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. Cook mushrooms until golden (4-5 minutes). Set aside.
- 3. Add fettuccine to boiling water. Cook 10-12 minutes until al dente.
- 4. Add remaining butter and oil to skillet. Sear chicken 5-6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Rest for 2 minutes, then slice.
- 5. In same skillet, cook onion until soft, add garlic for 30 seconds. Scrape up brown bits from pan.
- 6. Add chicken broth, heavy cream, mustard, and thyme. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Stir in cornstarch if desired. Season to taste.
- 7. Add chicken, mushrooms, and drained pasta to sauce. Toss to coat. Stir in Parmesan. Add pasta water if needed for consistency.
- 8. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan.
If you’ve got leftovers, keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pasta soaks up more sauce so it gets even creamier. Reheat it gently on the stove with a splash of cream, not in the microwave. The microwave makes it weird.
You can change things up if you want. Add spinach. Throw in red peppers. Use shrimp instead of chicken. Use different kinds of mushrooms. This recipe is pretty forgiving.
Questions People Ask
Does this actually take 40 minutes?
Yeah it does. As long as you get your water boiling first and then move through everything without stopping, you’re done in 40 minutes. The timing works out pretty well.
How do I tell if my chicken is really done?
Cut into the thickest piece and look inside. If there’s no pink it’s done. Or if you have a meat thermometer it should be 165 degrees inside.
Can I use a different cream?
Heavy cream is the right one. Whipping cream is the same thing. Single cream won’t work because it’s too thin. Get the thick cream.
What if I want to make it lighter?
Mix half cream and half Greek yogurt instead. Add the yogurt at the very end when the pan is off the heat so it doesn’t curdle. It’s still creamy and good but not as heavy.
What about shrimp?
You can do shrimp but cook it way less. Like 2 to 3 minutes per side. Shrimp that’s cooked too long gets rubbery and nobody wants that.
Is it gluten free?
Only if you use gluten free pasta. Everything else is fine.
What do I serve with this?
Bread for sure. Crusty bread that you can use to soak up sauce. And maybe a salad with lemon dressing to balance out how rich it is. Or just eat the pasta, it’s good enough on its own.
Will this impress people?
Definitely yes. Everyone thinks you went to cooking school. Don’t tell them it only takes 40 minutes.
What if something goes wrong with the sauce?
This barely ever happens but if the sauce looks broken or weird, take it off heat and whisk in a tablespoon of cold cream. It usually comes back together.
Can I make it ahead?
You can prep everything beforehand and keep it in separate containers in the fridge. Then just cook everything and put it together when you’re ready to eat. The sauce and chicken keep for like a day in the fridge.
Why You Should Make This
This is a recipe that works because each part is handled right. Nothing’s complicated. It’s just good technique with decent ingredients.
The chicken gets a proper sear so it’s flavorful. The mushrooms get golden and rich. The sauce is smooth and creamy. The pasta is cooked right. Everything works together.
Make this when you want food that tastes like you actually put thought into it. It’s the kind of thing that feels special but doesn’t take forever. It’s reliable and it tastes really good and it’s worth making again and again.
It’s the kind of weeknight dinner that doesn’t feel like a weeknight dinner. It feels like something worth eating.
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