Creamy, dairy-free and full of flavor, this Paleo + Whole30 creamy chicken alfredo is an easy, weeknight dinner. The whole family will love this healthy comfort food recipe.
If you like this recipe, you have to try our dairy free chicken recipe with mustard sauce, our dairy free creamy tuscan chicken recipe and this creamy dairy-free chicken thigh recipe. They’re all dairy free and full of creamy deliciousness!
How do you make dairy-free alfredo sauce?
We used cashews as the base for the sauce in the creamy chicken alfredo. Originally, we planned to make this one of those recipes where you have to soak the cashews for several hours to overnight to soften them up.
However, me being a bit of a lazy cook, I forgot to soak the cashews (multiple times of working on this recipe) in advance, so I played with the recipe to make it so you don’t have to worry about pre-soaking. You can just use raw cashews and call it good. The rest of the sauce ingredients add depth and the nutritional yeast gives it a cheesy, umami flavor.
What is nutritional yeast and why do you use it?
Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast, meaning that it doesn’t cause an issue for people with yeast overgrowth or candida issues. We love it because it adds a cheesy, umami flavor to whatever you’re making, which is great for dairy-free recipes like this creamy chicken alfredo!
We used Bob’s Red Mill nutritional yeast and love their products. Be sure to use their nutritional yeast when you make this creamy chicken alfredo or anything else you want to add a little extra cheesy flavor to!
Can I use anything else for the noodles besides zoodles for this creamy chicken alfredo?
We love using zucchini for the noodles since it adds some extra greenery to our plates and it is a lower carb option, but you can definitely use any veggie noodles you and your family enjoy. Some other ideas are sweet potato or butternut squash noodles. You could also use a gluten-free pasta as well, like Cappellos fettuccine or spaghetti noodles.
What if my family doesn’t like chicken thighs?
We used chicken thighs for two reasons. First, they cook quicker, and we are always looking for a speedy weeknight meal. Second, chicken thighs have a little more fat and flavor, which we like. That said, you can definitely make this recipe with chicken breasts instead. Just know the cooking time will be longer. You could cut your chicken breasts (or even thighs) into small bite sized pieces and cook that way to speed up cooking time. Just make sure to cook until your chicken is fully done.
Some other healthy comfort food recipes
- Sweet Potato Chicken Pad Thai
- Easy Chicken Marsala
- Creamy Garlic Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Spaghetti Pizza Casserole
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Your turn to try our creamy chicken alfredo
Whether you’re craving comfort food or just need a quick and easy weeknight dinner, make this creamy chicken alfredo. It’s healthy comfort food your whole family will love. Leave a comment below and let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram, and tag us @realsimplegood. Make sure to give us a follow if you don’t already. We’d love to stay connected!
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Creamy Chicken Alfredo (Paleo, Whole30 + Dairy-free)
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, (can sub chicken breast, but need to cook longer)
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning, divided
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper, divided
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
For the alfredo sauce:
- 1 cup water
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 2 cups raw whole cashews
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
For the rest:
- 1 cup bone broth or chicken stock
- 2 zucchini, spiralized into noodles
- Parsley, chopped , (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Make alfredo sauce by placing all of the sauce ingredients in a high powered blender. Blend until smooth and creamy and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add avocado oil and chicken to pan. Season with half the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Sear for 5-6 minutes undisturbed so a brown crust starts to form. Flip and season with the rest of the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook for another 5-6 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove and set on a cutting board.
- While the chicken is cooking, spiralize zucchini and set aside.
- In the same pan, turn heat to low, add bone broth and deglaze the pan. Then, add in the alfredo sauce. Stir continuously to heat up. Prep everything to put it all together.
- Cut chicken into strips or cubes. Serve with a bed of zucchini noodles (you can heat them up for 3-5 minutes over the stove first or serve as is), sliced chicken and drizzle sauce all over. Top with optional parsley for garnish. Enjoy!
I just discovered your website. Printed a bunch of recipes for using spaghetti squash. I just wanted to give you a complement on your site! Can’t wait to start using some of your recipes!
Tracey
Thank you Tracey, we hope you enjoy our recipes!
Main reason looking at the recipe is for low carbs but u don’t even calculate the carbs
The reason for that is because we don’t classify this as a low carb recipe or note it as such in the post. We have a great selection of Keto recipes here if you’re interested.
I’ve been dairy-free for 5 years and am so happy to have found this recipe. The whole family loved it too. Super easy to make and delicious!! It’ll def be on repeat at our house.
We’re so glad you gave it a try! Happy the whole family enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share a review. We appreciate it.
This recipe was amazing. I thought how good could it be if it’s dairy free? Well boy was I wrong. It was super creamy and flavorful. I didn’t tell my husband it was dairy free until we were done eating, and he didn’t believe me! Will be making this again and again!
I was very skeptical about this recipe, I love chicken Alfredo sauce, but dairy free? It was delicious! I will definitely be making this again and again.
I love hearing that! So glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for coming back to leave a rating and review, we appreciate it đŸ™‚
Genuinely confused because.. I saw myself put in all the ingredients listed, and somehow ALFREDO SAUCE came out of that blender!!! So, so so good. My kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant. Every part of this recipe was perfect. Thank you!!
Hahahaha! We love that! And we’re thrilled you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for giving our recipe a try, and thanks so much for taking the time to come back and share your rating/review. We’re so grateful!
Love love love!! The sauce is simple and absolutely delicious. It always makes a little extra which is perfect leftover dipping sauce.
We’re so glad you love this one as much as we do! Thanks, Taylor. đŸ™‚
Has anyone ever tried this w/ cashew butter instead of whole nuts?
We haven’t but you’ll have to let us know how it turns out if you do!
I ended up making it with 1/2 a cup of cashew butter, I also added a scoop of collagen and the sauce was thick and creamy. This was my first time using nutritional yeast and I like it, I can’t believe I’ve never used it before. My husband and I are on our fourth Whole30 run in two years and I really can’t believe I’ve never had a need for nutritional yeast! Anyway, I had a full 16oz jar of sauce left and I’m trying to figure out how to use it. I really like this recipe!
So glad the cashew butter version worked! We love using nutritional yeast in cooking for that “cheesy” flavor. The sauce also goes great with sweet potato noodles or as a Paleo pizza sauce (for after your Whole30).
So easy & delicious!!
This is amazing, it’s made it into our dinner rotation almost weekly, also like that the ingredients are easy to keep on hand.
Love hearing that Katie!
Thanks so much for replying.
I can have both of those nuts so that’s perfect!
This lifestyle change has been tough. I kept finding candida approved meals but it was mostly salads and just not satisfying. Your blog has been a blessing to me. Heathy but still comforting. And those sauces are heaven.
Thanks for the deliciousness
You’re very welcome, we are so happy you found us and are enjoying the recipes :).
Just tried this recipe and absolutely loved it. However,I’m on the candida diet and just realized that cashews aren’t allowed!
So I was wondering if any other nut would work? I can’t have nuts high in mold and unfortunately that includes cashews.
Hi Jess, you could try macadamia nuts or walnuts (or a combination of those). The color of the sauce might come out a little different with walnuts but we’ve used those before.
Holy sh*t what an amazing recipe. My husband and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. It’s hard to keep leftovers on this one, but we want to keep eating it. New favorite one to keep in the books!
So glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks so much for trying our recipe and taking the time to come back and share! We really appreciate it!
I made this using almonds instead of cashews – I did soak them overnight and then blanched and peeled them. Yum!!
That’s definitely a little more work, but so glad to hear it worked out well and that you enjoyed it! Thanks for trying our recipe and coming back to share! đŸ™‚