In the pursuit of tasty recipes for two with little left over, I am often stymied by the size of a bottled sauce. The ones most available are made for four, not two. So the challenge is how to have two meals from the same bottled sauce and have them be different. My Sweet Babboo likes Alfredo sauce on pasta, and when I make this, I only make enough for us to have one meal, with maybe enough left over for a lunch the next day for him.
For this recipe, I’ll use two cups of this shell pasta, and half the jar of Alfredo sauce.
Start by browning a couple of chicken thighs in a skillet. Usually I do two, but this package had five in it, so I cooked three and froze two. Sprinkle with your favorite herbs or spices.
Cover while they cook, simmering on medium heat.
Turn over at about 15 minutes to brown the other side.
Continue cooking until done, and remove to a plate to cool a bit so you can take the meat from the bones. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Then, saute a bit of onion in the same skillet, and add the chicken meat back to it.
Top with half of the bottle of Alfredo sauce, and stir until combined.
Add the cooked and drained pasta, toss so the sauce is well mixed with the pasta. Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese and green onion for garnish. A slice of garlic bread on the side is yummy.
Store the other half of the Alfredo sauce in the refrigerator, it will keep for about a week. Next week, we’ll use the rest in another recipe. The quantities are not set in stone, you can use a bit more or less of chicken or pasta as you please. With just four ingredients, I didn’t do a pdf.
Do you have a favorite pasta meal for two?
From My Carolina Home 
Well you could have invited us for dinner and then you could have avoided having any leftovers!! LOL
That looks delicious, especially with the asparagus on the side! (Oh I love spring for the tender asparagus ) I’m always shopping for those SMALL jars, because I want to have a “taste” but not a “full pot” with leftovers for days. We are terrible about actually using the leftovers. I have opened jars of spaghetti sauce, and use some, then put the remainder in the freezer.
It’s hard to top Mary Stori’s comment! So I’ll thank you for the virtual dinner instead. It looks delicious & I bet my family would enjoy tucking into that, especially made with the chicken thighs. They add so much flavor.
This looks yummy, but I’m gonna need to x4 it to make it enough for 8. lol
We enjoy this recipe. One Pot Southwestern Alfredo Pasta by lisa longley Her site “Simple Joy”
Have a great week, I so enjoy reading your posts. They take me back to a simpler time when I was growing up.
That reminds me, I have a half a jar of Alfredo sauce in the fridge. Better go check the freezer for some chicken! Sounds delish. I cook for 3, so this should be perfect. Thanks.
Easy & delicious! My two favorite ingredients! Ha! Happy you’ve pared it down for 2. We have the same issue here in this house. Thank you.
Freeze the other half of the sauce. It doesn’t change 🙂
We are big fans of pasta! Thanks for this quick and easy recipe, Carole!
Thanks for the recipe Carole. I have the same problem cooking for just 2. I make a pasta dish with the Alfredo sauce and salmon and peas. No recipe. We cook 2 frozen 6-oz salmon portions for a meal but will have some left over. The next day I will add the leftover salmon bits plus frozen green peas to the Alfredo sauce and serve it with whatever type of pasta I have on hand. It’s easy and good. If you don’t have any salmon, a few pieces of cooked bacon will be tasty too.
Thanks for all the sewing, gardening and cooking ideas you share with us.
Very very nice, a recipe which is healthy, tasty and economical and FAST! What more can you ask?
Looks very inviting shame your so far away!! Enjoy
Make something very similar but make the sausce also…… Very yummy
The comments are almost as good as the recipe. I have also found some success in freezing the other half of the sauce. Some of the spices go flat and may need some oomph! But the Alfredo is also good on eggs on Italian Bread for breakfast. Thanks.
Yum, Carole! I will definitely have to try this one. I have a hard time cooking anything that is just for two – we almost always have leftovers. But that’s okay – that just means I don’t have to cook the next night!
My favorite pasta meal (for two or ten) is my homemade tomato sauce base (frozen from last summer’s fresh tomatoes!), originally made with caramelized onions, garlic and mushrooms. I will add a protein, most likely hot Italian sausage or possibly clams, fresh herbs (or dried if I don’t have them) and whatever else sounds good at the time — quite often capers and/or kalamata olives or artichoke hearts.It’s usually served over fettucine, though most any pasta would work! Beats Olive Garden!
You must be an excellent cook. I’ve used just about every recipe you have provided. They are all tasty and have been incorporated into our rotary of meals.
Yummy! I’ve not done chicken with Alfredo; DH a might like that, as he does like Alfredo. We are fortunate…we are still using the Parmesan Girl #2 brought back from Italy 2 years ago to make it from scratch. (I think we had close to 10 pounds in the freezer!)
Hi I have the same problem cooking for two. I bought America’s Test kitchen Cooking for two cook book. It comes in handy.
Hi Carole, This looks perfect for me to fix and get two meals on, one to freeze and one to eat now and so easyto make. Thanks so much for sharing, Phyllis