Creamy Chicken, White Wine & Avocado Fettuccine

A softly creamy fettuccine with tender chicken, a splash of white wine, and fresh avocado folded through off the heat. A squeeze of lemon at the end brings the whole dish into balance, ready in about thirty minutes on one stovetop pan and a pasta pot.

When the kids were little, pasta was the one dinner nobody argued about, and most nights it was on the table in some form. Bolognese did a lot of heavy lifting in those years, but there were only so many times a week I could face the same pot of red sauce, so this creamy chicken version became the change of pace. It had to be fast, it had to be easy, and it still had to taste like a proper dinner, and somewhere along the way the exact recipe faded while the feeling of it stayed. Recreating it now, it has grown up a little. White wine in the pan, a light glossy sauce rather than a heavy one, and ripe avocado folded through at the very end so it stays creamy and green against the pasta. A final squeeze of lemon pulls it all together. Still simple, still quick, just a little more considered than it was back then, and proof that food does not have to be complicated to be memorable.

Prep: 10 min · Cook: 20 min · Serves: 4 · Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Creamy Chicken, White Wine & Avocado Fettuccine

• 400g fettuccine
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small chicken breasts, diced small
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ¾ cup cream
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Lemon wedge, for finishing

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook fettuccine until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add diced chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly golden. Remove and set aside. To use pre-cooked roast chicken instead: skip this step and add chopped cooked chicken to the sauce later, just long enough to warm through.
3. In the same pan, add onion and cook until soft and lightly sweet. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Pour in the white wine and allow it to simmer and reduce for 2–3 minutes, until the alcohol smell has cooked off.
5. Add chicken stock and allow it to reduce slightly. Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Return the chicken (and any juices) to the pan. Add the cooked fettuccine and toss through the sauce. Allow the sauce to gently simmer and reduce for approximately 4 minutes, tossing regularly, until it begins to coat the pasta. If needed, add a small splash of reserved pasta water to help emulsify.
7. Turn off the heat. Gently fold through the diced avocado and chopped parsley. Add a small squeeze of lemon juice and season with additional salt to taste, this is where the dish comes together.
8. Finish with freshly cracked black pepper and serve immediately.

Notes

The sauce should be light and glossy rather than thick. If it tightens up, a splash of the reserved pasta water loosens it back to where it should be.

Always fold the avocado through off the heat. Warmed gently by the pasta it stays creamy and holds its shape; cooked in the sauce it turns soft and muddy.

Taste right before serving. The final pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon are what lift the dish, so do not skip them.

Fettuccine is a generous, filling pasta, so this serves four comfortably as written without needing anything added.

Serving Suggestion

On busy nights this needs nothing alongside it, but when there is time for a little more, a crisp green side balances the cream beautifully. Garlic Chilli Lemon Broccolini echoes the lemon already in the dish, or a bowl of Green Goddess Cabbage Salad brings freshness and crunch. To get dinner on the table even faster, use The Grace Table Dry Brined Roast Chicken Breast cooked earlier in the week, cut into bite-sized pieces and warmed through in the sauce.

Storage Notes

Cream sauces and avocado are both best fresh, so this dish is happiest eaten the night it is made. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days; reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce, and expect the avocado to soften into the sauce rather than hold its shape. It is not suitable for freezing.

The Grace Table Tip

Choose an avocado that is ripe but still firm enough to dice cleanly, and cut it just before the pasta comes off the heat. Diced too early it browns and softens, but cut at the last minute it lands in the bowl bright green and creamy, which is half the pleasure of this dish.