Before I became a vegetarian 14 years ago, one of my favorite meals was chicken fettuccine alfredo.

“Faerie Tale Theatre” was another staple of my childhood, so it felt like the perfect pairing. This vegetarian, gluten-free chik’n fettuccine alfredo recipe makes 2 servings and can easily be multiplied for more servings.

You can also sub in a vegan alfredo sauce and vegan parmesan to make the recipe dairy-free and vegan. I used a thick vegan alfredo to recreate this a couple weeks ago, and it was just as yummy!

Ingredients
2 servings gluten-free fettuccine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 servings frozen vegan chik’n
0.5 cups alfredo sauce
2 cups kale
Optional toppings: chives, parmesan cheese

Instructions
Prepare your fettuccine noodles according to the packaging instructions.

In a frying pan, heat the oil on medium.

After a couple minutes, add the chik’n, use tongs to flip and cook until it is thawed.

Add the alfredo sauce to the pan.

When you have strained your noodles, add them back to the pot and pour the chik’n alfredo sauce over the top.

Stir the kale in with the sauce and noodles.

Serve and enjoy with an episode or two of “Faerie Tale Theatre!”

The Easy Route
It might be hard to find a restaurant that makes vegetarian, gluten-free chicken fettuccine alfredo. If you know one, share it in the comments!

To make this easier at home, you can microwave the sauce and chik’n instead of cooking them on the stove top. You could also air fry the chik’n.

The Pairing
As a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with Shelley Duvall’s “Faerie Tale Theatre,” a series that retold the classics with iconic actors from the 1980s such as Liza Minnelli, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Weller, Helen Mirren, Lesley Ann Warren, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Reeve, Joan Collins and more.

I had no idea who any of those actors were when I watched this, I just know I loved seeing the stories my mom read to me come to life.

The anthology series tells the a different fairy tale in each episode. There are 27 episodes in total, and honestly, not a dud in the bunch. My favorites are “The Dancing Princesses,” “Aladdin,” “The Princess and the Pea” and “The Three Little Pigs.”

In “The Dancing Princesses,” Lesley Ann Warren stars as Jeanetta, one of seven sisters/princesses who go off into a hidden world behind their beds every night to go dancing.

Peter Weller, a.k.a. Robocop, comes into the picture as a soldier to investigate the secret the princesses are keeping from their father and the world.

I was so obsessed with “The Dancing Princesses” that I would constantly reenact it with my dolls, building up their wardrobes from the color each princess was assigned to wear.

The “Faerie Tale Theatre” take on “Aladdin” is just magnificent. First of all, it’s directed by Tim Burton. Second of all, James Earl Jones plays the Genie.

But like I said before, you cannot go wrong with any of the episodes. You’ve got Mary Steenburgen as Little Red Riding Hood, Carrie Fisher as Thumbelina, Jennifer Beals as Cinderella and the one and only Vincent Price as the Magic Mirror in “Snow White.” And that’s just scratching the surface!

Each episode features an introduction by Duvall, who also acts in three of the show’s episodes: “Rapunzel,” “The Nightingale” and “Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Faerie Tale Theatre” was absolutely a gateway for me to become a cinephile. I saw these fairy tales come to life and wanted to see more adaptations of my favorite stories. I remembered seeing Burton’s name in the credits, and his films were some of my favorites as I got older. Plus, Duvall being a steady presence in my early childhood led me to check out all the films she made with Robert Altman when I was older.

I will admit rewatching the episodes now that they are definitely from the ’80s and at times very cheesy and problematic (i.e. Mick Jagger as a Chinese emperor), but I still highly recommend checking the show out if you’re at all curious about it.

If you decide to make fettuccine alfredo and/or watch “Faerie Tale Theatre,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes