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This dish is inspired by all the flavors of traditional Shrimp Scampi! Chicken Scampi Pasta is perfect for busy weeknights. Italian seasoned chicken tenders are tossed with spaghetti and a dreamy garlic sauce. Serve over spaghetti for a classic Italian-inspired dish in just over 30 minutes.
I love easy weeknight dishes and my favorite part of this chicken scampi pasta is that everything is cooked in one skillet after you boil the noodles. If you love skillet recipes, you will also love my Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Skillet, Creamy Chicken Fajita Skillet and my Creamy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Scampi with Pasta
- It’s a hearty main dish. Serving chicken scampi with pasta makes this a filling and satisfying main dish.
- Pantry staple ingredients. Save yourself a trip to the grocery store and use ingredients that you already have on hand.
- It’s easy to double. I love serving this recipe to guests because it’s easy to double and looks impressive on the plate.
Chicken Scampi Ingredients
- Spaghetti: this spaghetti or angel hair pasta is also yummy. You can even swap in gluten free spaghetti or whole wheat pasta.
- All purpose flour: flour gives the chicken a nice crust. You can use one-to-one gluten free flour.
- Seasoning: you’ll need garlic powder, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt to season the chicken.
- Chicken tenders: you can also use chicken breasts that have been cut into even sized pieces.
- Olive oil: you can use your favorite light, neutral flavored oil.
- Unsalted butter: using unsalted butter gives you more control over the amount of salt in the dish.
- Garlic: fresh minced garlic adds lots of flavor.
- Shallots: sliced shallots have a delicate flavor that is milder than onion, but you can use onion in a pinch.
- Chicken Broth: use low sodium if possible. This replaces the white wine for a non alcoholic option.
- Parsley: chopped parsley adds color to the dish
- Parmesan cheese: use freshly grated parmesan.
- Lemon: lemon adds brightness and acidity that rounds out the dish.
- Basil: fresh basil adds flavor and a pop of color.
How To Make Chicken Scampi Pasta
- Cook the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta water and keep it aside. (Reserve ½ cup of pasta water.)
- Dredge the chicken. In a large dish, combine flour, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, pepper and salt. Dredge the chicken on both sides in the flour mixture.
- Cook the chicken. Heat a heavy bottom skillet on a medium flame. Add the oil and cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce. To the same skillet add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook for a minute and pour the wine and deglaze the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Check for seasoning and transfer the chicken back to the skillet.
- Add in the spaghetti. After 2 minutes add in the cooked spaghetti along with the parmesan cheese. Toss until everything is well combined. (If the dish is dry add the reserved ½ cup of pasta water in this stage)
- Garnish and serve. Garnish the scampi pasta with lemon wedges and basil before serving.
Tips To Make This Easy Chicken Scampi Recipe
- Do you love the Olive Garden’s Chicken Scampi recipe? Slice up some bell pepper and sauté it for about 5 minutes after you finish cooking the chicken and before you add the sauce ingredients. Dry the chicken with a paper towel before dredging in the flour and seasoning mixture and it will brown better.
- Reserve some of the pasta water. You can use this to deglaze the pan after cooking the chicken and get all the flavorful bits into the sauce.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to give this dish a tiny hint of heat.
- Add more flavor by mixing in cherry tomatoes, spinach, cooked broccoli, or toasted pine nuts.
- Freshly shredded parmesan cheese is preferred. Pre-shredded cheeses have an anti-caking agent added that prevents them from melting as well.
- Butter is an integral part of this sauce, so choose high quality butter.
- Use freshly minced garlic. This is a main ingredient and bring out so much flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scampi style refers to a dish with a sauce made of garlic, butter, white wine, lemon and parsley. Shrimp scampi is the most common, but the sauce can be used for chicken scampi or with other seafood or poultry.
If you prefer to abstain from alcohol, you can use an equal amount of chicken broth plus 1 tablespoon of white or cider vinegar. But the vinegar is optional.
Chicken tenders are perfect for this easy chicken scampi recipe because they don’t require any prep work. You can substitute chicken breast, but you will want to trim off any excess fat and cut the chicken into even sized strips.
Chicken Scampi with pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat the pasta and the chicken in a skillet over low heat until warmed through. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of fresh parmesan just before serving.
You can cook and freeze the chicken for up to 3 months to reheat later, but we recommend making fresh pasta and preparing the sauce just before serving.
You can go wrong when you serve this dish with garlic bread and a salad or vegetable. Here are a few suggestions: Homemade Roasted Garlic Bread, Cheesy Pesto Bread, and Easy Tuscan White Bean Soup.
More Easy Pasta Dinner Recipes
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Pesto Shrimp Scampi with Pasta
- Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta
- One Pot Philly Cheese Steak Pasta
- Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Chicken Scampi Pasta recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Chicken Scampi Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- ¼ cup shallots, sliced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- Juice from ½ lemon
- Basil, to garnish
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta water and keep it aside. (Reserve ½ cup of pasta water.)
- In a large dish combine flour, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, pepper and salt. Dredge the chicken on both sides in the flour mixture.
- Heat a heavy bottom skillet on a medium flame. Add the oil and cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- To the same skillet add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook for a minute and pour the broth and deglaze the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Check for seasoning and transfer the chicken back to the skillet.
- After 2 minutes add in the cooked spaghetti along with the parmesan cheese. Toss until everything is well combined. (If the dish is dry add the reserved ½ cup of pasta water in this stage)
- Garnish the scampi pasta with lemon wedges and basil before serving.
Notes
- Dry the chicken with a paper towel before dredging in the flour and seasoning mixture and it will brown better.
- Reserve some of the pasta water. You can use this to deglaze the pan after cooking the chicken and get all the flavorful bits into the sauce. You can also use the pasta water to loosen the sauce before serving if it is thicker or drier than desired.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to give this dish a tiny hint of heat.
- Add more flavor by mixing in cherry tomatoes, spinach, cooked broccoli, or toasted pine nuts.
- Freshly shredded parmesan cheese is preferred. Pre-shredded cheeses have an anti-caking agent added that prevents them from melting as well.
- When choosing a wine, you should use something that you enjoy drinking, but it doesn’t have to be expensive.
- Butter is an integral part of this sauce, so choose high quality butter.
