Chicken Scampi Pasta has a garlic butter sauce that is light, vibrant, and so satisfying. It was inspired by our Shrimp Scampi Pasta and the family licked their plates clean with this one.
My kids loved the lemon flavor and went back for refills, and so did my husband. It’s the best feeling when the whole family is so pleased with dinner.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
We love chicken pasta recipes from Chicken Alfredo to Lemon Chicken Pasta and let’s not forget Chicken Tetrazzini. If you are a pasta lover, this Chicken Scampi Pasta is a must-try.
Chicken Scampi Video Tutorial
If you enjoyed this video for Chicken Scampi, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel (P.S. Click the bell icon to be notified when we post a new video). Thank you for subscribing!
What makes a dish scampi?
In the US, most people think of Scampi as being the Italian-American concept of Shrimp Scampi, but scampi by itself is a dish that is served in a sauce made of butter, garlic, and dry white wine. You can make all kinds of scampi including lobster, scallops, and chicken scampi.
Ingredients for Chicken Scampi
- Pasta – use 12 oz spaghetti and salt the water
- Chicken Tenders – the easiest and most forgiving chicken to work with
- Salt, Pepper, Flour – to dredge the chicken
- Olive Oil, Butter– to cook the chicken and make sauce (do not skimp on the butter)
- White Wine – use a dry wine such as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc
- Garlic – 4 cloves, or 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- Lemon – you’ll need 1 tsp of zest and 1/4 cup lemon juice from 1 large or 2 medium lemons
- Parsley – finely chopped and added at the end
How to Make Chicken Scampi
- Prep – before firing up the stove, chop, zest and juice your ingredients. Season chicken tenders and dip in flour, dusting off the excess.
- Cook Pasta in salted water until al dente, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water then drain and tranfer to a serving platter.
- Saute Chicken – while pasta is cooking, sautee chicken in butter and oil for 2 minutes per side (or until 165˚F on a thermometer) then transfer to a plate.
- Make Sauce – Deglaze the pan with 3/4 cup white wine and cook 5 minutes to reduce down to 1/4 cup liquid. Add butter then garlic and simmer 30 seconds. Off the heat add lemon juice, zest, parsley and salt to taste.
- Combine – return chicken to the pan and turn to coat in sauce. Spoon extra sauce over the pasta and toss. Top the pasta with chicken and any remaining sauce.
Pro Tip: Use some of your reserved pasta water to deglaze the empty pan then drizzle that over your pasta to get all of the tasty sauce in your dish.
Common Questions
You can substitute with boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been trimmed of fat and cut into strips (1-inch thick).
You can reheat leftover pasta and chicken over low heat on a skillet just until warmed through. If the pasta seems dry, you can drizzle with water and a little more butter. For a boost of flavor, squeeze in fresh lemon juice and serve with freshly chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
You can use an inexpensive dry white wine, but I highly recommend only cooking with a wine that you’d drink. Avoid using “cooking wine,” which contains preservatives, sweeteners, and salt that can ruin a dish.
You can make the chicken scampi with sauce and serve it over Mashed Potatoes or White Rice. It’s also yummy on cooked buckwheat.
Serve with
Chicken scampi pasta is such a hearty and satisfying dinner. All it needs is a simple veggie side dish or salad to complete the meal. We love to serve pasta with:
Make Chicken Scampi for your next pasta night. It comes together fast and everyone loves this easy 30-minute meal.
More Pasta Dinners
If you enjoyed this Chicken Scampi Pasta, you will love these comforting and family-approved pasta recipes:
- Chicken Lasagna
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Baked Ziti
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Creamy Shrimp pasta
Chicken Scampi Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz spaghetti
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, chardonnay or sauvignon blanc
- 4 garlic cloves, (1 Tbsp minced)
- 1 tsp lemon zest, from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
- Parmesan, freshly shredded to serve
Instructions
- Prep: chop, zest, juice, and mince all of your ingredients before you start cooking. Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper then dredge in flour.
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 Tbsp salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water then drain the pasta and return pasta to the pot. Partially cover to keep warm.
- Sautee chicken: While pasta is cooking, cook the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and swirl in 1 Tbsp butter. Sauté chicken 2 minutes per side or until golden and cooked through to 165˚F on a thermometer. Remove to a plate. Add another Tbsp of oil and 1 Tbsp butter and sauté the second batch of chicken then transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Make sauce: Carefully add 3/4 cup white wine. Return to medium/high heat and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Cook about 5 minutes or until reduced to about 1/4 cup liquid. Add 4 Tbsp butter and stir to melt. Add garlic and simmer 30 seconds until fragrant. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest, and 1/4 cup parsley. Stir to combine and season with 1/2 tsp salt or to taste.
- Combine: Return chicken to the pan and turn to coat in sauce. Transfer drained pasta to a large serving bowl then tilt the pan and spoon extra sauce over cooked spaghetti. Toss spaghetti lightly with sauce then top with chicken and drizzle remaining sauce over the pasta*. Serve garnished with more parsley and freshly shredded parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
What can I use in place of the wine in the chicken scampi as I am allergic to any type of wine…
I Patricia, the wine adds wonderful flavor, but you can sub with chicken stock and reduce that, but it won’t taste as good.
Hi Natasha… again I watched your video and I leave saying I can do it too. I also leave with a big smile on my face. You are ruling amazing with your happy and funny attitude. Thank you
You’re welcome, Susan! Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful review with me!
I want to try this but it looked like there wasn’t enough sauce. Have you tried doubling the amount of sauce? Looks yummy though.
Hi Jenny! It was the perfect balance for us. You’re welcome to add more sauce/ double. I haven’t tested that myself to advise on it being too much. I’d love to know how it works out if you experiment!
This was really good! Hubby loved it too. I will definitely make again. I made recipe as it was written, other than using chicken breasts I cut into large strips. I might try adding mushrooms next time just for something different. Thanks for the wonderful recipe as usual.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Brenda!
Another amazing dish!! Quick and easy for a Monday evening. Every recipe of yours is a winner
I appreciate that, Lizanne. Thanks for your review and I hope you’ll love every recipe that you will try!
I made the Chicken Scampi recipe. It came out wonderful. My husband and son loved. I’ll be made again soon.
Thank you so much ❤
You’re welcome, Mary. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can I make this without the lemon?
Hi Monica, I wouldn’t recommend skipping the lemon part as it brings so much flavor to the recipe. But feel free to do an experiment and see if you liked it without lemon too! Let us know how it goes if you try that.
Hi Natasha, I’ve made lots of your recipes and they have always been great. The chicken scampi is a home run with my wife and I. Keep posting and we will keep trying. Thanks again.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe too. Hope you and your wife will love all the recipes that you will try!
I add to this recipe chopped onion, green, yellow and red peppers and much more garlic. The first time I had this was at Olive Garden and I was able to duplicate it. Absolutely love it. Thanks for the reminder…need to make it again.
You’re very welcome. Great to hear that you loved it!
I didn’t see many reviews from guys so I thought I would post. We made this tonight and it was awesome! We used Pinot Grigio and was very tasty.
I’m so glad this was a hit, Mark! Thank you for leaving this lovely comment for us!
Hi Natasha…have you converted this for the instant pot? Would love to see that!
Smiles!
Hi Lisa, I have not tried this in an instant pot to advise. If you happen to try that, I’d love to know how you like it!
Hey I was wondering if there was any substitute to the wine as it isn’t available where I live
Reducing the wine cooks out the alcohol and it also adds wonderful flavor. You can sub with chicken stock and reduce that but it won’t taste as good.
First off, did your husband marry a comedienne? I’m sure he knew what he was getting into, though. 🙂
Next, is the salt in the pasta water necessary? I’m someone who tries to cut out excess sodium from my diet because of high blood pressure. So although I may use salt in cooking when a recipe calls for it, I balk at things like adding a lot of salt to pasta water as you described here.
Final question: How does this recipe store, like in the freezer? As a single person, I will make a full-sized recipe such as this, usually on a Sunday evening, then freeze the leftovers to have in the next few weeks as a dinner that I can just reheat in the microwave during the week.
I made the Creamy Shrimp Pasta Recipe you posted a while back and stored the leftovers in the freezer. I think it tasted even better upon reheating those leftovers!
Hi Steve, my husband loves me (the comedian in me and all! – ha ha!). The salt in the water is not necessary for the recipe to work and it is a good place to cut sodium if you need to. Italians strongly recommend generously salting the water to add flavor. I haven’t tried freezing this and I suspect the pasta would be a little dry, dull and bland with freezing. Creamy pasta tends to reheat a little better, but again, I haven’t tried freezing. I could be wrong.
Do you trim the tendon from the chicken tenders before cooking?
Hi Sue, you can definitely do that.
Can you sub with thighs instead? Will the juiciness not work?
Hi Sareena, we prefer it with tenders, but I bet thighs may work here. If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that!
Natasha can I substitute the white wine with something else.
Hi Ranuth, Reducing the wine cooks out the alcohol and it also adds wonderful flavor. You can sub with chicken stock and reduce that but it won’t taste as good.
Oh ok then must by some white wine thanks Natasha
Haha! You crack me up with your BIG Bites! It was especially funny because this very morning I made a comment to my wife thinking she was about to take a huge bite of food, and I mentioned how funny it is that Natasha always takes such big bites for her taste tests! Love it!
What can I use in place of the wine? Is it okay to use chicken broth?
Hi Renee, you can but the flavor won’t be the same. Reducing the wine cooks out the alcohol and it also adds wonderful flavor.
This is one of our family’s favorite meal! It’s super tasty & my kids love it, because they don’t have to pick anything out!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Natalie!
Love your videos on how to make. Gonna try tonight. Thanks Natasha
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Linda! I hope you love this Shrimp Scampi!
OH yum, this was incredible!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, April!
All of my kids went crazy for this, even the picky one!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!