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.
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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
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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
I finally found the perfect chicken scampi recipe- sauce was great! I did add some pea pods and small pieces of seeded tomatoes which rounded out the dish. Thank you for a delicious recipe Natasha
Simply scrumptious! The flavours infused the chicken and pasta in a beautiful balanced sauce that the whole family enjoyed! Second helpings is definitely on menu!
Awesome! So happy to hear that it was a huge hit!
I loved it, my husband not so much. He was expecting an Alfredo type dish. I’m Greek and don’t care much for Alfredo. I also don’t care much for pasta because when I wake up the next morning I am always starving but I like this recipe. Had I added asparagus like others suggested holy cow that would have been great. Or even some zucchini.
Good to know that you both like this recipe!
What’s a good substitute for white wine for people who don’t use alcohol?
You can use broth in its place. It won’t have the same flavor but it will work. If you’re concerned about the alcohol content, we don’t drink wine either but use it to cook. Most of the alcohol burns off during the cooking process leaving behind the flavor.
Oh my! We loved this recipe! I did double the sauce, and added a few ingredients. To the sauce I added the marinate from a large jar of marinated artichoke hearts.
I had a bunch of steamed asparagus that was in the freezer, added it to the sauce. Also added the marinated artichoke hearts chopped up. Added a bit more butter and pasta water. The flavor was amazing. This is one dish I will definitely make time and again. The unfortunate truth about it is that it’s way to easy to eat a huge plate of it. LOL
That’s right, it is so tempting! I’m so glad you ejoyed it!
If this had been any better they would’ve eaten the pan too! Super easy to make and tastes amazing!
This was so delicious. I added fresh spinach and sun dried tomatoes at the end of the cooking time. Gave it a beautiful color and added flavor. Will be a staple for us.
That sounds wonderful, Lori!
I followed the recipe exactly as written, it’s very easy and incredibly delicious! My wife said it was restaurant quality! I used Chardonay, because i like the flavor a little more than sauvignon blanc. Will definitely make this again and again! Thank you, Natasha, once again you make me feel like a chef!
Aw, thank you! You’re very welcome, Michael!
Hi! If I have a gluten allergy, should I use almond flour or a rice flour? I can’t handle tapioca in gluten-free flours so that’s why I’m wondering which flour would be best to put on the chicken.
Hi Laura! I’m not sure, I have not tested either of those. I think almond flour could work, but I would adjust your heat down a bit since almond flour scorches easily. let us know if you experiment.
I’ve made this recipe a few times. My family loves this chicken scampi pasta. It is so delicious! I use chicken broth instead of wine. This recipe is also great for week night dinners. It is easy to follow and doesn’t take much time to prepare.
I’ve made this dish more than once. Anything with lemon is delicious. The only change I make is doubling the sauce. With that much pasta, you need the extra sauce. It doesn’t hurt to have some homemade focaccia to dunk in the extra sauce.
This one’s a tasty one. My kids requested it to be on the normal list of meals.
That’s wonderful, Timothy!
My family and I loved this dish! Everyone went back for seconds so I guess the only thing I’d change is to double the recipe next time! So so good!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Jessica!
Hi! Recipe seems yummy and easy to follow. However, 2 tablespoons of salt in pasta water seems like a lot. Is there a reason for this?
Hi Kiara! It salts/flavors the noodles from the inside out, but also limits starch gelation so there is less stickiness. The water gets drained so you’re not getting all the extra salt. You can omit if you’d like.
So yummy! I substituted the wine with chicken broth and one bouillon cube. Will definitely make again!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kassi!
I made this delicious Chicken Scampi Pasta last night with Cheesy Mozzarella Stuffed Garlic Rolls. What a knockout combination! My family thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I doubled the sauce since my husband enjoys his pasta saucy. I will definitely make this Scampi again and again! Thanks, Natasha!!
Yay, wonderful to hear that you loved our Chicken Scami recipe Thank you so much for this review.
I’m just curious why does it call for one cup of wine and then you only use 3/4 can you please help me with this
Hi Brook, the recipe card states 3/4 cup dry white wine, chardonnay or sauvignon blanc
This was good and I followed the directions exactly but the sauce had too strong of a lemon flavor. Did I do something wrong or should I reduce the amount of lemon juice / zest from the recipe?
Hi Robert, usually once it’s tossed with the pasta, the flavor of the lemon should definitely mellow out. If serving without any pasta, you could cut back or just add it to taste.
Made this dish for dinner, instead served over very bland polenta , but the lemon was too strong. I will make again, just w half the amt. lemon juice . Was easy & delicious though, thanks!
My husband made this last night.
It was absolutely delicious!
Needless to say it didn’t make it for any leftovers the next day.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
Delicious recipe! Used 16oz linguine and almost 2 lbs. chicken to feed 5 very hungry people! It was a hit
Great to hear that this recipe was a huge hit!