Chicken Scampi in a creamy wine and garlic sauce is easy to make. When served over angel hair pasta, the chicken scampi is truly a restaurant quality dish.
This amazing recipe is an adaptation of an Olive Garden Chicken Scampi recipe from Dinner then Dessert.
Here’s What You’ll Need
- The Chicken: I used chicken tenderloins in this recipe coated in flour that was seasoned with salt and pepper and browned in olive oil.
- The Vegetables: For color I used red, yellow and green bell peppers. I also used onions and garlic. The vegetables were sautéed in unsalted butter.
- The Seasonings: In addition to salt and pepper, I also used dried oregano and dried basil.
- The Liquids: For the liquids, I used white wine, chicken broth, heavy cream and lemon juice, accented with Parmesan cheese.
Here’s How I Made The Chicken Scampi Recipe
- I started by combining the flour, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag. Then, I added the chicken. I gave the bag a good shake to thoroughly coat the chicken.
- Once the chicken was coated, I browned it on both sides in olive oil over medium-high heat. This took 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Once the chicken was browned, I removed it from the skillet and wiped out the skillet with a paper towel.
- Next, I melted some butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. I added the peppers and onions and cooked them for several minutes until they began to soften.
Once the peppers and onions started to soften, I removed them from the pan.
- To the same skillet, I added the rest of the butter. Once the butter had melted, I whisked in some of the flour left over from coating the chicken.
I also whisked in the garlic, oregano and basil.
- After cooking the flour mixture for about a minute, I whisked in the wine and chicken broth.
Once the mixture thickened and came to a boil, I reduced the heat to medium and let the sauce cook for about 20 minutes. During this time, the sauce was reduced by about a half.
- Next, I added the cream, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. I stirred the sauce until everything was combined and the cheese was melted.
- Finally, I returned the peppers and onions along with the browned chicken to the sauce. I let the creamy chicken scampi cook for several minutes longer to ensure that the vegetables and chicken were thoroughly reheated.
I spooned the Chicken Scampi over angel hair pasta and sprinkled on some additional Parmesan cheese and sliced green onion tops.
This was truly a restaurant quality dish. All through dinner, the Master Taste Tester kept commenting on how good it was – the ultimate compliment. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have chicken tenderloins, you can substitute boneless and skinless chicken breasts or boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
I used whole chicken tenderloins in this recipe more for appearance than anything else. However, once the chicken tenderloins are cooked, I often cut them up into bite-sized pieces and mix the pieces into the creamy garlic sauce. It’s really a matter of preference.
Both the Master Taste Tester and I think that the sauce in this recipe is amazing. Therefore, I often double the sauce to ensure that there is plenty for the leftovers.
Leftovers are amazing. Since it’s just the two of us, I generally not only double the sauce, but also cut the leftover chicken into bite-sized pieces. When I’m ready to use the leftovers, I reheat them in the microwave for several minutes.
Rather than serving the chicken scampi over the pasta, you can certainly toss the chicken scampi and pasta together for serving.
You can substitute additional chicken broth for the wine in this recipe. However, the sauce will not have quite the same depth of flavor.
Other Creamy Chicken Recipes
If you’re a fan of chicken cooked in a creamy sauce, you should check out these awesome recipes:
Easy Creamy Chicken Scampi
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (1.25-ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (16-ounces) chicken tenderloins (See Tip 1)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- ½ yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup white wine (See Tip 2)
- 1 cup chicken broth (See Tip 3)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup (3-ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- 8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions (See Tip 4)
- sliced green onion tops for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag. Add chicken; shake to coat.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add coated chicken. Cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from skillet. Wipe out skillet with paper towel.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the peppers and onions. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables just start to become tender. Remove from pan.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet. Whisk in flour, garlic, oregano and basil. Cook for 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Add wine and chicken broth. Whisk until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally until reduced by a half, about 20 minutes.
- Add cream, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Stir until cheese has melted and the sauce is well combined. (See Tip 5)
- Return the peppers and onions along with the chicken to the sauce. Stir to coat and heat for several minutes until chicken is heated through. Correct the seasonings.
- Spoon chicken and sauce over angel hair pasta. Sprinkle on additional grated Parmesan cheese and top with sliced green onion.
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings. (See Tip 6)
Chula’s Expert Tips
- May substitute boneless and skinless chicken breasts or boneless and skinless chicken thighs for the chicken tenderloins.
- I used a Chardonnay in this recipe. You can omit the wine and replace it with an equal amount of chicken broth. However, the sauce will not have the same depth of flavor.
- I used low sodium chicken broth, but you could also use regular chicken broth in this recipe.
- Angel hair pasta goes extremely well with this dish. However, you could substitute the pasta of your choice.
- The best part of this recipe is the sauce. I often double the amount of sauce, especially if I’m going to have leftovers.
- This recipe makes amazing leftovers. For the leftovers, I like to cut the remaining chicken into bite-sized piece and mix the chicken into the remaining sauce.
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