Zesty Olive Garden-Inspired Chicken Scampi Recipe

Olive Garden-inspired chicken scampi beckons food lovers with its irresistible Mediterranean charm.

Passionate home cooks can recreate this restaurant favorite without complex techniques or expensive ingredients.

Succulent chicken pieces dance in a rich, garlicky sauce that promises restaurant-quality flavor at your dining table.

The delicate balance of zesty lemon, white wine, and herbs converts simple proteins into a culinary masterpiece.

Incredibly versatile, this dish adapts beautifully to different skill levels and kitchen setups.

Subtle nuances of classic Italian cooking shine through each carefully crafted bite.

Comfort and elegance merge seamlessly in this crowd-pleasing recipe that will make you feel like a professional chef.

Serve These with Olive Garden-Style Chicken Scampi

• Pair with Crisp White Wine: Select a zesty Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc to complement the lemony, garlicky scampi sauce. These light wines cut through the richness and enhance the dish's bright flavors.
• Match with Fresh Herbed Salad: Create a simple mixed green salad with fresh basil and a light vinaigrette. The herb-infused greens will balance the rich chicken and creamy sauce, providing a refreshing contrast.
• Serve with Garlic Focaccia Bread: Grab a warm, crusty focaccia to soak up the delicious scampi sauce. The bread's garlicky notes will harmonize perfectly with the chicken's flavors and add a delightful textural element to the meal.
• Finish with Lemon Sorbet: End the dining experience with a zesty lemon sorbet. Its clean, citrusy profile will cleanse the palate and echo the bright lemon undertones in the scampi sauce.

Delicious Chicken Scampi Variations You’ll Love

• Seafood Sensation: Replace chicken with succulent shrimp or a medley of mixed seafood like scallops and crab for an ocean-inspired variation.
• Veggie Lover's Dream: Swap chicken with grilled portobello mushrooms or roasted tofu, adding extra vegetables like zucchini and asparagus for a plant-based alternative.
• Spicy Mediterranean Kick: Incorporate sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and crumbled feta cheese. Increase red pepper flakes for a bolder, more intense flavor profile that transports you to coastal Greece.
• Creamy White Wine Fusion: Blend in a splash of heavy cream or mascarpone cheese to create a richer, more luxurious sauce that coats the pasta with velvety smoothness.

Chicken Scampi Inspired by Olive Garden Flavor

• Savor Restaurant-Quality Flavors: This recipe delivers an authentic Olive Garden-style experience right in your home kitchen, capturing the rich, garlicky essence of classic Italian-American cuisine without needing professional cooking skills.
• Enjoy Textural Excitement: The dish combines crispy golden chicken, tender pasta, and silky sauce, creating a delightful contrast of textures that makes every bite interesting and satisfying.
• Master Quick Weeknight Cooking: With straightforward steps and simple ingredients, this chicken scampi comes together in under 45 minutes, making it perfect for busy home cooks seeking delicious meals without complicated techniques.
• Customize Your Comfort: The recipe allows easy modifications like adjusting spice levels with red pepper flakes, swapping proteins, or adding extra vegetables, ensuring it meets various taste preferences and dietary needs.

Ingredients for Chicken Scampi Made Easy

• Chicken Tenderloins: Tender and lean cut ideal for quick cooking, best when fresh and uniform in size.
• Parmesan Cheese: Classic Italian cheese adds rich, savory depth to the final dish.

• Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper: Colorful peppers provide sweet crunch and vibrant visual appeal.
• Red Onion, Yellow Onion: Aromatic alliums that build foundational flavor for the sauce and garnish.

• Angel Hair Pasta: Delicate, thin pasta that cooks quickly and pairs beautifully with light sauces.
• Flour: Creates a light, crispy coating for the chicken when frying.
• Vegetable Oil: Neutral oil perfect for achieving golden-brown chicken exterior.

• Unsalted Butter: Provides rich, creamy base for the scampi sauce.
• White Wine: Adds bright, acidic complexity to the sauce.
• Chicken Stock: Deepens the sauce's savory profile.
• Lemon Juice: Brings fresh, zesty brightness to balance the rich sauce.
• Dried Parsley: Herb that adds subtle green note and traditional scampi flavor.
• Red Pepper Flakes: Introduces gentle heat and subtle spiciness.
• Salt: Enhances and balances all other flavors in the dish.

Instructions for Pan-Frying and Tossing Chicken Scampi

Step 1: Boil Pasta Perfectly

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt. Drop in pasta and cook until almost tender. Before draining, carefully scoop out a cup of pasta water. Set pasta aside.

Step 2: Prepare Crispy Chicken

• Flour
• Salt
• Pepper

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken tenderloins in the seasoned flour. Fry each piece until golden and crisp, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate.

Step 3: Create Magical Scampi Sauce

• Butter
• White onion
• Garlic
• White wine
• Chicken broth
• Lemon juice
• Dried parsley
• Red pepper flakes

Melt butter in a saucepan. Sauté finely chopped onions and minced garlic until translucent. Pour in white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining butter until smooth.

Step 4: Bring Everything Together

• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Cooked pasta
• Scampi sauce

Warm a tablespoon of oil in the pasta pot. Sauté bell peppers and onions until slightly softened. Add cooked pasta and scampi sauce. Gently toss to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper. If sauce seems thick, splash in reserved pasta water.

Step 5: Plate and Garnish

Arrange pasta on warm plates. Generously spoon extra sauce over the top. Lay crispy chicken tenderloins across the pasta. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Serves 4 hungry pasta lovers!

Tips to Get the Garlic Butter Sauce Just Right

• Master Pasta Perfection: Cook pasta just under al dente to prevent mushiness when combined with the hot sauce, ensuring a perfectly tender texture.
• Flour Chicken Strategically: Create a light, crispy coating by patting chicken dry before dredging in seasoned flour, which helps achieve that golden-brown exterior.
• Balance Sauce Consistency: Control sauce thickness by gradually adding reserved pasta water, allowing you to create a silky, clingy texture that beautifully coats each pasta strand.
• Enhance Flavor Layers: Toast garlic briefly to release its aromatic oils without burning, developing a deeper, more complex taste profile in the scampi sauce.
• Temperature Timing: Keep cooked chicken warm while preparing sauce to prevent cooling and maintain that just-out-of-the-pan juiciness for serving.

Store and Reheat Chicken Scampi for a Second Round

• Refrigerate: Transfer chicken scampi to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep pasta and chicken separate to maintain texture.
• Reheat Stovetop: Warm chicken in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of chicken stock to prevent drying. Simultaneously, reheat pasta in another pan with a drizzle of olive oil, stirring gently to restore moisture.
• Microwave Option: Place chicken and pasta in separate microwave-safe dishes. Heat chicken for 30-45 seconds, pasta for 1-2 minutes, adding a tablespoon of water to prevent sticking. Stir midway through reheating to ensure even warming.

Olive Garden-Inspired Chicken Scampi Recipe

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4.9 from 27 reviews

• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

Olive Garden-inspired chicken scampi brings Italian restaurant magic straight to home kitchens. Garlic-infused pasta with tender chicken and zesty lemon sauce promises restaurant-quality comfort you can savor without leaving home.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Proteins:

• 12 chicken tenderloins (approximately 1.75 pounds or 794 grams)

Pasta and Vegetables:

• 12 ounces (340 grams) angel hair pasta
• 0.5 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 0.5 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
• 0.5 green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 0.5 medium red onion, sliced

Seasoning and Coating:

• 0.5 cup flour
• Salt to taste
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)
• Vegetable oil for frying

Scampi Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 0.5 cup yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (approximately 1 large lemon)
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 0.125 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 0.25 pound (113 grams) unsalted butter (one stick)

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Instructions

1. Initiate water preparation in a spacious pot, bringing it to a vigorous boil. Liberally season with salt and introduce pasta, cooking until nearly tender. Carefully extract and reserve one cup of starchy liquid before draining.
2. Select a broad skillet and warm vegetable oil over moderate heat. Delicately dust chicken tenderloins with seasoned flour, creating a light, crisp coating. Sear each piece until achieving a rich, golden exterior, approximately 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer cooked chicken to a holding plate.
3. Establish a sauce foundation by melting butter in a medium saucepan. Introduce finely chopped onions and minced garlic, sautéing until translucent and fragrant. Deglaze the pan with white wine, allowing it to reduce and concentrate flavors. Incorporate chicken stock, bright lemon juice, aromatic dried parsley, and a hint of red pepper flakes.
4. Allow sauce to simmer gently, developing depth and complexity. Whisk remaining butter into the liquid, creating a silky, emulsified texture that coats the palate.
5. Return to the original pasta pot, warming a touch of oil. Sauté bell peppers and onions until they soften and develop slight caramelization. Reintroduce cooked pasta and pour the luxurious scampi sauce, gently tossing to ensure even distribution.
6. Fine-tune seasoning with salt and pepper, utilizing reserved pasta water to adjust sauce consistency if needed. Aim for a glossy, luscious coating that clings to each pasta strand.
7. Plate the pasta with artistic flair, ensuring generous sauce coverage. Arrange golden-crusted chicken tenderloins atop the dish. Optional: Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese for an additional layer of richness.

Notes

• Perfectly golden chicken tenderloins swimming in a zesty, buttery sauce create an irresistible meal that’ll have everyone asking for seconds.
• Mastering this recipe means transforming simple ingredients into a restaurant-quality dish that looks impressive but comes together surprisingly easily.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Dinner, Lunch
• Method: Frying
• Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4
• Calories: 600
• Sugar: 3 g
• Sodium: 800 mg
• Fat: 30 g
• Saturated Fat: 15 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 60 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 35 g
• Cholesterol: 100 mg