This colorful chicken scampi recipe dinner is so quick and easy! The chicken tenders are so juicy and flavorful, and the buttery garlic sauce is so creamy and good as it’s made with a hint of white wine and cream. This restaurant-quality meal will definitely become on your monthly rotation!
I recreated Olive Garden’s copycat chicken scampi recipe at home and it saved us so much money! I mean, $17.50 for one portion of chicken scampi is kinda crazy, and what if I tell you that you can make 4 portions of this delicious dish for the price of one? Try my recipe, and you will never order it at a restaurant again!
One of my favorite things to order at Olive Garden is their famous chicken scampi (I also REALLY love their Alfredo sauce!). Breaded chicken tenders cooked in a creamy wine sauce with bell peppers, and served over thin angel hair pasta. What’s there not to love? But honestly, it can get quite pricey especially if you’re going to eat out with your kids.
Olive Garden’s Breadsticks are also a family favorite, they’re unlimited so we just keep them going! But I also make my own homemade version, they’re SO easy to make!
So here’s my take on this delicious dish, the best ever chicken scampi! It’s so easy and quick to make, and trust me, it will definitely become one of your family’s favorite dinners!
What Does Scampi Mean?
Chicken Scampi is similar to shrimp scampi. It’s a dish made with chicken tenders or chicken breast, bell peppers, and the sauce is enriched with heavy whipping cream and parmesan to create a creamy savory saucy. Often served over angel hair pasta.
What is Scampi Sauce Made of?
Olive Garden chicken scampi sauce is so simple, but has the best flavor and it’s so creamy! All you need to make it is reserved pasta water, butter, garlic, dry white wine, whipping cream, and parmesan cheese.
How to Make Chicken Scampi
All you need to make this chicken scampi recipe is 25-30 minutes, and a few ingredients!
What You’ll Need:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pasta. Angel hair pasta works best here and that’s what I’ve used, but honestly, you can use any kind of pasta that you have available. Or to keep this low-carb, serve it over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.
- Chicken tenderloins (they’re called mini chicken fillets in the UK) or chicken breast sliced into strips, and olive oil.
- All-purpose flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Garlic, red onion, and bell peppers in different colors.
- Dry white wine. Any type of dry white wine works here, always use dry white wine for savory dishes, and sweeter wine for desserts.
- Butter, parmesan, whipping cream (or half and half to make it lighter).
The Directions
- In a medium-sized saucepot, boil water and salt it. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Dredge the chicken tenders in flour seasoned with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. This is your chance to get as much flavor in the chicken tenders as possible!
- Heat olive oil in a skillet, and brown the chicken (about 3 minutes on each side) until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet, cover, and set aside.
- Melt butter in the skillet, and add the onions and the bell peppers. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the peppers are softened but still quite firm, then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the wine, and allow it to reduce a little (about 4 minutes).
- Add reserved pasta water, and whipping cream to the sauce. Once the sauce starts simmering, add the parmesan cheese and the pasta. Toss to combine, and add the chicken tenders.
And that’s it, your chicken scampi is ready and make sure to serve it warm with extra grated parmesan cheese!
My favorite thing about this recipe is the chicken tenders. I love their texture, color, and flavor. Chicken tenderloins are very tender, and you don’t need to cook them for too long, 3 minutes on each side is enough and I like to use my kitchen thermometer to make sure that they’re cooked through and that I don’t overcook them.
Dredging the chicken tenders in seasoned flour is key, get more flavor in them by seasoning the flour with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. And the flour is what helps them get that lovely crust and color so do not skip this step.
What Is the Best Wine to Use?
Always use dry white wine for cooking savory dishes. I used pinot grigio to make this chicken scampi, but you can also use chardonnay, pinto blanc, sauvignon blanc, or Semillon for cooking (source). I usually buy packs of mini bottles for cooking so that I don’t have too much left that needs to be used up ASAP.
Typically chicken scampi is served over angel hair pasta (at least at Olive Garden, it is!), the pasta is also tossed with the tasty sauce (see recipe card below for more details), but feel free to use any pasta that you have available/like. You can also serve this over rice if you prefer, and drizzle the sauce over it. Or keep it low-carb and serve chicken scampi with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.
More Olive Garden Recipes To Try
If you love Olive Garden as much as I do, give this chicken scampi a try and make sure to check out my Instant Pot chicken parmesan recipe.
More Easy Chicken Dinners
- Teriyaki chicken stir fry
- Garlic butter chicken tenders
- Chicken fajita casserole
- Creamy lemon chicken
- Marry Me chicken
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chicken Scampi
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (225g) angel hair pasta
- 1 and ½ pound (650g) chicken tenderloins they're called mini chicken fillets in the UK
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 red onion sliced into half-moons
- ½ red bell pepper sliced thinly
- ½ yellow bell pepper sliced thinly
- ½ green bell pepper sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ cup (120ml) dry white wine
- ½ cup (120ml) whipping cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepot, boil water and salt it. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Dredge the chicken tenders in flour seasoned with Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet, and brown the chicken (about 3 minutes on each side) until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet, cover and set aside.
- Melt butter in the skillet, and add the onions and the bell peppers. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the peppers are slightly softened, then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the wine, deglaze the pan, and allow it to reduce a little (about 4 minutes).
- Add reserved pasta water, and whipping cream to the sauce. Once the sauce starts simmering, add the parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt, chili flakes if desired, and the pasta.
- Toss to combine, and add the chicken tenders. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.
Notes:
- Feel free to use shrimp instead of chicken.
- I don’t recommend omitting the wine, but if you don’t want to use it, then substitute with ¼ cup chicken stock and ¼ cup of white grape juice or apple juice.
- Always use dry white wine for cooking savory dishes. I used pinot grigio, but you can also use chardonnay, pinto blanc, sauvignon blanc, or Semillon for cooking. I usually buy packs of mini bottles for cooking so that I don’t have too much left that needs to be used up ASAP.
- Serve over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice to make this a low-carb meal.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Kathy says
A bit more labor intensive than I like, but the flavor is spectacular!
Linda says
It took me considerably longer to prepare this dish, but the end result was great. If you had a helper in the kitchen who got out all the ingredients and measured them, plus washed and sliced the veggies, and breaded th chicken, the time would have been more realistic. Definitely a good recipe.
Dina says
HI, if you use rice what would you sub for the pasta water when you add the cream?
Thanks
Michelle says
Did not love the mess I made of my kitchen nor the time consuming task of dredging and cooking the chicken in batches. However, I will definitely make it again when I have this much time on my hands because the flavor was very tasty. I used Pino Grigio as suggested.
Jim says
Cutting down on the carbs. Would spaghetti squash be a good substitute?
Diana says
I think that would be delicious!