Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

117 Comments

4.95 from 36 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta is a copycat made with a creamy garlic white wine sauce, lemon, bell peppers, and onions.

We love Olive Garden pasta dishes, including Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno (Copycat) and chicken dishes like Olive Garden Chicken Piccata (Copycat) served with their classic salad topped with Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing (Copycat).

Chicken Scampi Pasta in dish with lemons and cheese

Creamy chicken pasta is a surefire winner in our house. This creamy, garlicky, lemony white wine sauce with Parmesan cheese is heaven on earth. It would taste delicious with shrimp, pork, or even beef medallions.

What is in chicken scampi?

Similar to Shrimp Scampi, chicken scampi is a dish classically made with garlic, butter, and white wine. This chicken scampi has heavy cream and parmesan cheese added to the sauce to create a rich, creamy main dish.

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe

Best Pasta For Scampi Pasta:

I stuck with angel hair pasta for an authentic copycat, but I tend to find it is simply too thin, cooks too quickly, and doesn’t hold up well to other vegetables and chicken, breaking too easily.

For creamy pasta recipes, I tend to stick to spaghetti or thin spaghetti, which is still relatively thin while staying strong enough not to break apart when tossing the creamy sauce with the noodles.

A roux is just the base of the creamy sauce. This mixture of butter and flour thickens sauces.

How to make a creamy roux sauce:

  • To start the roux, use even parts of butter and flour melted and whisked together.
  • Cook the flour just enough to turn a creamy beige color (20-30 seconds) to ensure no raw flour taste.
  • Add room temperature or warm liquids, SLOWLY.
  • Whisk quickly while adding the liquids and maintain a creamy texture. Too much at once can break the sauce.
  • Reduce on a medium-low or medium heat.
  • Finish with cream; don’t boil the cream down.

Also, remember, lemon and Parmesan cheese are best added at the end of the cooking time. They are fresh and bright flavors. You can also finish the recipe with more lemon juice or wedges and the remaining parmesan cheese.

Can you meal prep this recipe?

The problem with meal-prepping pasta with creamy sauces is that it will continue to soak up the sauce once it is cooled.

Sometimes, I keep the sauce separate if I am craving a dish. Then, just before serving, I add a splash of milk or water and stir with a fork before warming up the sauce, just to make it a little thinner.

I usually chop the chicken before making it in containers to make the dish easier for lunch. This allows me to eat it with just a fork at work or school.

Pasta and chicken topped with with lemons and cheese

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Dinner, then Dessert

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta is a copycat made with a creamy garlic white wine sauce, lemon, bell peppers, and onions.
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Author Sabrina Snyder
Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta (Copycat)
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , divided
  • 1/2 red bell pepper , sliced thinly
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper , sliced thinly
  • 1/2 green bell pepper , sliced thinly
  • 1/2 red onion , thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons garlic , minced
  • 4 tablespoons flour , divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 pound angel hair pasta
  • 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream , warm to the touch
  • 1/2 medium lemon , juiced
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese , shaved, divided

Instructions

  • Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and cook the bell peppers and onions for 2-3 minutes or until slightly softened.
  • Remove the vegetables and add in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
  • Once melted add in two tablespoons of flour and garlic.
  • Whisk well until the flour has had a chance to “cook” for about 20 seconds.
  • Add in the red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, wine and chicken broth, then let reduce on medium heat for 18-20 minutes.
  • While the sauce is reducing cook the pasta one minute shy of the instructions, do not rinse.
  • In a second pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat.
  • Coat the chicken tenderloins in the salt and pepper before tossing in the remaining flour.
  • Add in the chicken, cooking for 3-4 minutes on each side.
  • Remove the chicken from the heat while the sauce finishes reducing.
  • When the sauce is reduced by half add in the heavy cream and whisk well until you have a nice thick sauce.
  • Add in the lemon juice and half the parmesan cheese and whisk.
  • Toss with the pasta, bell peppers and onions.
  • Top with the chicken and Parmesan and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 678kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 905mg | Potassium: 623mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1103IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 257mg | Iron: 2mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I have tried several different olive garden chicken scampi copycat recipes and yours by far was the VERY BEST!! This recipe had so much flavor and was loved by all. It will go in my best recipes collection, and will make again and again! Thank you Sabrina!! Definitely 5 star worthy!!

    Reply

  2. This was always my go-to at Olive Garden. My favourite! This recipe however, is BETTER. Thank you so much. I live in the country now… no Olive Garden available but I don’t care any more since finding this recipe. Thanks Sabrina!

    Reply

  5. I made this at my husband’s request. I asked him what he wants me to make for dinner ( my mistake) and he said Olive Garden Chicken Scampi. It was a winner! We both loved it. I order it every time I go to the Olive Garden so I was really hoping that the recipe was good. It was great. I’ll be making this again.

    Reply

  7. Remarkable recipe! The Olive Garden in my city has been horrible, good quility and service but I love their chicken scampi. This recipe ipot on. Made with pink grigio and fresh greatest parmesan cheese. Loctili on top and came out supurb!

    Reply