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Chicken Scampi is the kind of dinner that looks like it came from a restaurant kitchen, with golden chicken tenderloins and sweet bell peppers simmered in a creamy lemon, garlic, and white wine sauce over a tangle of angel hair pasta. It all happens in one big skillet, and the pasta soaks up every drop. If our creamy lemon shrimp is already on your dinner list, this is its chicken loving cousin.
Start the pasta water, grab your biggest skillet, and let the butter do the talking.
Chicken Scampi Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 45 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 4 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 480kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Bright lemon and garlic in a rich, buttery white wine cream sauce with sweet bell peppers
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, and a great next step after our crispy homemade chicken tenders
Quick Answer
Toss 1 pound of chicken tenderloins with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and flour, then brown them in olive oil and butter until they reach 165 degrees F. Set the chicken aside and saute sliced red onion and bell peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Add 6 cloves of minced garlic, deglaze with 3/4 cup of dry white wine, then stir in lemon juice and heavy cream. Return the chicken to the pan, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve over angel hair pasta.
Jump to:
- Chicken Scampi Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Chicken Scampi
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chicken Scampi FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Chicken Pasta Recipes
- Easy Chicken Scampi (Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Flour does two jobs. The light coating helps the chicken brown beautifully, and the bit that falls into the skillet helps thicken the sauce later without any extra steps.
- Tenderloins cook fast and stay juicy. These small, tender strips brown on both sides in about 10 to 15 minutes, so you get a golden outside without drying out the inside.
- Olive oil and butter work as a team. Butter brings the flavor and olive oil helps keep the butter from burning, so the pan stays golden instead of bitter.
- Browned bits are the flavor base. When the wine hits the hot pan, it lifts everything stuck to the bottom and turns it into the backbone of the sauce.
- Lemon cuts through the cream. Fresh lemon juice keeps the rich butter and cream from feeling heavy, so every bite tastes bright instead of flat.
- A short simmer ties it together. Five minutes back in the pan lets the chicken warm through and soak up the sauce, so the whole skillet tastes like one dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It tastes like a restaurant dinner, and the whole thing comes together in one big skillet while the pasta boils.
- The creamy lemon garlic sauce is so good you will want bread for the plate, and it is a fun change of pace from our easy penne Alfredo.
- The red, yellow, and green peppers make it look as good as it tastes, so it is just as right for company as it is for a Tuesday.
Key Ingredients
Most of this list is probably already in your kitchen, and the rest is an easy grocery run.
- Chicken Tenderloins: Tender, quick cooking, and already the perfect size. No cutting board required.
- Flour and Seasonings: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder season the chicken, and the flour gives it that golden, sauce grabbing coating.
- Butter and Olive Oil: This is your browning fat and the start of the sauce. Love butter as much as we do? Try our easy compound butter next.
- Bell Peppers and Red Onion: Thin slices cook down sweet and soft. If you love them, our oven roasted bell peppers are a great side to keep around.
- Dry White Wine: Pick something you would happily sip, like a Pinot Grigio. It lifts all the browned bits off the pan.
- Lemon Juice and Heavy Cream: Fresh squeezed lemon brings the zip and a little cream turns everything silky.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This is an easy recipe to make your own, depending on what you have in the fridge.
- Skip the wine: Use chicken broth in the same amount and add an extra squeeze of lemon for brightness.
- Add shrimp: Toss a handful of peeled shrimp into the sauce during the last few minutes of the simmer until they turn pink.
- Use chicken breasts: Slice boneless breasts into thin strips so they cook at the same pace as tenderloins.
- Change the veggies: Add mushrooms or asparagus along with the peppers, or use just one color of pepper if that is what you have.
- Swap the pasta: Linguine or spaghetti works great too, and the sauce is also delicious over the same noodles we use for our spaghetti aglio e olio.
- Make it spicy: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes with the garlic. If you love a little heat in a creamy sauce, try our creamy pepperoncini chicken too.
How to Make Chicken Scampi
- Put the chicken in a large zip top bag with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss until the chicken is coated in the spices.
- Add the flour to the bag and toss again until every piece is coated.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken on both sides until it reaches 165 degrees F, about 10 to 15 minutes, then set it aside on a plate.
- Add the onion and bell peppers to the same pan and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir in the lemon juice and heavy cream.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, coat it in the sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately over angel hair pasta.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Shake off extra flour. A light coating browns better than a thick one, and it keeps the pan from getting gummy.
- Do not crowd the skillet. Cook in batches if you need to, so the chicken browns instead of steaming.
- Use a thermometer. Pull the chicken as soon as it hits 165 degrees F so it stays juicy.
- Scrape the pan. Those browned bits are pure flavor, and the wine is what lifts them into the sauce.
- Add garlic at the end. Minced garlic only needs about 30 seconds. Any longer and it can turn bitter.
- Time your pasta. Angel hair cooks fast, so start it while the sauce simmers and serve everything hot.
- Plan on bread. Set out our buttery salt bread rolls for the sauce left on the plate.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Chicken scampi is rich and saucy, so pair it with something fresh, like a crisp Caesar salad with our homemade Caesar dressing or a bright caprese panzanella salad. Roasted veggies like our Parmesan roasted yellow squash make an easy side too.
Serve it with a warm basket of our easy garlic rosemary focaccia and let everybody mop up the sauce. For a bigger Italian night, start with a small bowl of our easy cacio e pepe.
Pasta night regulars, keep going: our one pot Tuscan chicken pasta, chicken broccoli Alfredo, creamy chicken Alfredo bake, and blistered tomato chicken pasta are all family favorites.
If lemon and chicken is your kind of dinner, try our Italian lemon chicken foil packets or the classic marry me chicken. Seafood fans will love the same bright flavors in our easy cod piccata, and our chicken cacciatore is another skillet dinner worth making.
Chicken Scampi FAQs
Chicken scampi is a skillet dinner inspired by classic shrimp scampi. Chicken takes the place of the shrimp and gets simmered in a garlic, lemon, butter, and white wine sauce, often with cream and bell peppers, then served over pasta.
A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc is best for chicken scampi. Choose something you would drink, and skip anything sweet, since the sugar can throw off the bright lemon and garlic flavor of the sauce.
Yes, you can make chicken scampi without wine. Use the same amount of chicken broth to deglaze the pan and add a little extra lemon juice for brightness. The sauce will taste a bit milder but still creamy and delicious.
Angel hair is the classic pasta for chicken scampi because the thin strands soak up the sauce. Linguine, spaghetti, and fettuccine all work too. Cook the pasta while the sauce simmers so everything hits the table hot.
You can make chicken scampi up to a day ahead. Store the chicken and sauce in the fridge separately from the pasta, then reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of cream or broth and cook fresh pasta right before serving.
Store leftover chicken scampi in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it in a skillet over low heat with a splash of broth or cream, stirring gently, until the sauce loosens and the chicken is warmed through.
Want another creamy chicken dinner for busy nights? Our one pot Tuscan chicken pasta comes together in a single pot.
💛 From our kitchen to yours, Jason, Maddie & Lizzie.
We’re a dad and his girls making real food with real butter, real sugar, and a lot of laughing. Pull up a chair, you’re family here.
Easy Chicken Scampi (Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken)
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- cooked angel hair pasta to serve
Instructions
- Place the chicken along with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large zip top bag. Toss around so the chicken is coated in the spices.1 pound chicken tenderloins, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Add the flour and toss again to coat.1/2 cup flour
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter.3 tablespoons olive oil, 4 tablespoons butter
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook, browning on both sides until fully cooked, about 10 to 15 minutes. You know it is ready when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Take the cooked chicken out of the pan and set it aside on a plate.
- Add the onion and bell peppers and saute until softened, about 10 minutes.1/2 cup red onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 green bell pepper, 1/2 yellow bell pepper
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.6 cloves garlic
- Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan.3/4 cup dry white wine
- Stir in the lemon juice and heavy cream.2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Add the chicken back to the pan and coat it in the sauce.
- Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately over the angel hair pasta.cooked angel hair pasta
Notes
Cook the chicken in batches if your skillet is crowded, so it browns instead of steaming.
Use a meat thermometer. The chicken is done at an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Nutrition is an estimate per serving of the chicken and sauce and does not include the pasta.
Nutrition
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