This Chicken Scampi Olive Garden Copycat Recipe is made with a creamy garlic white wine sauce, bell peppers and juicy breaded chicken.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or any other neutral cooking oil like canola, avocado or grapeseed oil.
- Chicken tenders – boneless skinless chicken thighs or turkey would also work.
- Flour – all-purpose flour is best but you could also try using whole wheat or gluten-free flour.
- Italian seasoning – you can use store-bought or homemade Italian seasoning.
- Angel hair pasta – scampi is traditionally served over angel hair pasta but you can use any pasta of your choice.
- Red, yellow and green peppers – feel free to use whatever colour bell peppers you have on hand.
- Red onion – white onion, yellow onion or shallots would also be good here.
- Butter – olive oil would also work.
- Garlic – I prefer fresh minced garlic, but jarred minced garlic would work in a pinch.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth or stock have a similar flavour.
- Dry white wine – use any white wine of your choice or substitute for an equal amount of broth or stock.
- Heavy cream – half and half or whole milk can be used, but the sauce won’t be as creamy.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great substitute for parmesan.
- Parsley – for garnish
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to make Olive Garden chicken scampi
Step 1: Season the chicken.
Mix flour and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Toss chicken tenders in mixture, then season with salt & pepper.
Step 2: Cook the chicken.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat and saute chicken for 3-4 minutes each side until fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 3: Sauté the peppers and onion.
Without wiping pan clean, add bell peppers and onion to skillet, seasoning with salt & pepper and sauteeing for 4-5 minutes until tender-crisp. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 4: Make the sauce.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling water on the stove then drain and set aside. Melt butter in skillet, then saute garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in chicken broth, white wine and heavy cream, bringing to a boil. Stir in parmesan cheese and whisk until fully blended.
Step 5: Mix everything together.
Add pasta and veggies to skillet with sauce and gently toss to combine.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Serve with chicken tenders overtop and garnish with fresh parsley and more parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
What to serve with Olive Garden chicken scampi
With lean protein, fresh vegetables, dairy products and carbohydrates on the plate, this chicken scampi Olive Garden recipe covers the basic food groups pretty well! That being said, if you want to serve something on the side, here are some ideas:
- Garlic parmesan asparagus
- Side salad
- Soup (try this zuppa toscana Olive Garden copycat recipe!)
- Olive Garden breadsticks
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken scampi is a simple but delicious chicken and pasta recipe with a creamy and buttery sauce. It’s typically served over angel hair pasta with breaded chicken. This chicken scampi recipe is a copycat version of the famous Olive Garden dish!
Scampi sauce is a deliciously rich garlic butter sauce that is most often served with shrimp over pasta. The sauce for this Olive Garden chicken scampi also includes white wine and heavy cream.
One serving of my chicken scampi Olive Garden copycat recipe has 513 calories. In comparison, according to the nutritional information on the restaurant's website, one serving of their dish has 1260 calories, so you’re saving more than half the calories by making chicken scampi at home.
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days in airtight glass containers. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy your Olive Garden chicken scampi any day of the week!
The best way to reheat this dish is in a skillet on the stovetop. Make sure to reheat it over medium heat to prevent the sauce from overheating and separating. Stir occasionally and cook until the dish warms through and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
You can also microwave the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes – just make sure to sprinkle some water over top and stir halfway through reheating.
Freezing this recipe
Dishes with cream in them are not very freezer-friendly because they tend to separate as they thaw out. Although the sauce will typically recombine as it reheats, it will change the texture, making the sauce somewhat grainy and unpleasant. For that reason, I don’t recommend freezing this chicken scampi Olive Garden recipe.
That being said, you can freeze the cooked chicken tenders for a future date. Just make sure to eat them within 30 days and reheat them in the oven before serving.
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Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Salt & pepper
- 1/2 lb angel hair pasta
- 1 each red, yellow and green pepper, sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Mix flour and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Toss chicken tenders in mixture, then season with salt & pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat and saute chicken for 3-4 minutes each side until fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Without wiping pan clean, add bell peppers and onion to skillet, seasoning with salt & pepper and sauteeing for 4-5 minutes until tender-crisp. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling water on the stove then drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in skillet, then saute garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in chicken broth, white wine and heavy cream, bringing to a boil. Stir in parmesan cheese and whisk until fully blended.
- Add pasta and veggies to skillet with sauce and gently toss to combine. Serve with chicken tenders overtop and garnish with fresh parsley and more parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Karen Stuber says
Delicious! Tasted just like Olive Garden, only better.
But I feel a lb of pasta was too much. Next time I’ll double the sauce or cut back on the pasta
Donna says
This dish was delicious. I did find that a pound of pasta was too much. As I was adding to skillet I cut back on it. Next time I will either cut back on amount of pasta or double the sauce recipe. 12 oz. of pasta is plenty for this amount of sauce.
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks for your feedback Donna. I do revisit and rejig recipes from time to time and I’ll consider this if I go to reshoot it.
Kelly Ritz says
Tastes just like OG! I followed the recipe exactly but doubled the sauce only and it was perfect, left warm on the 1lb of pasta it thickened slightly in the starch while waiting to be served. Thanks for sharing!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed 🙂
Casey Wagner says
Hello!
I was hoping you could help me out. So the recipe says 6 ck tenders yet in the comments it say it serves 6. But the plating shows 2 ck tenders per plate.
Please help 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Casey – this was just a styling choice with the photo. Each bowl of pasta will get one tender.
Sandra says
This looks delicious – and not too difficult to put together. The recipe calls for 5 tenders but serves 6 people (and it looks like your servings have 2 tenders per bowl) – typo? I just spotted fillets on the Superstore flyer for this week – I’ve never bought them before – I bet this would make a great meal prep dish for the week!
Taylor Stinson says
Sorry about that Sandra, yes it is a typo. I’ve corrected the recipe now, thanks for the heads up!