Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta With Garlic and Parmesan
This Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta is the perfect weeknight meal. The decadent cream sauce is flavored with lemon zest, garlic, white wine, and Parmesan. It's all topped with crispy, juicy chicken breasts encrusted with breadcrumbs, Italian Seasoning, and Parmesan.
Servings 5 servings
Calories 622kcal
Ingredients
- 10 oz fettucini pasta See notes.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Saute your chicken in a pan without breadcrumbs and cheese if you don't want breaded chicken)
- 1 pound skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs See notes.
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup olive oil If pan searing the chicken.
- cooking oil spray If air frying. I use olive oil
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves Minced.
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream See notes.
- 1/4 cup dry white wine I used Pinot Grigio. Omit if you wish.
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest See notes.
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 cups cooked broccoli florets
- 2-3 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
Pasta
- Cook the pasta in accordance with the instructions on the package.
Chicken Prep
- Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian Seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl large enough to dredge the chicken breasts. Stir to combine.
- Place the egg in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken. Beat the egg.
- Dip the chicken in the egg and then the breadcrumbs mixture.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Pan Seared)
- Place a skillet on medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup of olive oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the breaded chicken breasts. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until crisp. Ensure the chicken has reached a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer.
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips or chunks for serving.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken (Air Fryer)
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil spray.
- Place in the breaded chicken breasts in the air fryer. Spray the top of the chicken with cooking oil.
- Cook for 12-15 minutes on 370 degrees or until the chicken has crisped and reached a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer. I don't flip the chicken, but you can if you wish around 10 minutes.
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips or chunks for serving.
Lemon Cream Sauce
- Place a skillet or pot on medium heat and add the butter. When melted, add the garlic and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the heavy cream, white wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, and stir until combined.
- Lower the heat to Low and add the Parmesan Reggiano, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir constantly and cook until the cheese melts. Taste the sauce repeatedly to ensure it meets your liking. Add additional salt or pepper as needed.
- Add in the broccoli and spinach. Stir. Combine the sauce and cooked pasta.
- Allow the sauce and pasta to cook together on Low for 5-10 minutes.
Serve
- Serve the pasta alongside the chicken.
Video
Notes
- Fettuccine is wider than most pasta types and more hearty. Because fettuccini is thick it literally drinks up the sauce. The sauce penetrates into the pasta, which is actually what I like about it. You can taste the flavor of the sauce in the pasta. But when you go to reheat the pasta, it may appear drier than when you first made it.
- If you’re looking to make this for leftovers that are still saucy, spaghetti, linguine, and penne are my favorites to use.
- Boil the water and pasta first and then start on the chicken so the chicken and pasta cook at the same time, which saves a lot of time in this recipe.
- I like thick strips of chicken so I leave the breasts intact. If you like thin strips of chicken, slice your chicken breasts in half (horizontally) to create 4 cutlets. When cooked, slice your chicken into strips.
- Cook time for the chicken will vary based on how thick your chicken is. Be sure to watch it closely. If you cut the chicken into thin cutlets, cook time is typically around 10 minutes.
- You can use any type of breadcrumbs you wish for the chicken.
- I used fresh spinach and frozen steamed broccoli for the veggies.
- If you want a hint of lemon flavor (and not much), start with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and no zest.
- If you want lemon flavor, but not a ton, start with 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
- For immense lemon flavor, I recommend 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. You can add more of either of these if you really want even more lemon flavor.
- Lemon juice alone won’t provide much flavor. Most of the flavor comes from the zest. Whenever you are making a recipe for the first time, your focus should be on making it to suit your taste. Start with a little lemon juice and a little lemon zest, taste repeatedly, and build from there. Once you add something you can’t take it back, but you can always add more if necessary.
- You can substitute any milk for heavy whipping cream. The texture will not be the same.
- I don't thicken the cream sauce because it seeps into the fettucini perfectly. If you want to thicken your sauce, combine 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Stir and add it to your sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 622kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 28g