Why drive to the restaurant and wait for a table when you can recreate the magic of Olive Garden Chicken Scampi in your own kitchen? This dish is a fan favorite for a reason: tender, lightly breaded chicken strips, colorful bell peppers, and onions, all tossed in a creamy, velvety garlic sauce over delicate angel hair pasta.
Whether you are looking for a special date-night meal or a 30-minute family dinner, this copycat recipe tastes exactly like the real thing—perhaps even better.
What You Need: The Authentic Ingredients
To get that signature restaurant taste, specific ingredients are non-negotiable.
- The Pasta: You must use Angel Hair (Capellini). Its thin texture holds the light scampi sauce perfectly. Heavier noodles like fettuccine will weigh this dish down.
- The Chicken: Olive Garden uses chicken tenders. You want them lightly dusted in flour, not heavily battered.
- The Vegetables: A colorful mix of red, yellow, and green bell peppers, plus red onion.
- The “Scampi” Element: White wine (Pinot Grigio is best), heavy cream, butter, and lots of garlic.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep the Chicken
Cut 1 lb of chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces. Season flour with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour—this coating helps thicken the sauce later.
2. Sauté the Chicken
In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through (about 3-4 minutes per side). Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. Cook the Veggies
In the same pan (don’t clean it!), add your sliced bell peppers and red onions. Sauté for 3-5 minutes. You want them “crisp-tender”—cooked but still having a slight snap. Remove them and set aside with the chicken.
4. Make the Olive Garden Scampi Sauce
This is the secret weapon.
- Deglaze: Pour 1/2 cup of dry white wine into the hot pan. Scrape up the brown bits (fond) from the bottom—that’s pure flavor.
- Simmer: Let the wine reduce by half.
- Cream: Lower the heat and stir in 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
- Thicken: Let it simmer gently until it coats the back of a spoon.
5. Combine & Serve
Toss the cooked angel hair pasta, chicken, and veggies back into the sauce. Stir gently until everything is coated in that creamy garlic goodness.
Variations: Chicken and Shrimp Scampi
Want to upgrade to the “Tour of Italy” vibe? It is easy to turn this into chicken and shrimp scampi.
- When to add shrimp: Add raw, peeled shrimp to the pan after you remove the chicken. Cook them for 2-3 minutes until pink, remove them, and then proceed with the veggies. Add them back in at the very end.
The Secret to the Sauce
Many home cooks struggle with scampi sauce breaking (separating). To prevent this:
- Don’t boil the cream: Keep it at a gentle simmer. High heat can cause dairy to curdle.
- Pasta Water: Save a mug of starchy pasta water before draining the noodles. If your sauce gets too thick, splash in a little pasta water to thin it out without losing flavor.
Storage and Reheating
This dish is best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheating Tip: Pasta absorbs sauce in the fridge. When reheating in the microwave or on the stove, add a splash of water or milk to bring the creamy texture back to life.
Conclusion
This Olive Garden Chicken Scampi recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It’s rich, colorful, and surprisingly easy to make. Serve it with a side salad and some garlic breadsticks, and you’ll never need a reservation again.
