Description
This Chicken Scampi recipe is a light and flavorful weeknight dinner featuring tender cubed chicken breasts sautéed with garlic, white wine, and cherry tomatoes, tossed with whole wheat angel hair pasta and fresh baby spinach. Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s a high-protein, family-friendly meal with bright lemon and parsley accents.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta
- 8 ounces whole wheat angel hair pasta (or your favorite plain or gluten-free pasta)
Chicken
- 24 ounces chicken breasts (from 3 boneless skinless breasts), cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (approx. ¼ teaspoon)
- Olive oil spray
Sauce and Veggies
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup dry white wine (or broth)
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley (plus more for garnish)
Instructions
- Prepare chicken: Cut the chicken breasts into ½ inch cubes. Season both sides with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and about ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
- Cook chicken: Heat a large skillet over high heat. Spray with olive oil and add half the chicken cubes. Cook until browned on all sides and no longer pink inside, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken cubes. Set all cooked chicken aside and reduce heat on skillet to medium.
- Sauté garlic: Add ½ tablespoon butter to the skillet and melt. Add thinly sliced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Make sauce base: Pour in the white wine or broth, add crushed red pepper flakes and remaining ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze and cook the mixture until reduced by half, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes: Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 1 minute to soften them slightly.
- Finish sauce: Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons butter and melt into the sauce. Stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice. Remove the skillet from heat to prevent overcooking.
- Cook pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the whole wheat angel hair pasta according to package directions for al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
- Toss pasta and chicken: Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with sauce, then incorporate the cooked chicken pieces. Add the baby spinach and toss everything together over medium heat for about 1 minute to wilt the spinach.
- Adjust consistency and garnish: If the sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water a little at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Finish by stirring in chopped parsley and garnish with extra parsley. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- This Chicken Scampi recipe is a light, family-friendly weeknight dinner that’s high in protein and ready in under 30 minutes.
- If you prefer, substitute the dry white wine with chicken broth for a milder flavor.
- Use gluten-free pasta to make this dish gluten-free.
- Adding extra red pepper flakes will create more heat if desired.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and reheated gently on the stovetop.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 483 kcal
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 374 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.5 g
- Fiber: 7.5 g
- Protein: 47 g
- Cholesterol: 139 mg
