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Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta

Garlic butter chicken pasta with spaghetti tossed in a glossy garlic-butter sauce, golden chicken strips, and Parmesan curls. Cooked in one skillet for a quick weeknight pasta dinner with bright lemon and a fragrant garlic finish.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 760
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken and seasoning
  • 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 0.01 Salt to taste
  • 0.01 pepper to taste
  • 0.01 garlic powder to taste
  • 0.01 Italian seasoning to taste
Pasta
  • 12 oz spaghetti cooked; reserve 1 cup pasta water
  • 1 cup pasta water reserved from cooking spaghetti
Garlic butter sauce
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 0.5 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
  • 1 Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the chicken
  1. Season the chicken strips with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side until golden and cooked through, then remove and set aside.
Make the garlic butter sauce
  1. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and golden at the edges.
Toss the pasta
  1. Add the lemon juice to the garlic butter. Toss in the cooked spaghetti and add the reserved pasta water a splash at a time, tossing until the sauce coats all the pasta.
Finish and serve
  1. Top the pasta with the seared chicken strips. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley generously, then serve immediately.

Notes

For the glossiest toss, add pasta water gradually until the sauce clings to the spaghetti like a light coating. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water or broth. Freezing isn’t recommended because pasta texture softens after thawing. For a lighter option, swap half the butter for olive oil and use reduced-fat Parmesan (expect a slightly less rich sauce).