This Olive Garden chicken scampi recipe is made with crispy breaded chicken tenders, sautéed bell peppers, red onion, and a creamy white wine sauce tossed with pasta. The chicken gets a double dredge in seasoned flour for a golden crust, and the sauce comes together in the same skillet. It serves four and takes about 35 minutes.
We bread the chicken using a flour-milk-flour double dredge and let it rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes before it hits the pan. That rest time sets the coating so it doesn’t slide off in the oil. The vegetables cook first in the same skillet, then come out while the chicken goes in. Everything builds in layers in one pan, and the wine pulls up all the browned flavor stuck to the bottom.
We let the wine reduce by two-thirds before adding the cream, which concentrates the flavor and keeps the sauce from tasting watery. The cream goes in last and only needs a minute or two to thicken. If you pour it in too early with too much wine still in the pan, the sauce stays thin and you lose that rich, glossy coat that makes the restaurant version so good.
Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes20
minutes850
kcalThis Olive Garden chicken scampi is crispy breaded chicken over pasta with sautéed peppers and a creamy white wine sauce made in one skillet.
Ingredients
1 pound chicken tenders
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt, plus extra
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ green bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
¾ cup white wine
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
¾ cup heavy cream
1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions
Directions
- Set up a breading station. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Pour the milk into a second shallow dish. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet.
- Dredge each chicken tender in the flour, dip it into the milk, then dredge again in the flour. Set the breaded chicken on the wire rack and let it rest for 10 minutes before cooking.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced peppers, onion, and garlic. Season lightly with salt. Sauté until the peppers start to brown, then remove the vegetables from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 7 minutes per side until golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Pour the white wine into the skillet and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a spoon.
- Let the wine reduce by about two-thirds.
- Stir in the Italian seasoning and heavy cream. Mix until the sauce is smooth.
- Return the vegetables to the skillet along with the cooked pasta. Toss everything together. Plate the pasta and sauce, then arrange the chicken pieces on top.
FAQs
Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken tenders?
Yes. Slice boneless breasts into strips about the same size as tenders so they cook evenly. Thicker pieces take longer in the pan and the coating can burn before the inside is done. Keeping them thin is the whole point of this dish.
The coating falls off my chicken every time. What’s the trick?
The 10-minute rest after breading is what locks it in. Don’t skip it. The flour absorbs the milk during that time and forms a seal around the chicken. Also make sure your oil is hot before the chicken goes in. Cold oil soaks into the breading instead of crisping it.
What kind of white wine works best for the sauce?
A dry white like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works well. You want something you’d actually drink, not cooking wine from a box. The wine reduces down and concentrates, so anything too sweet or too harsh will show up in the final sauce. Dry and clean is what you’re after.
What drinks pair well with Olive Garden chicken scampi?
Italian Lemonade is the classic pairing if you want something cold and refreshing that doesn’t compete with the white wine sauce. For something with a little more kick, a Spiked Strawberry Lemonade Recipe works surprisingly well with the garlic and cream flavors. Both are easy to batch ahead if you’re cooking for a group.
