Master one of Olive Garden’s most beloved dishes right in your kitchen! Our copycat Chicken Scampi recipe perfectly recreates the restaurant’s tender chicken, colorful peppers, and signature white wine sauce you can’t resist. Best of all? Our version costs a fraction of the restaurant price and serves your whole family.
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What Makes the Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta So Good?
Chicken scampi is similar to shrimp scampi, except it’s more kid-friendly and economical. You can use chicken tenders, typically less expensive and sure to please the entire family.
The recipe uses many of the same flavor components as the original shrimp scampi, meaning you can enjoy sauteed veggies and delicious sauce with your juicy chicken.
It’s the perfect way to upgrade plain-old chicken tenders or breasts into an exquisite, memorable meal! Try this recipe to make your weeknights more exciting.
Why This Copycat Recipe Works
Restaurant-quality results at home
It uses the exact same fresh vegetables as Olive Garden
Recreates their signature sauce technique
More generous portion size than the restaurant
Customizable spice levels
A perfect balance of garlic and wine
Chicken Scampi Ingredients
This copycat Olive Garden chicken scampi recipe uses fresh ingredients, combining the wonderful flavors of peppers and red onions. Here’s what you will need:
Chicken Tenders or Chicken Breasts – this is the main protein, tenders provide a better texture than chicken breasts
All-purpose flour – Creates signature light breading
Milk – Helps breading adhere
Salt & Pepper – Enhance the overall flavors
Red, Green & Orange Bell Peppers – Provides color and flavor
Red Onion – Adds sweetness and texture
Garlic – Essential flavor base
Pasta – Spaghetti or Fettuccini
White Wine – Creates classic scampi flavor
Heavy Cream – Provides richness and body
Italian Seasonings – Authentic herb blend
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
Bread the chicken first. Dredge the chicken tenders in flour, milk, salt, and pepper. Let them rest while you prepare the pasta and vegetables.
Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions.
While the pasta is boiling, saute the peppers, onions, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Remove the veggies from the skillet and add the chicken.
Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and done. Once the chicken is ready, remove the tenders from the skillet.
Prepare the wine sauce for the peppers and chicken in the same skillet.
Add the pasta and veggies back into the sauce and stir to combine.
Serve the pasta with chicken tenders on top. If desired, sprinkle parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley over the dish.
Please scroll down to the recipe card to see my video on creating this dish!
Professional Tips for Perfect Results
Chicken Preparation
Tenderizing:
Pound to even thickness
Pat dry before dredging
Season flour well
Breading Technique:
Use one hand for wet, one for dry
Let breading rest for 5 minutes
Don’t overcrowd the pan
Sauce Secrets
Wine Selection:
Use drinking-quality wine
Avoid cooking wine
Chardonnay preferred
Cream Integration:
Add slowly while stirring
Keep heat medium-low
Watch for proper thickness
Perfect Sides for Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
The classic way to serve Chicken Scampi is over pasta. Angel hair pasta or another thin pasta is ideal.
Of course, there is no rule saying that you can’t enjoy this dish alone. If you are going this route, either garlic bread or homemade Olive Garden breadsticks is the perfect way to sop up all that delicious sauce!
No matter how you serve your Chicken Scampi, consider adding caprese bruschetta or Marinated Mozzarella Salad as a starter or side.
Storing Chicken Scampi
Olive Garden Scampi sauce leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about five days. Reheat gently over low heat. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of wine or milk.
The cream, lemon juice, and wine in the recipe make it difficult to freeze the Chicken Scampi without losing quality.
How To Reheat Homemade Chicken Scampi
I suggest reheating this dish on the stovetop. Ideally, reheat gently over low to medium heat. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of wine or milk.
Cover the pan to prevent moisture loss! Flip the chicken occasionally and remove it from the heat once the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
You can reheat pasta in the microwave if you made pasta and stored it separately. Otherwise, it might turn soggy if you reheat it with the chicken and sauce.
Do you like the Olive Garden restaurant? Try these Olive Garden copycat recipes
Olive Garden Fettuccine Recipe
Delicious Italian Recipes for You to Make
Pizza Hut Pastas – Cavatini
Risotto Recipe – Instant Pot
Be sure to check out more of my Olive Garden copycat recipes and the best homemade Italian food.
Did you make and love this recipe? Please review it below and share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
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Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Notes
When choosing wine for this recipe, I would choose an inexpensive Chardonnay or another dry white wine. Pick something that is drinkable.
Another substitute idea would be to use dry sherry when a recipe calls for white wine. You don’t have to worry about sherry going bad, in a couple of days. This stays good for a couple of months.
You can make this a meatless dish by leaving out the chicken and replacing it with some mushrooms instead. Either way, this is going to be delicious.
Nutrition
Chicken Scampi Olive Garden Recipe FAQs
What Does Scampi-Style Mean?
Scampi style has come to mean any dish that combines butter, garlic, and an acidic ingredient such as wine or citrus juice. You can find a wide range of scampi-style dishes, including shrimp, scallops, squid, beef, and chicken.
What Is Scampi Sauce Made Of?
First, in Italian, scampi is plural for scampo, a type of shellfish commonly called a Dublin Bay Prawn or Norway Lobster in English.
A traditional scampi sauce in Italy is straightforward. Prawns are sauteed in butter and garlic, maybe with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of white wine to help balance the richness and provide a bit of brightness. Many cooks add their twist to scampi recipes, such as cream, vegetables, and herbs.
What Kind of Wine Do I Use for Scampi?
You don’t need to spend a fortune on wine to cook scampi, but you should avoid cheap cooking wines.
Use a dry, crisp white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a Chardonnay. A very dry Riesling or a Pinot Grigio is also an option. A good rule of thumb to help when choosing wines for cooking is to use whichever type you will serve alongside the dish.
How Do You Thicken Scampi Sauce?
Scampi sauce is not supposed to be overly thick, but if you feel yours is on the runny side, you can use a couple of methods to correct the problem.
The best way to thicken the sauce is by turning down the heat and simmering the cream for a few minutes longer before returning the chicken to the pan.
For a faster option, dissolve a teaspoon of cornstarch in an equal amount of water to make a slurry. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and simmer until thickened.
How Many Calories Are in Olive Garden’s Chicken Scampi?
According to Olive Garden’s nutritional menu, an order of Chicken Scampi has 1260 calories, with over half coming from fat. The copycat Olive Garden Chicken Scampi recipe contains slightly fewer calories.
