✔ Updated · new copycat recipe with step photos
This copycat Olive Garden chicken scampi gives you golden chicken, sweet bell peppers and red onion in a garlicky cream sauce, all twirled up with angel hair. It's on the table in 40 minutes, and I promise it tastes like a night out.
How Do You Make Olive Garden Chicken Scampi at Home? (Quick Answer)
Dust chicken tenders in seasoned flour and sear them golden to 165°F. In the same pan, soften sliced red onion and bell peppers, add plenty of garlic, then reduce white wine, broth and lemon. Stir in cream and cold butter over low heat, add Parmesan, and toss with angel hair. Lay the chicken on top and finish with parsley.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Angel hair cooks in about 2 minutes, so drop it only when the sauce is nearly done. Overcooked angel hair turns to mush in the pan.
Why You'll Love This Chicken Scampi
- The Olive Garden plate at home with chicken, red onion and bell peppers in a garlic cream sauce over angel hair.
- One skillet sauce built on the browned bits the chicken leaves behind, so it tastes deep and savory.
- Weeknight fast 40 minutes start to finish, with the pasta cooking while the sauce simmers.
- Silky, not heavy thanks to wine, lemon and broth cutting through the cream and butter.
- Easy to flex swap the wine for broth, use shrimp, or go lighter with half-and-half.
What Is Olive Garden Chicken Scampi?
Olive Garden's chicken scampi is a creamy twist on scampi: chicken with bell peppers and red onions in a garlic cream sauce, served over angel hair pasta. It's one of the classic entrees people keep asking me to copy, and it's been on my list since my Austin years, when it was my go-to order.
Olive Garden doesn't publish its recipe, so the amounts here are mine. My test for any copycat is simple: does it taste like the memory, and can you make it reliably on a Tuesday? This one passes both, and you can tweak the garlic and heat to suit your crew.
Ingredient Notes
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Chicken tenderloins: they cook fast and evenly. Breast strips work just as well.
- Bell peppers: red and yellow bring sweetness, a little green adds that classic savory edge.
- Red onion: sliced thin so it turns soft and sweet in the pan.
- Garlic: six fresh cloves. Jarred garlic tastes flat here.
- White wine: a dry Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. The alcohol cooks off in the simmer, and broth works if you'd rather skip it.
- Cream, butter and Parmesan: the trio that makes the sauce silky. Grate the Parmesan finely from a wedge so it melts smoothly.
- Angel hair: the thin pasta Olive Garden uses. Have everything else ready before it hits the water.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Dry chicken, light flour. Pat the tenders really dry and shake off every bit of extra flour. A thin coat browns and gives the sauce a gentle body. A thick coat goes gummy.
- Keep the peppers a little crisp. Four to five minutes is enough. They keep cooking in the hot sauce, and I like that tiny snap against the soft pasta.
- Don't burn the garlic. Six cloves is a lot of garlic, which is exactly the point, but it goes bitter in seconds. Add it after the peppers and pour the wine in right after.
- Cold butter makes it glossy. Swirling in cold cubes off the high heat thickens the sauce into that silky restaurant finish. My first try I dumped in melted butter and it went greasy, so now I keep the cubes in the fridge until the last second.
- Pasta water is your friend. Angel hair drinks up sauce fast. Keep a mug of starchy water by the stove and splash it in until every strand looks coated.
- No wine? No problem. Use extra broth plus 1 more teaspoon of lemon juice. You lose a little brightness, but it's still lovely and the kids won't notice a thing.
- Check the chicken, not the clock. Thin tenders cook fast. A quick-read thermometer saying 165°F in the thickest piece means juicy chicken every time.
Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
4
servings15
minutes25
minutes780
kcal40
minutesA copycat-style take on Olive Garden chicken scampi: flour-dusted chicken tenders seared golden, sliced red onion and three colors of bell pepper, plenty of garlic, a splash of white wine and lemon, then a buttery garlic cream sauce tossed with angel hair and Parmesan. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- For the Chicken
1 1/2 lb chicken tenderloins (or breasts cut into strips)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- For the Vegetables
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 whole red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 whole yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 whole green bell pepper, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic cloves, minced
- For the Scampi Sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine (or extra chicken broth)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Parmesan, finely grated, plus more to serve
- To Finish
12 oz angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons fresh parsley or basil, chopped
Directions
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and toss it in the flour, shaking off the extra.
- Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in a single layer, in two batches if needed, for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and 165°F in the thickest piece. Move it to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the red onion and bell peppers to the same pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender with a little bite left. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits. Simmer for 2 minutes until reduced by about half, then add the broth, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and simmer 2 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, cook the angel hair for 2 to 3 minutes, or 1 minute less than the package says. Save 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Turn the heat to low. Stir in the cream, then swirl in the cold butter a few cubes at a time until the sauce is glossy. Stir in the Parmesan. Do not let it boil hard once the cheese is in.
- Add the angel hair and toss with tongs, loosening the sauce with splashes of pasta water. Slice the chicken if you like, lay it on top with the peppers, and finish with parsley and extra Parmesan. Serve right away.
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Variations
Once you've made it the classic way, try one of these.
- Shrimp scampi style: use shrimp instead of chicken, or make my Red Lobster shrimp scampi for the classic butter and lemon version.
- Lighter: swap the cream for half-and-half and use 2 tablespoons of butter. Keep the heat low so it doesn't split.
- Spicier: double the red pepper flakes and add a pinch to the flour too.
- Extra veg: a handful of baby spinach or halved cherry tomatoes stirred in at the end adds color.
- Gluten-free: dust the chicken in cornstarch and use your favorite gluten-free spaghetti.
What to Serve With Chicken Scampi
For the full restaurant feel, I put out a basket of my copycat Olive Garden breadsticks for mopping up the garlic sauce, plus a big crunchy salad with creamy Italian dressing. If it's a cold night, a cup of chicken gnocchi soup to start makes it a proper feast.
Storing and Reheating
Cool leftovers and refrigerate them in a covered container within 2 hours. They keep for up to 3 days, though the angel hair soaks up the sauce as it sits.
Reheat in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk or broth, tossing until it reaches 165°F. I don't freeze this one, since cream sauces and thin pasta both turn grainy and soft once thawed.
More Olive Garden Copycats
This is one of my favorite Olive Garden pastas to make at home, and there's a whole menu more in my Olive Garden copycat recipes collection, from Zuppa Toscana to tiramisu. You can browse every restaurant favorite in our copycat recipes roundup too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What comes in Olive Garden chicken scampi?
Olive Garden's chicken scampi is chicken with bell peppers and red onions in a garlic cream scampi sauce over angel hair pasta. This copycat uses the same building blocks: flour-dusted chicken tenders, three colors of pepper, red onion, lots of garlic, white wine, lemon, cream and butter.
Is Olive Garden chicken scampi made with cream?
Yes, it's a creamy scampi, unlike a classic shrimp scampi, which is usually just butter, garlic, wine and lemon. Here 3/4 cup of heavy cream and cold butter turn the garlic wine reduction into a silky sauce that clings to angel hair.
Can I make chicken scampi without wine?
Yes. Swap the 1/2 cup of white wine for more low-sodium chicken broth and add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice for brightness. The sauce is a little less tangy but still tastes great.
What pasta is best for chicken scampi?
Angel hair is what Olive Garden serves it with, and its thin strands soak up the cream sauce beautifully. Thin spaghetti or linguine also work, just cook them a few minutes longer and save pasta water to loosen the sauce.
Can I use chicken breast instead of tenderloins?
Yes. Slice 1 1/2 lb of boneless breasts into strips about 1/2 inch thick, or butterfly and halve them. Cook until the thickest piece reads 165°F on a thermometer.
How do I store and reheat leftovers?
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within 2 hours for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of milk or broth over low heat, stirring, until it reaches 165°F. Cream sauces can split in a hot microwave, so use 50% power.
Can I make it with shrimp?
Yes. Swap the chicken for 1 1/2 lb of peeled large shrimp. Sear them for 1 to 2 minutes per side until pink and opaque, about 145°F, set aside, and add them back with the pasta.
