Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Copycat

If you love Olive Garden Chicken Scampi, WAIT until you make this version at home! This is my take on the classic, but of course I had to Melissa Jo it a little bit. We’ve got beautifully golden chicken tenderloins, peppers and onions, lots of garlic, Chardonnay, a creamy lemony scampi sauce, and plenty of freshly grated Pecorino Romano.

And honestly, at this point, I might be the queen of the copycat recipes. I actually worked at both Outback Steakhouse AND Chili’s, so when it comes to those recipes, I truly know what they’re supposed to taste like! I even have some of the actual recipes from my restaurant days.

If you love a good restaurant copycat, you HAVE to try my Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken, Outback Steakhouse Walkabout Soup—YES, the discontinued one!—Outback Steakhouse Coconut Shrimp, and my Outback Steakhouse Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing.

Now, did I work at Olive Garden? Absolutely not. But have I eaten there a copious amount of times? Absolutely yes. So I knew exactly what I wanted this Chicken Scampi to taste like—and dare I say, I think we made it even better.

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Olive Garden serves theirs with angel hair, but angel hair is not admissible in the kitchen of Melissa Jo to the Real to the Recipes. I said what I said! I used pappardelle because that’s what I had, but honestly, fettuccine would be absolutely perfect here too.

The BEST part? Almost everything happens in one skillet. Once that chicken comes out, do not clean that pan! All those buttery, golden chicken drippings are exactly where our sauce starts. This whole dinner comes together pretty quickly, and I’m telling you—make this one. It is freaking delicious!

For this recipe I used my go to cast iron skillet!

Coating your chicken: FLOUR FIRST → EGG SECOND → STRAIGHT INTO THE SKILLET.

Here’s the trick: after about 5 minutes, gently grab a tenderloin with your tongs and try to lift it. If you feel resistance and that chicken does not want to release from the skillet, DON’T FLIP IT YET. Once the chicken releases easily, it’s ready to flip.

Remove the chicken to a plate.

Keep the same pan!

Right into those chicken drippings, add your sliced bell peppers, red onion, and sliced garlic.

Add the Italian seasoning, onion powder, black pepper, and a little salt.

We are not trying to fry the heck out of these vegetables. Let them slowly soften and get delicious.

Get your fettuccine or pappardelle noodles.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil while you start building your sauce.

Deglaze with Chardonnay and use your spoon to scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. You want to give the wine time to reduce while the peppers and onions continue softening and soaking up all that flavor.

Once the sauce has thickened, transfer your pasta directly from the pasta pot into the skillet.

Click here for my top! I am wearing size small!

More Delicious Creamy Pasta Recipes!

Melissa’s Tips!

• Don’t flip the chicken too soon. If it’s sticking to the skillet, it’s telling you it isn’t ready. Once that coating is properly browned, the chicken will release much more easily.
• Do not clean that skillet! All those browned chicken bits and buttery drippings become the beginning of your scampi sauce.
• Flour first, egg second. Coat the chicken well in flour, shake off the excess, dip it in the egg mixture, and put it directly into the skillet.
• Slice your garlic instead of mincing it. I love those thin little pieces of garlic throughout the peppers and sauce.
• You don’t need all three colors of peppers. I used red and green because that’s what I had. If you have yellow too, throw it in!
• Cook your pasta 1–2 minutes shy of al dente. It finishes cooking in the sauce, which keeps it from getting mushy.
• Save extra pasta water. Start with ½ cup in the sauce, but keep another ½ cup nearby. If you use the full 16 ounces of pasta, you may need a little extra.
• Use freshly grated Pecorino Romano. This is not the time to be shy with the cheese!
• Taste your sauce before adding the pasta. Lemon, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and Pecorino can all be adjusted at the end.
• And yes, you technically can use angel hair if you want the full Olive Garden experience. Just don’t tell me about it. 

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Melissa Jo

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Copycat

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This Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Copycat is made with beautifully golden chicken tenderloins, sautéed peppers, red onion and sliced garlic, with fettuccine or pappardelle tossed in a creamy Chardonnay, lemon and Pecorino Romano scampi sauce. Everything builds right in the same skillet so none of those delicious buttery chicken drippings go to waste. It’s creamy, savory, a little spicy, fresh from the lemon, and absolutely freaking delicious!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Calories: 815

Ingredients

  

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Chicken

• 1 ½ lbs chicken tenderloins
• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Creamy Scampi Pasta

• 12 – 16 oz fettuccine or pappardelle
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced, optional
• ½ red onion thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper plus more to taste
• Salt to taste
• ¾ cup dry white wine such as Chardonnay
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• ½ – 1 cup reserved pasta water as needed
• Zest from the remaining ½ lemon
• Juice of about ½ lemon or to taste
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano plus more for serving
• Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• Fresh parsley chopped, for finishing

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Lemon Zester
• spider strainer
• Tongs
• Wooden Spatula
• checkered cutting board

Method

 

1. Pat the chicken tenderloins dry and season both sides with salt and black pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, zest of half a lemon, and a little salt and pepper.
2. Dredge each chicken tenderloin in the seasoned flour first, shaking off any excess. Then dip it into the egg mixture, coating both sides.
3. Heat 4 tablespoons salted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken directly to the skillet after dipping it in the egg mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes without disturbing it. Once the chicken naturally releases from the pan and is golden brown, flip and cook for about another 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low as needed and continue cooking until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
4. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. Do not clean the skillet! Leave all of those delicious buttery chicken drippings right in there.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 12–16 ounces of fettuccine or pappardelle until about 1–2 minutes shy of al dente. Before draining, reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water.
6. While the pasta cooks, add the sliced red bell pepper, green bell pepper, optional yellow bell pepper, sliced red onion, and sliced garlic directly to the skillet with the chicken drippings. Season with Italian seasoning, onion powder, black pepper, and a little salt to taste. Sauté over medium to medium-low heat until the vegetables are softened, golden, and translucent.
7. Pour in the Chardonnay and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let the wine simmer over low heat for about 3–5 minutes so it can reduce slightly.
8. Pour in the heavy cream and about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Bring the sauce just to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Let it cook until the sauce begins to thicken.
9. Add the remaining lemon zest and the juice of about half a lemon. Stir in about ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano. Taste and adjust with additional salt, black pepper, lemon juice, crushed red pepper flakes, or Pecorino Romano as needed.
10. Add the pasta directly to the skillet and toss until completely coated in the creamy scampi sauce. Add additional reserved pasta water, a little at a time, if needed to loosen the sauce.
11. Finish with fresh parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, and additional Pecorino Romano. Nestle the chicken over the pasta and serve immediately with extra Pecorino Romano on top.

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Nutrition

Calories: 815kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 42gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 271mgSodium: 349mgPotassium: 850mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2194IUVitamin C: 83mgCalcium: 192mgIron: 4mg

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👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cream sauces naturally thicken once refrigerated, so when reheating, add a small splash of water or heavy cream to loosen the sauce back up. I recommend reheating it gently over low heat rather than blasting it on high. This helps keep your chicken tender and your cream sauce nice and smooth.