This Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta is a quick and delicious meal for the busy weeknights ahead. You can use either fresh chicken and real lemons or precooked chicken and bottled lemon juice to make this dish. It is delicious either way! (Of course, nothing beats fresh lemon, so if you have ’em use ’em…)
Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 12 oz dried pasta
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced into small strips (uncooked or precooked)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried Basil
- 1 lemon, juiced (or if you use bottled lemon juice, use whatever is equivalent to 1 lemon. I originally recommended 1/2 cup, but different lemon juices may be more concentrated…)
- 1 cup of half n half or heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus a bit more to top the dish after cooking
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup of reserved pasta cooking liquid
- 1 tsp of cornstarch (if needed)
Instructions:
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water. When draining the pasta, reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Keep pasta warm. (To keep the pasta from sticking together after cooking, you can mix in about 1 tsp of olive oil.)
- While the pasta is cooking, season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium high and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, chicken, garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with. Cook until chicken is golden and completely cooked. (If using precooked chicken, saute the garlic and red pepper about 3 minutes before adding the chicken, then cook a minute or to longer until the chicken is thoroughly coated and hot.)
- Add about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking liquid, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and cream to the chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened. If you want a little more cream sauce, add the rest of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. (If you want your cream sauce thicker, add a tsp of corn starch to 2 tablespoons of water and mix into the sauce. Continue cooking until desired thickness is achieved.)
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and turn heat off. Mix everything together until pasta is thoroughly coated. Top with dried basil, cracked fresh pepper and additional Parmesan cheese.
Serve and Enjoy!
The addition of peas, broccoli or asparagus would be a fabulous complement to this dish. (I try to keep the veggies on the side instead of in mixed in, because veggies on the side tends to reduce the amount of whining from a certain little boy…)
If this is your kind of recipe, you may want to follow along. (I would love to have you as a follower!) You can subscribe using the Google Friend Connect widget, through a reader, or signing up via email. Just click on one of the icons below:
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Deborah Whitton says
Don't bother with this one, the lemon and cream do not go well together, ruined dinner
Jamie says
Sorry you didn't like it! Lemon and creamy pasta do go well together, there are tons of recipes out there to try.
PeruvianChica says
Love this recipe!!!! My kids even request it now!!! I also just make the sauce with chicken, add fresh spinach, and put it in a cooked halved spaghetti squash. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Keeral says
I regularly buy "Realemon" bottled lemon juice (the good old bottle from the supermarket that is green, is sort of bulbous-shaped at the top). Its label states: 3 tablespoons to give equivalent of juice from 1 lemon. So that's what I did and it turned out GREAT. Just the right balance with the creamy ingredients and seasonings.
Stac says
We loved this! I used a half cup of freshly squeezed lemon and it was perfect. I would love to add some mushrooms, capers and artichokes next time. Yum!
Heidi says
1/2 cup lemon juice was way too much and we LOVE lemon.
Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom says
What measurement does your bottle of lemon juice say to use in place of one lemon. (I used a real lemon and I think I just used a random conversion from the internet.) Your feed back would be very helpful and I could update the recipe.
Thanks,
Jamie
Meredith England says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing!
Ali @ JamHands.net says
Thank you so much for linking up last week at Recipe Sharing Monday. The new link party is now up and I'd love it if you joined us again. Have a great week!
TidyMom says
easy and delicious! just the kind of dinner recipes I like!!
Thanks for linking up this week! I've featured your post in my wrap up! http://tidymom.net/2012/12-creative-ideas/ Have a great rest of the weekend!
Heather Kinnaird says
another fantastic recipe – we love out pasta
Kelly - TheNODramaMama says
This looks delicious! Found you through the Creat & Inspire Hop!
Mary ~ says
This looks and sounds so good! I just pinned your yummy recipe! Thanks for sharing! Cheers!
shopannies says
sounds so yummy great week night supper
come see what I shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Jo says
I'm new follower visiting from DIY by design.When I saw "lemon" I had to come check it out,I love lemon!!…This recipe sounds delish,I've got to try!
Artsy VaVa says
Sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Claiming Our Space says
This looks delicious. I bet with peas and bacon it would be amazing. I would love it if you would share this on Tout It Tuesday. http://www.claimingourspace.com/2012/08/tout-it-tuesday-19.html
Alison @ mommadidit.blogspot.com says
Sounds fabulous. Sounds like dinner. Thanks for sharing!
Cathy @ My 1929 Charmer says
This sounds so delicious. I'm wishing I had some in front of me right now. I follow you every way possible! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – it helped to make make the party a success!
bflomama says
Oh, this looks so good! I think we are going to try it this week… xo
Janiene Bishop says
YUM! Pinned it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!