Nutrition: 437 Calories | 8g Net Carbs | 42.3g Protein | 25.7g Total Fat
A quick and easy Olive Garden chicken scampi recipe the whole family will enjoy with sweet bell peppers and tender chicken in a lemon garlic scampi sauce.
Do you ever get stuck trying to plan meals? I do. Honestly, it’s often the hardest part for me. My mind goes blank as soon as I sit down to try to plan the week’s meals. I’ve found that meal ideas usually pop into my head at other times, so I have to write them down when I get them instead. When you’re looking for kid friendly meal inspiration, the Olive Garden menu is a great place to turn. My kids love Olive Garden. This copycat recipe for Olive Garden chicken scampi is really easy and flavorful.
Chicken scampi is the perfect kid friendly twist on classic shrimp scampi, especially when you have little ones that aren’t into seafood. Traditionally, the chicken scampi is served on angel hair pasta. To keep it low carb, I like to have mine with zucchini noodles, but you can serve it with whatever pasta you like. In fact, I find pasta dishes to be super family friendly. I’ll make veggie noodles for myself, pasta for the kids and everyone is happy.
Prep the Chicken and Vegetables
Chicken scampi cooks up really quick. Besides the pasta, it’s a one pot dish, so it’s important to have all the ingredients prepped and ready to add to the pan. First, prepare some zucchini noodles. Cut the zucchini noodles and toss them in salt to draw out the water. Check out this post for more details on making easy homemade zoodles. Next, cut up a bell pepper into strips. Use red, yellow, or orange bell pepper for a sweeter flavor. For a more colorful dish, use a couple colors. You’ll only need one bell pepper total, so save the extra bell pepper for another recipe. Last, juice one lemon, crush or mince some garlic, and chop up fresh parsley for garnish.
Looking for an easy to way to cut bell peppers into strips without all the messy seeds? This video has a great method.
Sauté the Chicken Tenderloins and Peppers
Once you have all your vegetables chopped, it’s time to start cooking. Heat a large sauté pan on the stove over medium heat. Then, season chicken tenderloins with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil in the hot pan, and add the chicken. Sauté the chicken for about five minutes until they are cooked through. Turn them over half way through. Next, remove the cooked chicken from the pan, and add the sliced bell peppers. Sauté the peppers for a few minutes until they start to soften. This is also a good time to start warming the zucchini noodles.
Make the Sauce and Let it Simmer
Once the peppers have started to soften, it’s time to make the scampi sauce. First, drizzle a little more olive oil into the pan, and add the crushed garlic. Let the garlic cook briefly until it becomes fragrant. Next, pour chicken stock or white wine in the pan, or a combination of both. This will stop the garlic from cooking so it doesn’t burn. Also, add the fresh squeezed lemon juice and some butter to the pan.
When the butter has melted, stir the sauce and peppers together. Then, nestle the cooked chicken tenderloins into the sauce. Top everything with parmesan cheese and the fresh parsley. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for a few minutes, and give the cheese time to melt. Serve the chicken scampi over the warmed up zucchini noodles. Enjoy.
Other recipes to check out: One Pan Chicken Florentine, Easy Shrimp Pad Thai, and One Pan Chicken and Broccoli.
Effortless Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe with Zucchini Noodles
A quick and easy Olive Garden chicken scampi recipe the whole family will enjoy with sweet bell peppers and tender chicken in a lemon garlic scampi sauce.
Total Time: 35 min
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Chicken Tenderloins
- 1 Bell Pepper (Red, Yellow, or Orange)
- 4-5 Small Zucchini
- 1 Lemon
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, minced
- 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock or White Wine (or 1/4 Cup each)
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Optional: Parmesan Cheese for serving
Directions
- Spiralize the zucchini or cut on a mandolin creating thin noodles. Sprinkle the zucchini noodles with salt and toss to coat. Let the noodles sit in a strainer to draw out the water.
- Cut the bell pepper into strips, juice the lemon, mince or crush the garlic, and mince the parsley.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large sauté pan, and heat over medium heat on the stove. Season the chicken tenderloins with salt and pepper to taste. Once the pan is hot, add the seasoned chicken to the pan. Sauté the chicken until it’s cooked through, turning over halfway through, about 5 minutes.
- When the chicken is finished cooking, remove the tenderloins from the pan. Add the prepared bell peppers to the pan, and sauté until they start to soften.
- Meanwhile, squeeze the excess water out of the zucchini noodles. Then, cook in a seperate sauté pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are heated through.
- Once the bell peppers start to soften, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for about 1 minute until it’s fragrant.
- When the garlic is fragrant, pour the lemon juice, chicken stock and/or white wine in the pan. Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Once the butter is melted, stir everything together.
- Nestle the chicken tenderloins in the peppers and sauce. Top with parmesan cheese if desired. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for 3-5 minutes. Serve the chicken scampi on top of the warmed zucchini noodles. Sprinkle with the minced parsley and enjoy.
Nutrition:
Yield: 4 servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437, Total Fat: 25.7g, Saturated Fat: 9.5g, Cholesterol: 118.1mg, Sodium: 620.9mg, Carbohydrates: 10.1g, Fiber 2.1g, Sugars: 4.1g, Protein 42.3g
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