Creamy lemon Parmesan chicken with spaghetti. Simple, creamy and so dang satisfying. This recipe takes about 30 minutes to make and has the most luxurious cream sauce to toss with spaghetti. Made delicious with a hint of garlic, capers, spinach and fresh lemon juice. Finish the pasta off with toasted breadcrumbs for a super tasty crunch. When it comes to weeknight dinners, you can’t go wrong with this one.
This dish looks fancy but stealthily it’s a weeknight hero, one look at the recipe reveals this fancy food is also a one-pan chicken breast dinner that comes together in a blitz.
To start, we cook the chicken in butter and olive oil for a golden-brown and crisp look. In the same pan, we cook the garlic until fragrant, then deglaze it with white wine. Next we add spinach, some pasta cooking water and cream, then capers and lemon juice. We toss in the spaghetti and grated Parmesan, once the sauce is slightly thickened, we add the chicken and let the flavors blend together to create a really great pasta sauce.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
RECIPE NOTES
- instead of spaghetti, use any pasta shape you love, like fettuccine, penne, rigatoni, shells…
- or leave the pasta out and serve over rice, zucchini noodles, steamed vegetables, or with bread
- for a super zingy lemon taste, I suggest using 4 tablespoons of lemon juice for a less lemon flavor, use 2 tablespoons
- you can use boneless/skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, or use turkey fillets
- serve with a simple side salad drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice
- no time for breadcrumbs? serve it with some crusty bread
- swap basil for parsley
More creamy recipes, please!
Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 9 ounces spaghetti
- 2 chicken fillets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3.5 ounces spinach
- 2 tbsp lemon juice more to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 cup cream 20% fat
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 ounces grated Parmesan
- basil leaves
Crunchy breadcrumbs (optional)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- First make the breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Then add panko. Cook over medium-high heat, while tossing frequently, until crunchy and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer the breadcrumbs onto a plate.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
- Heat oil and butter in the same skillet, add chicken. Fry until golden on each side and cooked through, about 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Transfer onto a plate.
- Lower the heat, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the browned bits from the bottom. Add spinach, stir until slightly wilted. Stir in capers and lemon juice.
- Pour in 1/4 cup cooking water and cream, bring to a boil. Toss with spaghetti, then gradually stir in the Parmesan until it melts into the sauce.
- Slide chicken back into the skillet and stir, simmer for 1 minute. Finish off with basil leaves. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. If needed, add more pasta water to thin the sauce.
- Serve immediately. Top with breadcrumbs, extra black pepper and red chili flakes, if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Hello! What do you recommend using if I don’t have white wine around? Thank you!
Hi Jill, you can use low sodium chicken broth instead. Enjoy the recipe!