Chicken Scampi
Garlicky chicken scampi for supper — with garlic parmesan rice, creamy parmesan grits, or lemon spaghetti with ciabatta croutons, all on a weeknight.
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Chicken Scampi with Garlic Parmesan Rice
Buttery garlic chicken scampi served over creamy Parmesan rice, combining rich flavors with a touch of spice and freshness.
Meghan DavisIngredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- to taste salt and pepper
- for garnish Grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- 1Prepare the rice: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in rice and toast for 2 minutes.
- 2Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 18-20 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
- 3Stir in Parmesan cheese (and heavy cream if using). Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
- 4Make the chicken scampi: Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips, season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- 5In the same skillet, add minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add lemon juice, chicken broth, and white wine. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until slightly reduced.
- 6Return chicken to the skillet, toss to coat in the sauce, and simmer for another 2 minutes. Stir in parsley.
- 7Serve chicken scampi over garlic Parmesan rice, garnished with extra Parmesan and parsley.
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Open in Pepper →Garlic Butter Chicken That Feeds Everybody
Scampi started with shrimp, but chicken makes it a supper the whole table will eat. It's butter, garlic, a squeeze of lemon, and chicken cooked fast in a hot skillet — nothing fussy, and the pan sauce is the whole point.
Cooks on Pepper reach for this when they want something that tastes like a restaurant plate but comes out of one skillet on a Tuesday, usually with rice or pasta already going on the back burner.
Every recipe here leans on that same garlic butter. There's Chicken Scampi with Garlic Parmesan Rice, a straight-ahead Chicken Scampi with a flour-dredged crust, Southern Chicken Scampi with Creamy Parmesan Grits, and Chicken Scampi Spaghetti with Lemon and Ciabatta Croutons.
Quick Tips
- 1
Pound the breasts even
Flatten chicken breasts to about 1/2 inch thick so they cook through in 4 to 5 minutes a side without drying out the thin end.
- 2
Add garlic last
Cook the chicken first, then drop in the minced garlic for just 30 to 60 seconds before the liquid goes in — any longer and it turns bitter.
- 3
Deglaze the brown bits
Pour in a splash of broth, wine, or lemon juice and scrape the pan for a minute. That's where all the flavor in the sauce comes from.
- 4
Finish with cold butter
Swirl in 2 tablespoons of cold butter off the heat at the very end so the sauce thickens and clings instead of breaking.
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