This mouthwatering Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta recipe combines tender, breaded chicken, al dente pasta, and a rich, creamy sauce infused with garlic and Parmesan, making it the ultimate comfort food for pasta lovers. With the addition of fresh kale, you've got a complete, one-dish family dinner.
This is one of my favorite chicken recipes on my site. You get the satisfying, crispy, breaded chicken goodness of chicken parm, plus a creamy, cheesy white sauce. There's plenty of garlic flavor, plus a bunch of kale tossed in, which cooks down and gets coated in cheese and cream. With fresh basil on top, this dish is an all-around winner.
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Speaking of winning pasta dishes, this Creamy Corn Pasta is also rich and satisfying thanks to corn, bacon, and white beans. This Zucchini Mushroom Pasta is an easy, good vegetarian pasta dish for summer. And this Pea Pasta with Pistachio Mint Pesto is so fresh and simple for when you're looking for something out of the ordinary. But the simplest creamy pasta dish is my Alfredo Pasta Sauce with Basil.
🧄Key Ingredients
This creamy garlic parmesan chicken pasta is all about simple, fresh ingredients.
You'll need:
- Pasta, such as linguine or fettuccine
- Chicken breasts without skin or bones
- Breadcrumbs with plenty of texture, such as panko
- Broth, either vegetable or chicken broth
- Half and half to create the creaminess of the sauce
- Parmesan cheese, preferably a fresh block for grating
- Garlic because what's a pasta dish without it?
- Kale for a fresh vegetable component, though spinach or chard are also good
- Fresh basil
See the recipe card below for the specific quantities.
🥬Substitutions and Variations
- For a richer dish, add ½ cup of half and half and/or use light or heavy cream. I bet a few spoonfuls of cream cheese would also be a wonderful addition.
- Try swapping in another green, such as spinach, for kale.
- Add some spice by including red pepper flakes when sautéing the garlic.
- For more flavor, use an Italian seasoning blend instead of oregano in the chicken breading. Penzey's Italian Herb Mix works well.
🔪Instructions
Start by chopping up the kale, slicing the garlic cloves, and shredding the parmesan cheese.
Set out three dishes for breading: flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Dip the chicken pieces in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess after each dip.
Cook the chicken in a pan with olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes per side. Add more oil if the pan runs dry.
Remove the chicken, wipe the pan, and sauté the sliced garlic. Then add the flour, broth, then cream, and cheese, pausing between each addition to whisk and cook for a minute or two.
Add some kale to the pan and let it wilt. Keep adding as it wilts until it's fully incorporated.
Cut the chicken up into smaller pieces and add it back to the pan with the pasta. Toss with tongs to coat with the sauce, then heat everything until warm.
📋Top Tips
- To prevent the breading from sticking to your hand when coating the chicken, use one hand for the dry ingredients (flour and breadcrumbs) and the other for the wet ingredients (eggs).
- Watch how hot your pan gets when pan-frying the chicken. It tends to get hotter as you go, so you may need to lower the heat to prevent burning. The chicken cooks quickly, so don't leave it unattended.
- To keep the chicken crisp, place it on top of the pasta instead of tossing everything together in the sauce. It's still delicious if you do; it just loses some of the crunch.
🥄Equipment
- A non-stick pan will help prevent the breading from sticking to the pan when you cook the chicken. Is there anything more disappointing than having your breading fall off and stick to the pan? I'm liking this 10-inch frying pan from Oxo.
- Tongs make it easy to toss the pasta and everything together right in the pan. They're one of the handiest and most overlooked tools in most people's kitchens.
🥡Storage
Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days. You may want to add a splash or two of water when reheating to thin out the sauce.
💭Frequently Asked Questions
In some cases, it's fine to use garlic powder in place of whole garlic. But this recipe isn't one of them, since garlic's a main component of the creamy garlic chicken pasta.
You might be able to make components of the dish using the Instant Pot's sauté function, such as browning the chicken and making the sauce. But the pressure cooking feature won't be useful here. Neither would your crockpot, since this dish doesn't convert easily to slow cooking and still come out well.
I tried to create a recipe with a cream sauce that won't overwhelm you with fat and calories. If you want a really rich and thick sauce made with heavy cream and butter, this probably isn't the recipe for you. However, you can easily substitute heavy cream for the half-and-half, as I mentioned above.
I suggest using half-and-half, which is equal parts cream and milk. It's already a lighter option, and I don't think the sauce will have enough flavor if you use only milk.
🍝More chicken Dishes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta combines tender breaded chicken, al dente pasta, and a cream sauce with garlic and parmesan.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of pasta such as fettuccini or linguini
- a bunch of kale
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- ¼ cup olive oil, possibly more, for frying
- ¾ cup broth
- 1 cup half and half
- Basil leaves, torn, for topping
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When boiling, add several pinches of salt and the pasta. Cook al dente according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Prep the ingredients. Roughly chop the kale, slice the garlic, and grate the cheese. Cut each chicken breast into 3-4 thin pieces. If any pieces are too thick, slice them in half to thin them out. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then salt it with ½ teaspoon of the salt.
- Bread the chicken. Set up your breading station with three shallow dishes. Put the ¼ cup of flour in one, the beaten eggs in the second, and the breadcrumbs and oregano in the third. Dip each piece of chicken in the flour, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs. Shake off any excess between each dip. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Cook the chicken. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add half the chicken pieces and cook about 3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Repeat with the remaining chicken when the first batch is done, adding more oil if the pan becomes dry.
- Make the sauce. Wipe out the pan used for the chicken and pour in another tablespoon of olive oil. Set over low heat and add the sliced garlic. Cook for about two minutes, stirring, then stir in a tablespoon of flour. Cook for another minute, then whisk in the broth and bring to a simmer. When the broth has thickened, add the cream, grated Parmesan cheese, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Continue to whisk to help the sauce meld.
- Add the kale. Stir in the kale, a handful at a time, adding more as it wilts down. Cook for a couple of minutes over low heat and then add the pasta to the pan. Use tongs to toss everything together. Heat until the pasta has warmed.
- Assemble and serve. Slice the chicken into small pieces and toss it into the pasta. Top with the torn basil leaves and serve.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Pan Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Steve says
Crispy chicken, a creamy cheese sauce, and lots of garlic makes this my kind of meal. I don't even mind the kale!