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Made with cooked pasta and shredded chicken in a lemony garlic cream sauce, this Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta recipe is as easy as it gets! Perfect for busy weeknight dinners!
I love adding lemon to cream-based sauces to brighten them up. If you haven’t tried it, let this recipe be your sign to give it a go. It isn’t too lemony; instead, the lemon juice and lemon zest add a hint of freshness to an otherwise heavy sauce.
If you already know that you love lemon-infused sauces, feel free to add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice and play around with the lemon zest. Lemon zest is more concentrated, so start with a smaller amount than you would the lemon juice and add more to taste.
And for all my sauce lovers out there, I highly recommend doubling the sauce for an ultra rich and super-creamy lemon chicken pasta.
How to Make Creamy Lemon Pasta with Chicken
For the exact measurements, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Start by boiling a pot filled with salted water for the pasta. Just before adding the pasta to the boiling water, add the butter to a large pan or Dutch oven set over medium heat. As the butter is melting, add the pasta to the boiling water and give it a good stir.
Add the flour to the melted butter, whisking continuously to create a thick roux. Stir in the the minced garlic, chicken broth, and lemon juice until fully incorporated, then slowly add the heavy cream and the lemon zest. Let it simmer gently for a minute or two, then add the shredded chicken. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the grated parmesan cheese and remove from heat.
Once the pasta has finished cooking, reserve at least 1 cup of hot salted pasta water before draining. Gently toss the drained pasta into the sauce while it is still warm, thinning the sauce with the reserved pasta water as needed.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- I made this recipe with leftover baked chicken breasts, but it’s just as easy to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or poach a couple chicken breasts. I added about 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken, but add as much as you’d like.
- Use freshly grated parmesan cheese – not the powdered stuff. The flavor is better overall and there won’t be any weird clumping.
- Remove the sauce from the stove immediately after the parmesan has been added to the sauce. Allowing the sauce to boil after the cheese has been added may result in a curdled, gritty sauce.
- Use full-fat heavy cream. Low-fat alternatives may result in a curdled or broken sauce.
- The sauce will thicken as it cools. As with all cream-based Alfredo sauce recipes, this one is best enjoyed right away.
- The best way to thin out your sauce is by added salted pasta water about 1/4 cup at a time.
Serving Ideas
This creamy lemon chicken pasta is fantastic with a side of roasted veggies like zucchini, asparagus, or butternut squash. You could also try it with my easy house salad recipe or basic Italian salad. For an even easier way to sneak in some greens, toss in some baby spinach or thawed frozen peas toward the end of cooking, similar to what I did in this creamy lemon chicken orzo recipe.
You can also swap out the shredded chicken for something totally different. There are endless options but with the lemon and cream sauce I recommend this 20-minute Baked Salmon Recipe with Lemon Butter, my easy Mahi Mahi Recipe with Lemon Garlic Sauce, crispy Crab Cakes, or Pork Schnitzel. Guaranteed delicious.
Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta, I used spaghetti noodles
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley , to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until it is al dente (about 2-3 minutes less than the cooking time listed on package directions).
- As the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Sprinkle the melted butter with the flour and use a whisk to combine (it will form a thick paste called a roux). Cook the paste (roux) for about 30 seconds, stirring often.
- Add the minced garlic, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Whisk continuously as it comes to a gentle simmer. Allow it to simmer/bubble for about 30 seconds.
- Still whisking, slowly stir in the cream and lemon zest until fully combined with the flour mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer then add the shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 2 minutes, or until it has thickened slightly.
- Stir in the grated parmesan cheese and immediately remove from heat. Meanwhile, reserve at least 1-2 cups of hot pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Toss the drained pasta with the sauce. If the sauce thickens, add some of the reserved pasta water to the pan.
- Season with additional salt, pepper, and lemon zest, to taste, and serve garnished with additional grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Always salt the water with about 1-2 tablespoons of salt whenever you cook pasta – it helps flavor the pasta as it cooks.
- Remember to save and set aside at least 1-2 cups of boiling pasta water before draining the pasta. If needed, use it later to thin your sauce.
- For this recipe, I used leftover cooked chicken breasts from dinner the night before. Rotisserie chicken is also easy. You can also poach chicken breasts or chicken thighs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Using less butter may be better as when I put the flour in it didn’t turn into the paste that I expect from a roux and it turned dark and even after I added the heavy cream and lemon juice, it didn’t lighten up. Don’t get me wrong, it still tasted awesome and The Hubbs gave me 1.5 thumbs up and we will make this again, it’s already saved and first tries aren’t always overly successful or perfectly executed.
I love this recipe! I always tweak recipes but not this one. It’s perfect. The second time I made it I sprinkled it with a little parsley.
This recipe is great with cooked shrimp as well. I think next time I made substitute cooked asparagus for the chicken.