Creamy Lemon Chicken pasta

Creamy lemon chicken pasta that only takes 30 minutes to make! Searing the chicken adds so much flavour to the lemon cream sauce and pairs perfectly with silky pasta. The perfect easy dinner.

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Easy Dinner, One pot meals, pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Servings: people

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Author: Deborah Rainford

Ingredients

For searing the chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil
500 g chicken thighs, boneless skinless

For making the creamy lemon sauce

2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, juice and zest
50 ml chicken stock made with a chicken stock cube or use water
400 ml single cream
25 g grated parmesan
¼ teaspoon crushed chilli flakes, optional
500 g dried pasta, cooked according to package directions
½ bunch parsley , chopped
½ bunch basil, chopped

Instructions

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta being sure to reserve about 250ml (1 cup) of the pasta water. Set aside.
Heat a cast iron or non stick frying pan over medium hight heat and add the tablespoon of olive oil. Season the chicken well with sea salt. Once the pan and oil are hot (the oil will shimmer) place the chicken thighs in the pan and sear for about 6 minutes on each side until the chicken is cooked through. Use a thermometer to make sure the chicken temperature is at least 75c or 165f.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
To make the sauce, add the 2 tablespoons of butter to the same pan that you seared the chicken in. Do this over medium heat. *see notes. Melt the butter in the pan. Once the butter is melted, add in the minced garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the garlic is softened and fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock or water and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Stir in the lemon juice and zest. In a slow steady stream pour in the single cream. Add in the grated parmesan and simmer gently for about 5 minutes whisking continuously. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the chopped parsley and basil and add in the crushed chilli flakes if using. Toss the cooked pasta into the sauce and pour in any pasta water to get the desired consistency.
Slice the chicken thighs and place on top of the pasta to serve. Add the chicken juices back to the pan.

Notes

Note 1- Use the same pan to make the sauce as you seared the chicken in. Once the chicken is seared turn the heat down to medium so as not to burn the sauce.

Note 2- you can use chicken breast here, just be sure to cut it into large cubes so that it cooks evenly.

Note 3- any type of pasta can be used in this recipe, but it’s preferable to use a long noodle or short noodles with ridges that the sauce can stick to.

Nutrition

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