This creamy lemon chicken pasta combines bright and tangy creamy pasta, crunchy baked chicken cutlets, garlicky burst cherry tomatoes, and savory Parmesan cheese. It’s a great weeknight-friendly dinner idea that the whole family will love!
This is one of my Pasta recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
This recipe is one I’ve been trying to get up here on the site for a while now. With seasonal trends, as well as other new recipes to share, it kept getting pushed back.
But it’s finally here! Every time we have this meal (which, I’m not going to lie, is often!), my kids clean their plates and ask for more, all while telling me “this should be on your website!”.
I can’t take all the credit for this delicious chicken pasta though… it was inspired by a similar recipe from Hello Fresh (a service we used for a while a couple years back).
Over time, I tweaked and tinkered and came up with this version I’m sharing here today, which is hands down, one of my favorite pasta meals!
The creamy lemon pasta is fabulous on its own, with a wonderful combination of lemon, garlic, and Parmesan. And the chicken cutlets are breaded simply, and baked alongside the garlic cherry tomatoes. Together, they create a symphony of summer flavors that just can’t be beat!
How to make lemon chicken pasta?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Combine breading ingredients.
- Slice chicken. Carefully slice the chicken in half, so you have a top piece and a bottom piece. This turns the 2 chicken breasts into 4.
- Season chicken and coat with mayo mixture. This adds flavor, and moisture as the chicken cooks.
- Press into breading, then add to baking sheet.
- Toss tomatoes with garlic and seasonings. If your tomatoes are small like mine were, you can leave them whole, otherwise slice them in half.
- Add to baking sheet with chicken.
- Bake.
- Saute garlic. Do this in the melted butter, stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add wine. Cook for about a minute.
- Add butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, and seasonings. Stir gently to combine everything.
- Whisk in pasta water. Use about 1/2 cup for now, reserving the rest in case you need it later.
- Add lemon juice and cheese. Whisk well to combine everything.
- Toss pasta in sauce.
Helpful Tip!
The reason for slicing the chicken breasts in half is three-fold. First, the chicken cooks quicker and more evenly. Secondly, you get a better breading and sauce to chicken ratio. And thirdly, it’s pretty economical since you only need 2 chicken breasts to feed a family of 4 🙂
Variations of this recipe
- Other chicken – you can certainly make this recipe using chicken tenders or chicken thighs, however the baking time will likely change. Just make sure the chicken is cooked to at least 165°F (internal temperature).
- Other protein – the flavors in this recipe go really well with pork or shrimp as well! I would skip the breading on the shrimp though.
- Vegetarian – half of the time we have this meal, I skip the meat all together and just make the pasta and burst tomatoes. In the summer I like to throw some asparagus spears on the baking sheet with the tomatoes, and then it’s a super light summer dinner!
- No wine – if you can’t use alcohol, or don’t have any on hand, no worries! Just substitute the white wine with an equal amount of chicken broth.
- No breading – prefer no breadcrumbs? Just skip the mayo mixture and breading, and season the chicken as written.
FAQ’s
I haven’t specifically tested making the chicken in an air fryer or on the stovetop, but I’m certain it could be cooked either of those ways. I just can’t speak to the exact times/temperatures since I haven’t extensively tested it.
When written out, there definitely are a lot of ingredients. However, many of these ingredients are repeated (in the chicken, the tomatoes, the pasta, etc). Recipe difficulty is certainly subjective, but I don’t think of this recipe as overly complicated. There are several steps, but many parts of the recipe can be prepped ahead of time, making things easier on you during the dinner-making process.
Making lemon pasta with chicken ahead of time
Like most breaded foods and cream sauces, I don’t recommend making this meal entirely ahead of time.
However, nearly all the components can be prepped ahead of time!
How to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Chicken – the chicken can be sliced into cutlets ahead of time, and the seasonings can be combined ahead of time. The sliced chicken should be refrigerated, but the seasonings can stay at room temperature.
- Mayo – the mayo and mustard can be combined and stored in the refrigerator.
- Breading – the panko can be combined with the cheese and seasonings, and stored in the refrigerator.
- Garlic – garlic for the tomatoes and the pasta can be pre-minced and kept in the refrigerator.
- Seasonings – seasonings for the tomatoes and the pasta can be combined and stored at room temperature.
- Cheese – if you’re freshly grating your cheese for the pasta, that can be grated/shredded ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
Storage
For the best results, I highly recommend storing the pasta, chicken, and tomatoes separately.
Everything should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, with the pasta lasting 4-5 days, the chicken lasting 4-5 days, and the tomatoes lasting 2-3 days.
My Favorite Thermometer!
This pan is definitely not cheap, but I wanted to be transparent that this is the pan I use in my kitchen. However, you can use any large and deep skillet/pan; I just recommend at least 10-12″ in diameter and/or a 3 quart capacity (this makes it easy to toss everything together at the end).
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed of excess fat
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
Breading
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese freshly grated is best, but the canned Parmesan will also work
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Garlic cherry tomatoes
- 16 oz cherry tomatoes sliced in half (or kept whole if small)
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Creamy lemon pasta
- 16 oz dried spaghetti pasta
- 1 cup reserved pasta water (from boiling the pasta, you may not use it all)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter divided
- 4 – 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup dry white wine we use chardonnay
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature and cubed
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice fresh is best
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese freshly grated is best, but the canned Parmesan will also work
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Garnish
- minced fresh basil
- additional lemon zest
- additional Parmesan cheese
- additional black pepper
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 450°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Add chicken breast to a cutting board. Hold your knife parallel to the board and carefully slice the chicken from right to left (if you’re a righty)… opening the chicken breast up like a book. Slice all the way through, so you now have 2 thinly sliced pieces of chicken. Repeat with other chicken breast.
- Combine mayonnaise and dijon mustard in a small bowl and set aside.
- Combine breading ingredients together in a shallow bowl and set aside.
- While oven is preheating, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of salt, then boil spaghetti, a minute or so shy of the time the package suggests for al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain and toss with a bit of oil to prevent sticking.
Bread chicken
- Season chicken breasts halves, on both sides, with the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Spread approximately 1 Tbsp of the mayo/mustard mixture over the top of a piece of chicken, then press (mayo side down) firmly into the panko mixture. Place chicken on one side of the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken pieces. You'll only be breading the top side of the chicken breasts.
Bake chicken
- Bake chicken for about 10 minutes in preheated oven.
Make burst garlic cherry tomatoes
- While chicken is cooking, in a small mixing bowl, combine garlic tomato ingredients, stirring well.
- After the chicken has been baking for 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and add garlic tomatoes to the other side of the baking sheet. Return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes.
- While tomatoes and chicken are cooking, make the sauce.
Make lemon pasta
- In a large deep skillet, add 3 Tbsp of butter and heat over MED heat. Once melted, add garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring often to prevent burning.
- Pour in white wine and cook for about another minute or so.
- Add remaining 5 Tbsp butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Whisk to combine, then slowly whisk in the reserved pasta water, a little at a time, whisking as you pour. Use about 1/2 a cup for now, keeping the rest in case you need it later.
- Stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, whisking well to really get everything combined.
- Add drained pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. If pasta looks a little dry, feel free to add in the pasta water you kept, a little a time, and stirring well as you pour, until it reaches the saucy consistency you’d like.
Garnish and serve
- Slice cooked chicken into thin strips.
- Serve pasta hot, with sliced chicken and some of the burst tomatoes on top, garnished with some minced fresh basil, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of lemon zest, and a sprinkle of black pepper.
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Chef Tips
- This recipe feeds our family of 4, with leftovers. So even though I counted it as 4 servings, it could likely serve more like 6-8 if you didn’t want leftovers.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Catalina says
MMmm…. This pasta is so inviting and it’s always a favorite in our house!
Erin says
Sounds incredibly delicious! Adding on our weeknight rotation!
Juliane says
This is heavenly good! Everything compliments with everything!