Garlic Butter Chicken & Pea Pasta (Printable)

Tender chicken, sweet peas, and curly pasta in a rich garlic butter sauce. Comforting and ready in just 35 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
02 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
03 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
04 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

→ Pasta & Vegetables

05 - 12 ounces curly pasta such as fusilli or rotini
06 - 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
07 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Garlic Butter Sauce

08 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
09 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
10 - 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
11 - 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 - Zest of 1 lemon
13 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
14 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
15 - Salt and pepper to taste

# How To Make It:

01 - In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain and set aside.
02 - While pasta cooks, season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and dried Italian herbs.
03 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate.
04 - Reduce heat to medium. In the same skillet, add butter. Once melted, add minced garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant but not browned.
05 - Add thawed peas and return cooked chicken to the skillet. Stir to warm through, about 1 minute.
06 - Add cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the skillet. Toss everything together, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce lightly coats the pasta.
07 - Remove from heat and stir in fresh parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
08 - Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Everything happens in about 35 minutes, including the time you spend staring at the fridge deciding what to cook
  • The sauce clings to every curly twist of pasta, so nobody has to chase flavor around their bowl
02 -
  • Garlic goes from fragrant to bitter faster than you expect, so watch it like a hawk once it hits the butter
  • That pasta water is liquid gold, add it gradually until the sauce looks glossy and clings to the pasta
03 -
  • Pat your chicken pieces dry before seasoning them, otherwise they will steam instead of sear and you will miss out on that golden browning
  • Room temperature ingredients blend more smoothly into the sauce, so take the butter out while you prep everything else
Return