Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

This garlic parmesan chicken pasta is like a creamy cousin of classic chicken parmesan! Parmesan and panko breaded chicken drizzled with garlic butter, over a creamy garlic parmesan pasta with arugula. This dish is perfect for a date night at home, a dinner party with friends, or a causal weeknight dinner!

To make the creamy sauce, this recipe uses half-and-half (half whole milk, half cream) rather than heavy cream. The subtle spice of the arugula helps to cut through the rich sauce and balance the dish. To get the most tender chicken, the boneless skinless chicken breast is tenderized using baking soda. After that, it's coated in panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. A quick garlic butter sauce made with fresh garlic and thyme is drizzled on top of the chicken to finish the dish.

How to make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta:

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe

Make the parmesan crusted chicken:

• Fillet the chicken breast(s) and pound to a thin, even thickness.
• Optional step for juicy chicken breasts, tenderize chicken: Dust the chicken with baking soda on both sides. Let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse the baking soda off with water. Pat chicken breasts dry, then continue.
• Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. On a shallow plate, combine the panko and shredded parmesan. Firmly press the breasts into the mixture, coating both side.
• Warm a generous swirl of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Cook the chicken, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
• Set aside and tent with foil to keep warm. Wipe pan clean to prepare the sauce.

Make the garlic parmesan pasta:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, cook the pasta per package instructions for al dente. (Any short pasta will work, I use casarecce, but ziti or penne pasta are also great options)
• Meanwhile, combine the corn starch and half-and-half and mix until fully dissolved. The corn starch helps to prevent the sauce from breaking. (Similar recipes use heavy cream or cream cheese to make the cream sauce, but I prefer half-and-half to keep the dish a little lighter)
• As the pasta cooks, melt butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Once melted, add the garlic and some fresh black pepper and cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the corn starch and half-and-half mixture to the skillet with the butter and mix to combine. Let that come to a simmer over medium heat, then remove the skillet from heat and add the cheese, stirring frequently.
• Add salt to taste, it will need at least an ⅛th teaspoon per batch. If needed, add a little more half-and-half (or sub milk or water) to reduce the thickness of the sauce.
• Add the drained cooked pasta and arugula to the skillet and mix until they're fully coated.

Finish the dish:

• Melt the butter for the garlic butter (I do this in the microwave) then mix in the garlic and thyme.
• Slice the chicken breast as shown.
• Plate the pasta into serving dishes. Top with the chicken pieces, then drizzle the garlic butter over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Key Tips - Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

This breading recipe skips the egg and flour.

• You may see many breaded chicken recipes that call for coating the chicken in flour and egg before the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. This recipe skips that step, because it's not really necessary.
• If you'd like to use flour and egg first on your chicken, feel free!

Baking soda helps to keep the chicken tender.

• Letting baking soda sit on the surface of the chicken for ~15 minutes tenderizes the chicken, and helps it from becoming tough and overcooked. This is an optional step, but I always do this with thin cuts of chicken.
• You want to wash the baking soda off before preparing the rest of the dish, because you don't want any flavor from the baking soda to remain.

Use good quality Parmesan cheese.

• Pre-shredded cheese is not recommended for this recipe, because it may have trouble melting into the sauce. I recommend freshly grating parmesan off the block before preparing this dish for best results.
• The quality of your parmesan will directly impact the flavor of the sauce. I recommend using parmesan that has been aged for at least 24 months if you can.

This recipe uses corn starch instead of pasta water.

• The reason "pasta water" (aka water that has been used to cook pasta) is commonly used in pan sauces is that the pasta leaves behind some starch in the cooking water. Starches are great at making sauces silky, and helping the sauce stick to the noodles.
• When we use pasta cooking water in a recipe, it's hard to know how much starch is in there. The concentration will vary by pasta used and by the amount of water you boil it in. Rather than guessing, I like to use corn starch, which I can directly measure.

Dietary Restrictions - Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Make it Gluten-Free:

• Substitute the pasta for gluten-free pasta.
• Skip the panko when coating the chicken, and use a little extra parmesan cheese.

A Note On Serving Sizes

Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. This garlic parmesan chicken pasta is listed with the standard serving size for pasta of 2 oz (¼ of the batch). Pictured in the photos are two servings per bowl.

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