Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta
Why Is This Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta So Good!
This lemon pepper chicken pasta is one of the easiest dinners to toss together! You only need a handful of inexpensive ingredients, many of which you may already have in your kitchen right now.
- I always use my homemade lemon pepper seasoning in this dish. It has so much more flavor than store-bought and not extra additives.
- This is a genuine 30-minute weeknight dinner, not a “30 minutes plus prep the day before” recipe.
- The lemon pepper seasoning goes on the chicken and in the sauce, so every bite, from the seared chicken to the light pasta sauce, carries the same bright, peppery lemon flavor.
- Oh, and the best part? You only have to use one pot to cook the pasta in and everything else cooks in just one pan. Less mess is always a win in my book!
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes and Tips
Chicken Breast – most popular protein to use here is chicken breast. Try to get chicken breasts that are uniform in size and not too thick. If you get a thick chicken breasts, it’s best to cut them in half widthwise to split them into two thinner chicken filets. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead if preferred. Just note that the cooking time may be slightly different.
Lemon Pepper Seasoning – For the very best flavor, consider making your own homemade seasoning, otherwise use your favorite store-bought brand.
Butter – I prefer using unsalted butter to better control the amount of sodium in the dish.
Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice will yield the very best flavor.
Parmesan Cheese – it’s always best to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese right off the block, especially for pasta recipes! You will get a better flavor and better melting from freshly grated cheese.
Pasta – While I use fettuccine in this recipe, you can really use any pasta that you like best! Use gluten free pasta if you need to keep the recipe gluten free.
Chicken Stock – if you have any hiding in the freezer, use homemade chicken stock whenever you can. Otherwise, use your favorite store-bought one. I highly recommend to use low-sodium or unsalted stock or broth when psossible.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta
- Get the chicken ready. Cut the chicken breast in half width-wise into two thinner filets so it cooks faster and evenly. Season both sides generously with lemon pepper seasoning.
- Time the pasta with the chicken. Start the pasta around the same time as the chicken so you have hot pasta water ready for the sauce. Cook just to al dente since it finishes cooking again later.
PRO TIP: place a cup under the strainer in the sink before draining so you don’t forget to save pasta water.
- Cook the chicken until golden. Sear it in a hot, oiled pan until well browned and just cooked through. Set aside to rest.
Note: chicken is done at 165°F internal temperature, checked at the thickest part with an instant read thermometer.
- Build the sauce in the same pan. Cook the leeks in butter right where you cooked the chicken, so they pick up that leftover flavor. Cook until golden, stirring occasionally, and season with a little salt.
- Finish the lemon pepper sauce. Add the reserved pasta water, chicken stock, and lemon juice, stir well, then add the lemon pepper seasoning and taste. The starch in the pasta water is what helps the sauce thicken slightly and cling to the noodles.
- Finish the pasta in the sauce. Add the cooked pasta into the sauce, mix and simmer just a minute or two, tossing so every strand gets coated.
- Bring it together. Slice the chicken and mix it into the pasta or lay it on top. Finish with Parmesan and green onion, and serve right away.
Lemon Pepper Pasta Recipe Variations You Can Try
- Make it creamy. If you’d like a creamy lemon pepper chicken pasta, stir in heavy whipping cream as a last step, after the sauce has had a chance to simmer for a few minutes. Right before adding pasta.
- Add vegetables. Feel free to add just about any veggies you like! Onion, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, sautéed mushrooms, and zucchini all go great with lemon pepper seasoning. Sauté the veggies in the same pan where you cooked the chicken and set them aside, then mix them in with the pasta and sauce when ready.
- Swap the protein. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well in place of chicken breast. Try pork cutlets recipe with this pasta and you can work in lemon pepper seasoning into the breading. You can also make a light and healthy baked salmon coated with lemon pepper seasoning for the top of the pasta.
- Swap the pasta. Fettuccine is my go-to here, but any pasta shape works, including gluten-free pasta if you need to keep this dish gluten free.
Ways to Serve Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta
This pasta is a full meal on its own, but if you want to brighten up the dish with a vegetable side, a few options go beautifully with the lemon pepper flavor here:
- Haricots Verts (French Green Beans) for a bright, simple vegetable side.
- Italian Roasted Asparagus if you want something roasted with a little Parmesan.
- Parmesan Roasted Zucchini for a heartier veggie side.
- Easy Greek Salad if you want something bright and Mediterranean alongside the lemon pepper flavor.
Storage Suggestions
- Store leftover lemon pepper chicken pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of chicken stock to loosen the sauce back up, since pasta tends to soak up the sauce as it sits.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta Recipe FAQs
No, unfortunately lemon juice will not give you the same flavor and it will add more unnecessary liquid. Lemon juice has a very mild lemon flavor compared to lemon zest. The lemon pepper seasoning contains a large amount of lemon zest, making it much more potent than juice.
Yes, you certainly can! You can use heavy whipping cream to the sauce but only as a last step and after the sauce has had a chance to simmer for a few minutes. If you add the cream to acidic ingredients like lemon juice too soon, it will curdle.
Of course, you want to use your favorite gluten free pasta for this dish. Same as regular pasta, start to cook it as you start on the chicken and set aside some pasta cooking water when draining the pasta. Make sure to check your lemon pepper seasoning if using store bought! Most store-bought seasoning mixes are not gluten free because they have to add separators and additives to keep them on the shelf longer.
Yes! Swap in shrimp for a quicker-cooking version of this dish. Season and sear the shrimp the same way you would the chicken and cook in a preheated pan for just about 1-2 minutes per side. Check out more information in my lemon pepper shrimp recipe.
Yes, this recipe easily doubles if you’re feeding more than two people. Just make sure your pan is large enough to hold everything comfortably.
More Easy Pasta Recipes To Try
Learn how to make your own lemon pepper seasoning and then use leftovers to make some lemon pepper shrimp.
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Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
- Vegetable oil for cooking
- 8 oz fettuccine* or another pasta of choice
- Save 3 Tbsp of water from cooking pasta
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 leeks white parts only
- Salt
- Water from cooking pasta
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2-3 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for topping
- 1 tbsp Green onions for topping
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente, drain, and set side. Make sure to save a some pasta water as you drain the cooked pasta.
- Cut off the dark green leaves off the leek and the very bottom by the roots, discard what you cut off or save it for making homemade vegetable stock. Wash the leeks and cut them length-wise in half. Thinly slice the leek halves into half circles. Set aside.
- Preheat a medium cooking pan, over medium heat. Add some oil.
- Cut chicken breast in half, width-wise, and season each side generously with lemon pepper seasoning.
- Cook seasoned chicken breasts until done. Take them out of the pan and set aside.
- In the same cooking pan, add butter and sliced leek and cook until golden, stirring often. Season with a little bit of salt.
- Once leeks are cooked, add pasta water, chicken stock, and lemon juice. Mix well.
- Add lemon pepper seasoning, mix and taste if you need to add any more salt.
- Stir in pasta into the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Slice chicken and either mix it into the pasta or add it on top of pasta.
- Grate some Parmesan cheese on top. Add some diced green onion on top as well. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Don’t forget to save pasta water! Tip to help remember to save some pasta water: place a cup underneath the pasta strainer in the sink. That way it will catch the pasta water as you drain the pasta, even if you forget to scoop some out!
- *Gluten free option – Use gluten free pasta if desired. Remaining ingredients should already be gluten free. Please double check the packaging, especially if using store-bought lemon pepper seasoning, to make sure.
- Need to serve more people? This recipe easily serves 2 people for dinner. Feel free to double the recipe if needed!
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in August 2016.
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Chicken Dinner Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Valentine's Day,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Great, easy recipe…I didn’t have fettuccine so I used angel hair pasta and added asparagus. It was absolutely delish.
Hi, Alexandra! I am so glad you liked it and thank you for taking the time to tell me. 🙂
We just made this and it was a huge hit. The whole family loved it. No doubt that it’s fantastic as written, We only made a few minor changes, and two of those: 1) included the light-green parts of the green onions with the leeks. 2) added the zest of two lemons (used half on the chicken and half in the sauce), and 3) added some peas in with the pasta, just to have a bit more vegetables. I think artichoke hearts would also work really nicely in this dish. Also found that it’s nice to squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over the dish after it’s plated. That really gives it a nice brightness. Thanks for the recipe Lyuba. This is the first one of yours that we’ve made; looking forward to checking out some of the others.
Sorry, got distracted while editing the post, came back and hit send. LOL *two of those don’t involve any extra ingredients.
Thank you so much for coming to tell me, David! I’m so glad you liked it and those sound like great changes. I do think the artichokes will go very well here because artichokes are great with lemon flavor. You can absolutely adjust lemon flavor as much as you prefer 🙂
How much pasta water do you add to the chicken stock and lemon juice? Is it the 3 T saved or a different amount?
This recipe looks delicious and easy.
Thank you.
Hi Nata,
Yes, you would add what you saved from cooking pasta. I hope you enjoy it!!