Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
This delicious, satisfyingly creamy lemon chicken pasta is a fantastic easy weeknight dinner choice that can be done in just under 30 minutes! Although rich and creamy, this recipe uses a good mix of stock, heavy cream and parmesan cheese so that it does not taste too heavy.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 565kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1 pound chicken breasts ~ 2 large
- 300 g / 11 ounces dried pasta fettuccine, linguine or any shape
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Creamy lemon sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 cup chicken stock or veg stock
- ½ cup heavy cream NOT light cream (note 1)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese + extra to serve, freshly grated (note 2)
- juice of half lemon ~1 tablespoon + zest
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. Season with salt and pepper.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan (or a shallow cast iron casserole dish). Sear chicken breast slices on high heat until golden. About 2 minutes per side. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Remember to season the pasta cooking water with salt generously. Whilst the pasta is cooking, make the creamy lemon sauce.
To make the creamy lemon sauce
- In the same frying pan, soften onions and garlic with butter on low heat. About 4 minutes.
- Mix in flour until a thick paste is formed. Pour in half of the stock, mix well with a wooden spatula then repeat for the remaining half of the stock.
- Mix in heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Finally, add in lemon juice, the zest of half a lemon and leaves of fresh thyme. Mix, taste and season with salt and pepper.
Bringing it all together
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces then adds it into the creamy lemon sauce with all the juices. Simmer on low heat for ~2 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked (if it wasn't from searing). (note 3)
- By now, the pasta should be cooked. Drain, then add it into the creamy chicken sauce. Toss well then serve with extra parmesan cheese.
Notes
1. Heavy cream (thickened cream) - although I have not tried it for this recipe, I would advise against using light cream! The high-fat content in this creamy alfredo sauce is what prevents the sauce from curdling once lemon juice is added.
2. Freshly grated cheese - where possible, buy cheese in blocks and grate at home yourself. Cheaper and freshly grated cheese always taste better! More importantly, freshly grated parmesan cheese melts extremely well as it does not include anti-caking agents (that store-bought grated cheese has).
3. Avoid overcooking chicken - simmer cooked chicken in the alfredo sauce for no longer than 2 minutes. Overcooked chicken toughens up and becomes harder to chew (no matter how creamy the sauce is!)
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Nutrition
Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.4g | Protein: 42.6g | Fat: 20.8g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 181mg | Potassium: 115mg | Sugar: 1.5g | Iron: 3mg