Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Pasta

Step 2. Season and sear the chicken: Pat the chicken dry first. This is the single most important thing you can do for a good sear. Wet chicken steams instead of browns, and you lose all the flavor that comes from that golden crust. Toss the dried chicken with olive oil, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, sage, and red pepper flakes, then get your skillet very hot before the chicken goes in. Cast iron or a heavy stainless pan works best here.

Sear for 4 to 5 minutes per side without moving it. Let the crust form. Pull the chicken at 160 to 163°F and let it rest on a cutting board (it’ll carry over to 165°F on its own and stay juicy instead of drying out).

Step 3: Build the garlic parmesan sauce. Turn the heat to medium and melt the butter in the same pan. When it foams, add the minced garlic and cook for about a minute, just until it smells sweet and golden. Not brown. Garlic goes from fragrant to bitter fast, so watch it.

Add the flour and stir it into the butter. Let it cook for a full minute. You’ll notice it smells slightly nutty, almost like toasted bread. That’s the roux cooking out, and it’s what keeps the sauce from tasting like raw flour.

Pour in the chicken broth slowly, whisking constantly, scraping up every bit from the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits are flavor. Let it smooth out completely before the next pour.

Turn the heat to medium-low and add the milk and cream, whisking as you go. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. You’re looking for small, steady bubbles around the edges, not a rolling boil. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, take it off the heat.

Now add the parmesan. This step has to happen off the heat. Parmesan added to a boiling sauce will seize and turn grainy instead of melting smooth. The hot sauce is plenty warm enough to melt it without any heat underneath. Stir until it’s glossy and fully combined, then taste and add sal

Combine: Add the drained pasta directly into the sauce and toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta water a few tablespoons at a time until the sauce clings to every piece of rigatoni without pooling at the bottom.

Slice the rested chicken thin and lay it over the top or mix it in to coat it in creamy sauce. Finish with shaved parmesan, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley if you have it.

Serve: Slice the chicken thinly or cut it into small pieces and serve on top of the garlic parmesan pasta. Garnish with shaved parmesan, fresh chopped parsley, or red pepper flakes for a little heat.

What Pasta Works Best for Garlic Parmesan Sauce

This is a thick, clingy cream sauce, and not every pasta shape handles that well. Rigatoni is the best choice because its ridged exterior and hollow center hold sauce on both the inside and outside of every piece. Penne works for the same reason. Farfalle is beautiful but doesn’t hold as much sauce at the pinch points.

Long pasta like spaghetti or linguine works too, it coats well, but in a family-dinner context, shorter shapes are easier to serve and eat.

If you want a higher-protein pasta, chickpea, lupini bean, or lentil-based rigatoni works here. The sauce is substantial enough to hold up to it. Just check your package timing because it usually cooks about two minutes faster than regular pasta.

Substitutions and Variations

• Chicken thighs: boneless, skinless thighs can replace chicken breasts. They’re more forgiving if you overshoot the temperature, and the flavor is slightly richer.
• No heavy cream: swap for cream cheese (about 3 ounces, softened) or use all whole milk. The sauce won’t be quite as thick, but it’ll still work.
• Dairy-free: use vegan butter, unsweetened oat or almond milk, and coconut cream. The flavor shifts slightly but the technique is the same.
• Gluten-free: use a gluten-free 1:1 flour for the roux and your preferred gluten-free pasta. We like Jovial or Delallo. If you want to skip the flour entirely, try the cottage cheese alfredo version for a high-protein, cream-free sauce alternative.

Tips for the Best Results

• Use fresh-grated parmesan. Pre-shredded parmesan has an anti-caking coating on it that prevents it from melting into a smooth sauce.
• If it tastes bland, it needs salt. Taste the sauce before the pasta goes in. Season aggressively at that point. The pasta absorbs a lot and it’ll mute whatever you built in the sauce if you don’t account for that.
• Don’t skip pounding the chicken. If your chicken breasts aren’t even in thickness, the thin end overcooks before the thick end is done.
• Out of time? Use rotisserie chicken. Skip searing the chicken entirely, pull the meat from a rotisserie chicken, and shred it directly into the sauce after the parmesan melts.
• Want more vegetables? Add a big handful of fresh baby spinach right before the pasta goes in. It wilts down to almost nothing and adds color.

How to Store and Reheat

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Cream-based pasta sauces thicken a lot overnight as the pasta absorbs the liquid. When you reheat, add a splash of milk or chicken broth to the pan over medium-low heat and stir until it comes back together.

I don’t recommend freezing this one. The dairy in the sauce changes texture as it defrosts.

Not in the mood for pasta? This healthy chicken Pad Thai recipe and these sweet and spicy pork lettuce wraps are delicious too.

More Creamy Pasta Dinners

• Creamy Chicken Sausage Pasta
• One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta
• Creamy Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta