This Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta is made with crispy pan-fried chicken and cooked pasta tossed in a delicious and flavorful garlic butter sauce flavored with herbs. This easy chicken pasta recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, ready in under 30 minutes. Here’s how to make it with step-by-step photos and a video recipe.
These garlic butter noodles with chicken were inspired by my popular Garlic Butter Chicken Bites. I’ve had readers ask about adding noodles, so here’s how I turn those juicy chicken bites into a quick and flavorful chicken dinner.
The first time I made garlic butter chicken with pasta was on a rainy evening when I had some cooked pasta but no dinner plans. I sautéed garlic in butter with herbs, added pan-seared chicken, and tossed it all with a quick sauce and noodles. Quick, easy, and tastes so delicious that I had to share this pasta dish on my blog. More chicken pasta recipes that you might like are our Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, Chicken Macaroni, and Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta.
This one pan recipe is ready in 30 minutes and uses simple, everyday ingredients. It is packed with garlic butter flavor, the chicken stays juicy and flavorful.
It is family-approved even your picky eaters will love it. It is great for meal prep or leftovers. If you have leftover pasta or chicken, this is the recipe you might be looking for.
Watch How To Make It
Ingredients Notes
This recipe is so versatile. You can add spinach, mushrooms, or even a handful of cherry tomatoes for a complete meal. Or keep it plain and let the garlic butter sauce shine. You can swap chicken for prawn/shrimp.
- Chicken: I have used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs for this pasta recipe. Even leftover rotisserie chicken or tandoori chicken can be used.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic gives a very nice flavor to the garlic butter sauce.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter for this chicken pasta recipe, but you can also use salted butter; do not add salt to the pasta sauce.
- Olive oil: I used refined olive oil for this recipe.
- Seasoning: I always have Italian seasoning in my kitchen pantry. You can substitute it with pizza or pasta seasoning, or use a combination of ½ teaspoon oregano and ½ teaspoon rosemary for this recipe.
- Dark Soy Sauce: It adds a rich umami flavor that makes your pasta dish stand out. Substitute with regular soy sauce. You can skip it if you do not have it.
- Pasta: Any long pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or Italian dry noodles works great for this pasta recipe. I tried making it with egg noodles, but I cook it for a very short time in the sauce and serve it immediately. Otherwise, egg noodles tend to overcook quickly.
For a detailed list of ingredients and measurements, please check out the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to make Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta (With Stepwise Photos)
Preparations
1) Cook 150 grams of pasta in salted water as per package directions. Cook 1 minute less than the time instructed on the package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and keep them aside.
2) Marinate the 300 grams of boneless, skinless chicken cubes with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cornstarch over it, combine, and set this aside.
3) In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of pasta water, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ teaspoon of cornstarch. Your sauce mix is ready. Set it aside.
Making Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
4) Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan, leaving some space between them so they cook crispy. Flip the chicken once its side starts to turn golden. Cook until golden on the other side, too. Do not aim for a dark brown color, or the chicken will get overcooked.
5) Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the excess oil in the pan. Reduce the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Add 2 teaspoon of chopped garlic. Sauté until the garlic is light golden (not dark brown). Now add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the garlic butter. Cook for a few seconds.
6) Increase the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoon water to deglaze the pan. Scrape any tiny bits sticking to the bottom of the pan with your spatula. Stir the prepared sauce and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the pasta sauce thickens.
7) Add the chicken back to the pan and cook it in the sauce for a minute. It helps to retain the moisture in chicken.
8) Add the cooked noodles and toss with pasta sauce until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.
9) Add Cilantro (coriander leaves)/parsley. Garlic butter chicken noodles are ready to serve. For an extra burst of cheesy goodness, sprinkle some Parmesan on top. It's incredibly delicious.
Tips for the Best Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
- Fresh garlic for best flavor: I always use finely chopped fresh garlic instead of paste for the best flavor.
- Cook the pasta al dente: Al dente means the pasta should have a slight bite. I prefer to cook it one minute less than the package instructions. This way, when we cook it again with the sauce, the pasta won't get overcooked. Reserve pasta water as it is the base of our pasta sauce that adds a ton of flavor to this pasta recipe.
- Don’t overcook the garlic: Be very careful while cooking garlic; it can turn bitter if overcooked (if it gets a dark brown color).
- Don’t overcook the chicken: Do not aim for a dark golden color while pan-searing the chicken. Chicken breasts get overcooked easily.
- Butter & Olive Oil: Both add flavor. You can reduce the quantity of butter and add more olive oil, or increase the quantity of butter and reduce the olive oil. Either way, this pasta recipe tastes great.
- Be very careful while adding salt to the sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt accordingly. Pasta water and soy sauce both are salty, so taste the sauce and add salt only if required.
What to serve with Garlic Butter Chicken Noodles?
I love to serve this simple chicken pasta recipe with this quick and easy Mediterranean Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables, or Roasted Potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can. Cook and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat with a splash of water or chicken broth.
Yes, you can. Add them to the pasta sauce, stir, and cook for a minute, and then add cooked noodles.
Any long pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or Italian noodles works great, but short pasta like penne or fusilli also works well.
Store the leftover garlic butter chicken pasta within 2 hours of cooking. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. It stays good for 2-3 days. This is not a freezer-friendly recipe, as the texture of pasta changes (after freezing and thawing).
Recipe Card
Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Heavy bottom skillet or pan
Ingredients
- 150 grams spaghetti or dry noodles
To marinate the chicken
- 300 grams boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or cornflour
For the sauce
- ½ cup of pasta water reserved after cooking pasta or chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon salt optional: pasta water and soy sauce are salty so add salt accordingly
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch/cornflour
Other ingredients
- 2 teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter - to pan fry the chicken pieces.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water as per package directions. Cook 1 minute less than the time instructed on the package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and keep them aside.
- Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Sprinkle cornstarch over it, combine, and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, combine pasta water, salt, dark soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and cornstarch. Your sauce mix is ready. Set it aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan, leaving some space between them so they cook crispy. Flip the chicken once its side starts to turn golden. Cook until golden on the other side too. Do not aim for a dark brown color, or the chicken will get overcooked.
- Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the excess oil in the pan.
- Reduce the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Add garlic. Sauté until the garlic is light golden (not dark brown). Now add red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to garlic butter. Cook for a few seconds.
- Increase the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoon water to deglaze the pan. Scrape any tiny bits sticking to the bottom of the pan with your spatula.
- Stir the prepared sauce and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the pasta sauce thickens.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and cook it in the sauce for a minute. It helps to retain the moisture in chicken.
- Add the cooked noodles and toss until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.
- Add Cilantro (coriander leaves)/parsley. Garlic Butter Chicken Noodles are ready to serve. For an extra burst of cheesy goodness, sprinkle some Parmesan on top. It's incredibly delicious.
Video
Notes
- Fresh garlic for best flavor: I always use finely chopped fresh garlic instead of paste for the best flavor.
- Cook the pasta al dente: Al dente means the pasta should have a slight bite. I prefer to cook it one minute less than the package instructions. This way, when we cook it again with the sauce, the pasta won't get overcooked. Reserve pasta water as it is the base of our pasta sauce that adds a ton of flavor to this pasta recipe.
- Don’t overcook the garlic: Be very careful while cooking garlic; it can turn bitter if overcooked (if it gets a dark brown color).
- Don’t overcook the chicken: Do not aim for a dark golden color while pan-searing the chicken. Chicken breasts get overcooked easily.
- Butter & Olive Oil: Both add flavor. You can reduce the quantity of butter and add more olive oil, or increase the quantity of butter and reduce the olive oil. Either way, this pasta recipe tastes great.
- Be very careful while adding salt to the sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt accordingly. Pasta water and soy sauce both are salty, so taste the sauce and add salt only if required.
- Storage: Store the leftover garlic butter chicken pasta within 2 hours of cooking. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. It stays good for 2-3 days. This is not a freezer-friendly recipe, as the texture of pasta changes (after freezing and thawing)
- Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Nutrition
More Pasta Recipes You May Like
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Spicy Chicken Pasta
- Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Vegetable Lo Mein
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Hi! I’m Preeti Nayak, and with over two decades of hands-on experience in Indian cooking, I’m excited to share my passion with you. As the author, photographer, and editor behind every well-tested, family-friendly recipe on this blog, my goal is to help you cook with confidence and bring the bold, authentic flavors of India to your table.
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