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This Chicken Scallopini is a delicious dish of crusted chicken over lemon butter pasta. The combo is irresistible!
It’s hard to pick a “star” of this recipe, because both the chicken breast and the pasta are equally delicious, similar to a Chicken Parmigiana dish, or our Lemon Chicken Pasta.
What is Chicken Scallopini?
You guys know how much we love chicken and pasta here!! How can you not when they’re almost always delicious and loved by the whole family?!
This chicken scallopini happens to be another one of those yummy dishes and is one my mom got from watching the news one day (thanks, Mom). She gave it a try, and it was a hit!!
As I said, I’m not sure how scallopini wouldn’t be a hit when you have breaded chicken and pasta that is coated in a lemon butter sauce.
Scallopini is a type of Italian dish that comes in many forms. It consists of thinly sliced meat, that is dredged in flour or breadcrumbs and sautéed in one of a variety of reduced sauces. For this version, the chicken is coated in bread crumbs and sauteed in a lemon butter sauce.
How to Make Scallopini
Scallopini chicken is a simple dinner dish that is on the table in no time!
PASTA. Cook pasta according to box directions. While pasta is cooking, heat about 1 TB of oil and 2 T. butter in a large skillet.
CHICKEN. Coat chicken in breadcrumbs and saute in your skillet, turning until brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.
SAUCE. In a medium pan, heat lemon juice and chicken broth on medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Reduce to low-medium heat. Add cream and simmer until the mixture thickens. Slowly add your butter until incorporated.
COMBINE + SERVE. Add pasta to the lemon butter sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add cut chicken over pasta. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Additional Toppings. While this dish is perfect in its simplicity, you can add some extra toppings or ingredients, such as:
- mushrooms, capers, tomatoes, spinach, or zucchini
- bacon bits, sliced pork, or veal
- parmesan cheese
- fresh chives and fresh parsley or lemon zest
- add heat with chili flakes
Recipe Tips
Add flavor. For a more flavorful sauce, use the same skillet where the chicken was cooked. Once the chicken has been cooked and removed from the skillet drain any oils. Add the chicken broth, or white wine, along with the lemon juice, and proceed with the recipe instructions.
Pasta. I used linguine, but any long noodle will work. Depending on how saucy you like the pasta, use anywhere between ¾-1 lb of noodles.
Chicken. Use 4 thin chicken cutlets which are precut chicken breasts. To make your own: buy 2 large chicken breasts. Use a sharp knife to slice them in half lengthwise. Use the flat side of a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound them into thin slices.
Complete the meal. We like to serve this chicken scallopini with a vegetable side, salad, or bread. Here are some favorites!
Storing Tips
STORE the leftover scallopini in airtight containers either separately or all together for 2-3 days.
FREEZE leftovers for 4-6 weeks.
To reheat. Thaw if applicable.
- If possible, remove the chicken from the pasta and sauté in a pan until warm and crisp. Remove.
- Add the pasta to the pan and slowly over low heat.
- Add a little milk to help the cream become more smooth. Once hot, serve with the chicken on top.
If you are in a hurry, use the microwave to heat up the dish.
Recipe FAQ
It comes from the Italian word scaloppine which is thin slices of meat often coated and served with a delicious sauce.
You can buy chicken cutlets or slice a chicken breast in half and then use a kitchen mallet to pound them into thinner pieces. After the chicken breast is cooked, cut the meat into strips to serve over the pasta.
For more chicken pasta recipes, check out:
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- Chicken Piccata
- Triple Cheddar Chicken Pasta
- Pesto Chicken Florentine
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Chicken Scallopini Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 4 thin chicken breast skinless, boneless
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for sautéing
- 2 tablespoons butter for sautéing
- 2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs or Panko
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 lb. linguini pasta cooked
- parsley for garnish
Lemon Butter Sauce:
- 4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (or white wine)
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup butter
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to box directions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat about 1 TB of oil and 2 T. butter in a large skillet.
- Coat chicken in breadcrumbs and saute in your skillet, turning until brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan.
- In a medium pan, heat lemon juice and chicken broth on medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to low-medium heat. Add cream and simmer until the mixture thickens. Slowly add your butter until incorporated.
- Add pasta to a lemon butter sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add cut chicken over pasta. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted from ABC 15.
Where’s the butter in the “lemon butter sauce”?
It is the last ingredient listed there on the recipe card under the “Lemon Butter Sauce”. 1 cup of butter.
Dish is very good! Will be making this meal again and again!
This chicken was so juicy and flavorful!! The kids all loved it!
that lemon butter pasta! I could eat the whole dish! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This was so goood! It reminded me of one of my favorite dishes I often order at a local Italian place. I will be making this again often.
Wayyy too much lemon juice. In my opinion, it ruined the recipe. My family did not like it at all.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try. You could definitely use less lemon juice if you prefer less of a lemon flavor. 🙂
I haven’t made it yet but can you air the breaded chicken
Yeah, you definitely can!
We have made this multiple times and EVERY time we cannot get over how good it is! It’s one of our favorite meals! This is a must in your recipe box!
This looks good, I think I know what needs to cook tomorrow, thanks for sharing..
Thank you! It is! I hope you try it & like it!
I love the idea of this recipe.. Everything cale out great execpt it was a little to much lemon for my taste. Next time I make this I will probably only ise hlf the lemon called for.. other tham that it was great. Thank you.
Thank you for trying it & for letting me know 🙂
A favorite in our family. Chicken and pasta!
This recipe was delicious and so full of flavor. We made it with the extra sauce. Five star recipe.
This comes together in no time! Buttery noodles & crisp, but tender chicken makes a delicious family meal!
My family loves this recipe! It’s simple & easy! Love the crispy chicken!
My family loves this recipe even my picky son! I will definitely be making this again!
I love your site because recipes that sound intimidating are written out in a way that is inviting to make. Thanks!
This sounds sooo good,cant wait to make it…
We love it!! Let me know what you think 🙂
Thank you for all your yummy recipes ..????????
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe, but am wondering. What do you use in place of the white wine?
You should always make the sauce in the same pan that you cook the chicken in. Drain oil and deglaze with white wine, then make sauce as directed. It will be way more flavorful!
Just finished eating Chicken Scallopini for dinner. The flavor is good! I feel as if 1lb of noodles is too much for the sauce as some bites of the noodles didn’t have any flavor. Will make again but with half or 2/3 of the called for lb of noodles.
Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe looks really good. I wonder in Capers would be a nice addition? Have you added these or do you think it might be to salty? Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Yes you definitely did just make me hungry. I know everyone in the family would love this! We also only do pasta about once a week.
http://ruthiebellhome.com/date-sweetened-chocolate-ice-cream-sugar-free-dairy-free/
Seriously this chicken looks DIVINE! My mouth is watering!
Wow a delicious weeknight meal! Can’t wait to try it! Yum!
Chicken and pasta are some of our favorite meals here too! This looks perfect for the whole family!
My boys love any dinner that includes chicken and pasta – I know they’ll love this!
Looks so good. Can’t wait to try!
Do you think maybe this recipe has an error? One pound of butter? That’ll kill us with hardened arteries!
So many great recipes. Thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Liz! Have a great day!
Is the 1 pound of butter the correct amount ?
Looks amazing!! We eat chicken almost every night so this will be a great addition to our menu. Thanks for the yummy recipe 🙂
Love to hear it, Crystal!! As usual, I’d love to know what you think about it if you give it a try. Have a great week!! 😀
Let’s pretend you don’t like lemon…do you think the sauce would taste okay if you omitted it?
Trying for the family!Thanks for sharing
Let me know how it goes!! Have a great day. 🙂 XO – Kristyn
Laura, looks like she isn’t answering questions about this recipe anymore. Yes,the lemon and the milk together curdled. I made homemade lemon ice cream a few weeks ago. Before I made it I read the comments. Several people said theirs curdled. So when mine curdled I wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t horrible so I just kept whisking it and it thinned out. I didn’t have to throw it out (thank God) and once frozen tasted great!