Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

On the menu tonight, we're serving a Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta with sherry vinegar and capers. Kale and sautéed tomatoes pair perfectly with this creamy and tangy sauce! The inspiration for this sauce comes from the classic lemon caper sauce using sherry vinegar instead of lemon juice blended with your classic alfredo sauce.

It of course has that bold garlicky flavor and melts in your mouth with every bite. If you are looking for a creamy chicken parmesan pasta this is a great spin on these classics that will shake up your taste buds! I hope you love it as much as my family does!

Ingredients

For the Chicken & Veggies:

• Chicken thighs: I love how tender and moist chicken thighs are, they go perfect with the creaminess of the sauce. You can opt for chicken breast or chicken tenders easily as well.
• Flaky sea salt: To bring out the flavors in your chicken and liven up your dish.
• Ground pepper: I like to use a pepper grinder for my savory dishes, it tastes so fresh!
• Olive oil: I primarily use olive oil when cooking the chicken, I also love using other healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado oil, beef tallow or ghee.
• White Cooking Wine: Dry white wines such as pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or unoaked chardonnays are best for cooking. I personally grab a “white cooking wine,” you can usually find this on the aisle with vinegars and cooking oils. If you do not want to use wine, you could easily sub any broth, water or white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.
• Kale or spinach: I love kale, but any leafy green like spinach or swiss chard would work great here.
• Grape tomatoes: Small tomatoes like grape or cherry are best here to ensure the outsides blister. You can saute a beefsteak or roma tomato if that’s all you have on hand as well.

For the Sauce:

• Butter: To achieve that perfectly creamy sauce.
• Heavy cream: The base of the alfredo sauce, you can use half & half or whole milk here, the consistency will just be slightly thinner.
• Parmesan cheese: Any hard cheese will work such as parmesan, romano or pecorino cheese.
• Garlic cloves: For that bold garlicky flavor!
• Sherry vinegar: The sherry vinegar gives this dish the perfect depth, you can opt out or use white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar as a substitute. 
• Capers: For the perfect tang that pairs perfectly with the creamy sauce.
• Spaghetti pasta: I love how the spaghetti soaks up the sauce but you could use fettuccine, penne or bowtie pasta here as well.
• Basil leaves: For the garnish because who doesn’t love basil? And it looks pretty!

See recipe card for quantities.

What kind of pasta do you use?

This creamy garlic parmesan chicken pasta is a classic pairing with spaghetti pasta, but similar to a creamy chicken bowtie pasta, you could use bowtie, fettuccine or penne pasta to soak up the creamy sauce as well. If you are looking for an alfredo penne pasta recipe this is a great twist on this classic dish.

How to know if pasta is cooked?

For dry pasta, always make sure the water is boiling before adding the pasta to the water. I like to add a few pinches of salt to ensure the pasta is flavorful. Add a dash of olive oil to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick together. Follow the instructions on your package, but set a timer for 2-3 minutes before to check the cook of your pasta. For example, if my pasta package says 11-13 minutes, I will check the cook of the pasta at 9 minutes.

I like to test one piece of pasta to ensure it is not hard in the center. Ideally, your pasta cook is “al dente” which will be soft, but have a slight firmness. Avoid over cooking your pasta to ensure it doesn’t come out mushy. When straining my pasta, I like to add a little olive oil to the pasta once strained in a colander and mix around. This will prevent my pasta from sticking before I am ready to eat it or while I finish the sauce. 

How long does cooked pasta last?

I like to keep my pasta in an airtight container for 2-3 days to store leftovers. If storing plain pasta, just toss in some olive oil and it will prevent it from sticking. I also love freezing pasta dishes or plain pasta with olive oil for an easy quick meal. If re-heating, you can reheat the creamy garlic parmesan chicken pasta in both the microwave or over the stove.

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Dinner Dessert Repeat

We're serving a Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken pasta with sherry vinegar and capers. Kale and sautéed tomatoes pair perfectly with this creamy and tangy sauce!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

• Large Skillet
• Large Pot or Dutch Oven
• Cheese grater optional
• Garlic mincer optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Chicken:

• 1 ½ lbs chicken thighs
• 1 ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
• ½ teaspoon of pepper about 9-10 pepper grinds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Veggies:

• ¼ cup of white cooking wine
• 3 oz kale or spinach about two large handfuls
• 8 oz grape tomatoes

For the Sauce:

• ½ c butter one stick
• 1 ½ c heavy cream
• 1 c of parmesan cheese parmesan, romano or pecorino cheese
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoon capers

For the Pasta:

• 12 oz spaghetti pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt

Optional:

• Garnish with parmesan
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Instructions

 

• Prepare Pasta Water: Heat a large pot of salted water to boil while you cook the chicken.
• Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Season both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to the skillet and cook chicken 5-6 minutes each side until 165°F internally.
• When cooked, set chicken aside to cool and keep skillet on medium heat.
• Once the hot water is boiling in the pot, add the pasta and olive oil, cook until al dente (tender, but firm and chewy), about 11-13 minutes. The olive oil will help the pasta to not stick together. Stir every few minutes to keep pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Add the white wine to the skillet, then add the kale and tomatoes. Roast about 3-4 minutes until tomatoes are blistered and kale is softened. Once cooked, scrape the pan and set vegetables aside. Keep the skillet on low heat.
• Add butter and garlic to the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes until the butter is melted and garlic is fragrant. Add the heavy cream, sherry vinegar and capers, whisking for one minute and increase the heat to medium. Add the cheese and continuously stir until thickened and the cheese is melted, about 5-8 minutes.
• Remove and strain the pasta and set aside for serving. You can add a dash of olive oil to the pasta to keep it from sticking while you finish preparing the dish.

Video

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Keyword Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta

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