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This copycat Olive Garden Tuscan Garlic Chicken has a rich creamy sauce. It’s restaurant quality meal made from scratch in just 45 minutes!
For more tasty Italian dishes, try Creamy Tuscan Chicken and Potatoes and Chicken Tetrazzini.
An Olive Garden Copycat
It’s been a few years since I’ve made this recipe, but it’s such a good one! I couldn’t help but breathe some new life into it. This cozy, comforting dish is my take on Olive Garden’s popular dish.
While it may not be exact, it is delicious, and that’s all that matters, right?! It is definitely a dish your family will love.
I used my Le Creuset buffet casserole which was the perfect size for every step in this recipe. Enameled cast iron = even heat distribution + easy release. That’s exactly what you want when you’re searing chicken!
How to Make Tuscan Garlic Chicken
BREAD. To start, you’ll want to bread three large chicken breasts (or 6 cutlets), then sear them in a hot skillet
BAKE. Toss the chicken into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or so, let it get nice and crispy.
BOIL. Meanwhile, boil your pasta and start the sauce.
SAUCE. First sauté the garlic and bell pepper until tender, then add the flour and cook until a thick paste forms. Add the chicken broth, milk, and half & half, simmer until a nice thick sauce forms. Throw in a big handful of freshly chopped spinach, then once it’s wilted add the cheeeeeese!
TOSS & SERVE. Toss the cooked noodles in the sauce, then top with sliced chicken.
Enjoy this dish with a big salad or some crusty bread. It’s going to be one you’re going to want to make again & again!
Can you use heavy cream instead of half and half? The recipe calls for half and half, but can easily be replaced by heavy cream. This change just makes a thicker sauce texture, which is totally fine! If you are worried about the sauce becoming too thick, you can always mix in some milk to thin it out.
What to serve it with?
When this dish is served at Olive Garden, it always comes with a soup or salad, and those delicious unlimited breadsticks (of course)!
Here are some soups, salads, and breads that all compliment this dish nicely.
- Easy Cobb Salad
- Grilled Panzella Salad
- Buttery Pull-Apart Rolls
- Heavenly Dinner Rolls
- Asparagus Soup
- Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
Storage Tips
Storing: You need to store the pasta and chicken in an airtight container in the fridge. Keep refrigerated for 1-3 days. Cream sauces don’t last too long, so try to eat the leftovers quickly.
Reheating: When reheating, you may need to add some more milk to the sauce to thin it out after it’s been sitting.
For more favorite pasta recipes, try:
Tuscan Garlic Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts - or 6 cutlets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Pasta
- 1 lb fettuccine
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 red bell pepper - cut into 2" long thin strips
- 1/2 tsp kosher sea salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 2 cup fresh spinach - roughly chopped
- 1 cup parmesan cheese - freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, set aside.
- In a shallow dish, combine the flour, bread crumbs, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Lay each piece of chicken into the mixture and toss until both sides are fully coated.
- In a a large skillet set over medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, place the chicken into the pan, making sure not to rub off the coating. Sear chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side (making sure not to move it around) until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- While the chicken is baking, heat a large pot of water and cook the fettuccine according to the package's instructions. Drain and set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, set the same skillet used to sear the chicken over medium-low heat. Add the butter. When has melted, add the bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and paprika, then add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, milk and half & half. Turn heat up to medium and bring mixture to a simmer. Add the spinach and cook until wilted and the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in parmesan cheese, then remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Add pasta and toss to combine.
- Serve pasta in bowls topped with sliced chicken and extra parmesan cheese.
Natalie, you are my favorite. Thank you so much for your true awesomeness!
I’ve never actually tried this at Olive Garden, but I bet your version tastes even better. Can’t wait to make it!
Thanks Kara- it’s a favorite of ours 🙂
hey girl- this looks amazing! yummy for my tummy!
Thanks Shawnna!
I prepared this dinner last week .
My husband was so amazed , he took dinner for lunch the next day and his coworker ask for some.
They liked it so much
I will make again! ?
I remember going to Olive Garden all the time, many many years ago. Even though I don’t go there much these days, I adore all the OG Copycats! 🙂 And anything with panko breadcrumbs is doubly delish! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this. Tuscan Chicken is my favorite at Olive Garden and any chance I can make it here at home, I’m all for that.
Hopefully it’s a suitable replacement to the 6 year old for alfredo chicken (which we’re all sick of!)
Found this on Pinterest!
This was always my favorite dish at Olive Garden. I remember the manager telling me that the dish had Asiago cheese in it at one time when it was “off menu” & he graciously offered to have the kitchen whip it up for me as an “off menu” order.
That was nice of him!! It’s a favorite of mine, too! Thanks!
Delicious!! We all loved this meal. My husband and I are not fans of the thick Alfredo sauce. This sauce was light and so tasty. Rather than the milk and half and half, I used all half and half since I had to buy it and didn’t have another use for it. It was perfect.
The seasoning of the chicken was spot on. After frying, I put it on a rack over a sheet pan when I baked it and it stayed really crispy.
Like most dishes, I feel the key is in the prep. I cut up the peppers and garlic in the morning and had everything else measured out and set up. When it came time to make dinner, this was a breeze!!
Super fresh meal and we can’t wait for lunch leftovers tomorrow!
That sounds perfect!! Thank you so much for saying that!
My family loved this dish! So easy and it has a ton of flavor!
Sooo good, this is going in my regular rotation of easy and delicious meals!
I made this for dinner for my family last night and they absolutely LOVED it! It was delicious and tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
Family favorite!!! Everyone from picky kids to the adults loved this meal. It’s very easy to put together.
I’m so glad everyone in your family loved this! That can be quite a feat sometimes with dinner!
oh my goodness this even ended up tasting bette than the one I had at olive garden! so good!
Better than a copycat recipe – Ya!!
This was delicious, my kids are very picky and they loved this so thanks for the recipe.
Can’t beat happy kids at dinner time!