This Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta makes a great, easy and inexpensive meal for the family; just perfect for weeknight dinners.
The juicy crispy lemon pepper chicken is served on a bed of lemon pasta, with enough pepper to make it interesting but mild enough for kids. It is quick to make, delicious to eat and is sure to be a hit!
Plus if served with a side salad or some roasted veg, then one chicken breast will be enough to serve a family of 4!
Everyone loves pasta and this lemon pepper pasta makes such a change from the tomato based dishes that often make it to the table. Don't get me wrong I love a good Spaghetti Bolognese but I am a big fan of no tomato pasta dishes, like this Creamy Rosemary Chicken Pasta or my total fav my Roasted Cauliflower Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce (SOOO GOOD!)
This pasta dish is great if you are trying to avoid heavy cream, gettings it rich almost creamy flavor from olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, and some pasta cooking water.
Pasta Cooking Water?
Yes, the pasta cooking water is the key to almost all great pasta sauces. As the pasta cooks, it releases some starch into the water, meaning that pasta cooking water will naturally thicken sauces and really help them cling to the pasta. You'll notice that most of my pasta dishes say to remove a couple of cups of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Often you only need a ¼-½ cup, but better to have removed too much than to have poured the valuable water down the drain.
How to make a no-cook lemon pepper sauce for pasta
Whilst the pasta is cooking, the sauce ingredients are mixed together in a bowl or measuring cup. Once the pasta is ready, some pasta cooking water is added and then the sauce is tossed through the hot pasta. This coats everything with a deliciously zesty yet creamy sauce. All ready for the crispy lemon pepper chicken breasts.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts
The recipe calls for one large chicken breast, which will be enough for a family of four. (Yes that is just one large chicken breast in the picture above!)
Although if you are serving four adults you may want to do double the amount of chicken. Also if you find you can only buy very small chicken breasts then you might want to use two. You can see the size of my chicken breast in the picture below. That was enough for the four of us, with the pasta and some roasted broccoli.
To make the most of the chicken breast and also ensure it cooks quickly, the breast is cut in half horizontally to make two chicken fillets. You can read more about filleting chicken breasts in this post for my Honey Pecan Chicken Breasts.
How to get enough lemon flavor into the chicken without making it taste sour.
The key here is lemon zest! It adds lemon flavor without the sourness you get from lemon juice. Plus it doesn't dry out the chicken breast like lemon juice can do.
To ensure plenty of flavor, the chicken is coated with a lemon pepper rub, consisting of:
Lemon Zest
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Dried Parsley
These are all mixed together and then used to coat the chicken.
Once they have been rubbed into the chicken, it is coated in seasoned flour and fried in olive oil until crispy.
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The pictures below are for a double serving of this lemon pepper chicken - hence the fact there are 4 fillets. You can change the serving size for any of my recipes by using the serving size box in the recipe card. Change the number in the servings box and the ingredient amounts will automatically change. You can scale a recipe up or down, just bear in mind that some values might look a little strange when you change the servings.
What to serve with Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta
We like to serve this with a side of vegetables, often roasted or sauteed.
Try these next time you serve pasta:
What wine to drink with lemon pepper pasta?
Lemon is notoriously difficult to pair with wine, as it softens wines and can sometimes make them taste sweet.
I have found this dish can take a really fresh young bubbly wine, like an English sparkling wine or something from South Australia. Or add creaminess with a Chardonnay.
But I think my favorite pairing is actually a light sharp red like a Valpolicella. It is mellowed by the lemon and works well with the pepper.
Enjoy x
More amazing pasta recipes:
If you enjoyed this dish, here are a few more recipes I think you'll love! They're all easy, tasty, and perfect for adding to your weekly meal plan.
If you try this Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta, please leave a 🌟star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that the recipe is trustworthy.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pasta Sauce
- 6 tablespoon lemon juice (see note 1)
- 1½ tablespoon lemon zest (see note 1)
- ⅔ cup olive oil (see note 2)
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (see note 3)
For the chicken and pasta
- 1 chicken breast (see note 4)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (see note 3)
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1½ tablespoon lemon zest (see note 1)
- 1 ½ tablespoon AP flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon oil
- 11 oz spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
Start with the sauce.
- Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, parmesan, salt, and black pepper together in a measuring cup. 6 tablespoon lemon juice1½ tablespoon lemon zest⅔ cup olive oil⅔ cup grated Parmesan¾ teaspoon salt2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Set the sauce to one side.
For the chicken and pasta
- Lay your chicken breast flat on the board and use a large sharp knife to cut sideways through the breast. Continue to cut through the chicken breast, keeping the knife flat and parallel to the chopping board until you have two plump fillets.1 chicken breast
- Add the olive oil, black pepper, dried parsley and lemon zest to a bowl and mix together well. 1 tablespoon oil1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper¼ teaspoon dried parsley1½ tablespoon lemon zest
- Pour this lemon pepper mixture over the chicken fillets and massage until well covered.
- Combine the flour and salt in a shallow bowl.1 ½ tablespoon AP flour¼ teaspoon salt
- Take each chicken fillet and lightly coat it in the flour.
- Place a large skillet/fry pan over medium heat, add the oil and let it heat up whilst you get the pasta on.½ tablespoon oil
- Bring a big pan of water to a boil, add the salt and then add the pasta, set a timer for a minute less than the packet suggests.1 tablespoon salt11 oz spaghetti
- Once the pasta is boiling, cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF/73ºC.
- Once cooked remove the chicken from the pan and slice into thin strips. If you do this at an angle you will get larger looking slices.
- When the pasta is cooked remove 2 cups of the pasta cooking water and then drain.
- Add a ¼ cup of the cooking water to the prepared sauce, stir well and then pour over the pasta. Stir well and add more cooking water until you have a smooth light sauce coating the pasta.
- Serve immediately with the sliced chicken and an extra garnish of parsley, pepper and lemon zest.
Notes
- You will need about 3 lemons for this recipe as 1 average lemon usually yields 2-3 tablespoons of juice and a tablespoon of zest.
- Don't use extra virgin olive oil as the flavor can be too string in the sauce.
- Try to use freshly cracked black pepper from a pepper mill or the course cracked pepper you can buy in the grocery store. If you can only find the fine powdered pepper then reduce the pepper by at least half.
- As this is mostly a pasta dish, 1 large chicken breast is enough for several slices of chicken per portion. If you are serving people with big appetites or want more chicken then use two chicken breasts.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Rita Skeeter says
This is such an INCREDIBLY EASY dish to make, yet so impressive for guests. I don't eat meat or dairy, but wanted to impress someone coming over for dinner who I knew wouldn't like a plant based meal. They loved this and said it was divine. Thanks!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so glad you found the recipe easy to follow and that your guests enjoyed it.
And I love that you thought about your guests preferences, what a wonderful host 😀
Nano says
I found the recipe instructions incredibly confusing. I also found the site very very difficult to follow and the links don’t bring me to where they’re supposed to. Using one chicken breast for an entire family is ridiculous. I had to adjust the ingredients for the lemon topping for the chicken having used three breasts sliced in half, however, the sauce for the spaghetti remains the same. Again, the instructions were cumbersome, wordy and hard to follow, so basically had to rewrite them. The chicken does not cook until the three minutes per side and should be adjusted. I did enjoy the meal at the end, but it was so frustrating; hence only 2 stars. I appreciate the effort but I think there’s a lot of work to be done here. I will be much more cautious in the future in reading the recipe fully before I attempt it.
Anonymous says
WAY too much lemon. I zested and juiced as instructed and my 3 lemons gave me 1.5 cups of juice. After that, nothing made sense. Im sorry to say, but this recipe should be rewritten.
Anonymous says
Correction: it made 1 cup.
Also, the olive oil taste is incredibly overpowering considering the amount.
Claire McEwen says
This is still a very large amount of lemon juice from 3 lemons.
The recipe notes suggests around 6 tablespoons of lemon (so 1/3 cup)
Did you use a regular olive oil or an extra virgin olive oil? Regular olive oil, shouldn't have a strong flavor so wondering if this is the issue?
Cx
Alex says
Well I suggest half a lemon not 3. Think about just how much juice that is, we had 3 and it was not editable
Claire McEwen says
Hi Alex,
1 average lemon should give 2-3 tablespoons of juice.
For the recipe we say 3 lemons which is roughly 6 tablespoons of lemon juice.
1/2 a lemom wouldn't give much lemon flavor.
But feel free to reduce the lemon if you find it too strong.
Cx
Jess says
This has become an absolute staple dish for the fam. We all love it SO much. I sometimes do a little variation and add some bacon I precooked and chopped. Absolutely delicious. If I have some left over, and since most of the sauce had absorbed, I make a bit of space with butter, garlic, a bit more lemon juice and parsley. Incredible!
Madeleine says
Is there anything else I can use besides cheese for the sauce? Can I just skip it all together?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Madeleine,
I think you could leave the cheese out, but you will find the sauce isn't quite as thick. You could try thickening it with a cornstarch slurry (1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water)
I would also add extra salt to make up for the lack of salty parmesan.
Sorry I can't be more helpful but I haven't tried it without the parmesan.
Cx
Hannah says
Should I double the sauce recipe if I’m using 3 chicken breasts instead of 1?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Hannah,
if you are increasing the amount of pasta then I would definitely increase the amount of sauce. But if it is just the chicken that you are increasing then I would just increase the coating on the chicken.
So for 3 chicken breasts:
3 tbsp oil
3 tsp freshly ground black pepper – see note 1
0.75 tsp dried parsley
4.5 tbsp AP flour
0.75 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp oil
3 lemons - zest only (this is in addition to the zest that is leftover from making the sauce)
Hope that makes sense.
If you are increasing the pasta then I would increase everything. You can easily do this by changing the serving number on the recipe card. It will automatically scale the measurements up for you. Some numbers don't always scale well (say if the servings are an odd number) so they might look a little wonky.
Hope that all helps.
Please come back and comment if you are having any problems 🙂
Cx
Brittany Stuart says
Any tips for when I only have one lemon and don’t want to get out? I just happened to have all of the other ingredients on hand but only one lemon!
Claire McEwen says
Hi Brittany,
With only one lemon, I would probably make the chicken without any lemon, so make the rub up with the olive oil, black pepper and dried parsley. For a boost of flavor if you have it you could add some dried oregano (1/2 tsp). It will still be delicious without the lemon.
Then with the lemon you have, juice and zest it and use it for the pasta. You won't have as much juice as the recipe uses, so I would add a little chicken/vegetable broth to the sauce to help it go a little further (1/4 cup). The lemon flavor will be milder than the original dish, but the zest will help.
Hope that helps 😀
Claire McEwen says
Oh and make sure you zest the lemon first's it is easier to get more zest off. Then before you juice the lemon, roll it on the counter top a few times to break down the fibres so you can get as much juice as possible out of it.
Frustrated says
Your instructions are very poor. Not trying to be mean, but they don’t make since. And there’s no sauce for the pasta? I’m so confused. It’s cooking right now and I’m hoping it turns out because I don’t want to go get takeout when I made all this effort. This is coming from two seasoned home cooks who know how to read recipes... ?
Claire McEwen says
I am very sorry you are finding the recipe hard to follow. But there is definitely a sauce with the pasta. It is labelled at the top of the ingredient list and is the first thing to be prepared in the recipe instructions.
Are there any other issues with the dish?
Adriana Contreras says
Hi I am Spanish speaker and English is my second language and I made this recipe for my boss and his family and they love it. I understand your directions very well so thanks.
I use almond flour and it was fine.
😋
Claire McEwen says
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
It means so much 🙂
Cx
molly says
Woooww, I can't wait to try it, Thanks for sharing....
Claire McEwen says
It is a really delicious chicken pasta recipe! And the kids love it!