This quick and easy Lemon Chicken Pasta is a family-friendly dinner that’s perfect for busy evenings!
This lemon chicken pasta is a tasty, quick dinner. It’s great with whole-wheat or gluten-free pasta or whatever you like to use. Add another vegetable if desired, like broccoli florets. (That would never fly in our house because my husband won’t touch broccoli, but I wish you better luck). It’s shown here with spaghetti because that’s what we had in the house. I usually prefer some sort of bite-sized pasta, especially when I’m cooking for a 2-year-old who doesn’t really know what to do with long noodles, but in this case I preferred not making a trip to the grocery store!
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Dice chicken and season with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In 12″ skillet over medium-high heat heat olive oil or use cooking spray. Saute chicken until cooked through. Remove to medium bowl and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions.
While pasta cooks, melt the butter over medium-high heat in the same skillet. Whisk flour into butter until smooth. Add chicken broth about 1/4 c. at a time, stirring well until smooth before adding more. Stir in lemon juice, and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium.
Add cream cheese, and whisk into sauce. Some flecks of cream cheese will remain, which is fine. Add peas and return to simmer, then add chicken to sauce. Cook 3-5 more minutes, until peas and chicken are heated through. Turn off heat, stir in parmesan, and gently fold in drained pasta. Serve with additional parmesan and lemon wedges if desired.
Andi Gleeson is a passionate blogger and mom based in San Francisco who focuses on easy and delicious dinner recipes.
16 comments
Lindsay
10 years ago
LOVED this recipe! I’ve made many lemon pasta dishes and this may be the best. The seasonings made the chicken so flavorful. And the sauce was just the right amount of lemon and had a great creamy flavor without being rich. Quick, easy, pretty healthy dish…can’t wait to make it again and again in the future.
Andi Gleeson
10 years ago
You are so sweet, Lindsay. This made my day! Thank you! xo
Adrienne
10 years ago
Yes! Finally a Pinterest recipe that tastes good! This particular recipe was actually amazing, probably my favorite pasta dish, and that’s saying a lot.
Andi Gleeson
10 years ago
Adrienne, thank you SO much! There are about a bazillion Pinterest recipes out there, so this is a major compliment. Thank you! xo
BeckyB
11 years ago
Hi Andi!
I tried this recipe about a week ago and me and my husband thought it was the best ever!!! We loved it so much we couldn’t wait for dinner the next night, we finished up the leftovers for lunch! And since I’m here, I think about letting you know what I’ve tried of yours lately and what we love, but I’m a little slow at getting around to it – so since I’m here let me just give you a quick update.
I had some left over apple juice and I’ve been dying to try your apple gravy recipe. I used it on chicken we had on (June 16, 2014) and we loved it so much we made it 2 nights in a row. I have now made 11 times since that date, and once for my mom. It is SO SIMPLE and SO WONDERFUL!
My husband couldn’t stop eating the Overnight French Toast Casserole! It was really good and your instructions about how to drop the cream cheese on it was perfect! The Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti was brilliant! SO EASY! SO QUICK ! SO GOOD! The Cabbage Roll Casserole, of course is my favorite for cabbage! We made this at least twice a month during the winter. The Pizza Muffins, awesome! I use that recipe all the time also. And the Banana Spice Cookies, also easy and awesome. I love reading your adventures with your kids and hubby. I REALLY enjoy your blog and look forward to your posts. Thanks so much for the recipes and I promise not to wait so long when I try them – to tell you about them!
Becky
Andi
11 years ago
Hi, Becky! Thank you so much for this sweet comment, and I’m sorry for not replying sooner. I was at a blog conference for a couple days, and it is taking me a little while to catch up on everything. It makes me very happy to hear that you have tried several of my recipes and like them! Thanks for taking the time to write, and I do hope you won’t be a stranger around here :)
Emma
11 years ago
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious!! Love love LOVE this recipe.
Andi
11 years ago
Thank you so much, Emma! This made my night :)
Stacey
12 years ago
Just made this tonight…super delicious!!
The Weary Chef
12 years ago
I’m so glad you liked it, Stacey! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and tell me so :)
Kirsten
12 years ago
This was delicious! I loved how the chicken was seasoned and so tender. I actually cooked broccoli and sliced carrots in the skillet first, drained them, cooked the pasta (13 oz box whole wheat) and chicken (1-3/4 lb) next, added the pasta to the veggies, made the sauce (with extra cream cheese (4 oz total) to use up what I had), then tossed it all together with the lemon zest. I told my husband this was our new favorite meal. He said it was really good but still likes my Almond Chicken recipe best. Anyways, he ate three helpings while our two boys and I each ate two. Our toddler only ate one. We even have enough to have two servings for lunch tomorrow! Great! Thank you!
The Weary Chef
12 years ago
Kirsten, you are back! I’m so happy that you liked this pasta recipe! If the whole family eats it, then that is a huge success if you ask me. (My kids are picky.) Thank you SO much for your comment!
Kirsten
12 years ago
You’re welcome!
I’ve found a lot of recipes on your site that I am dying to try! Too bad I’m on a cooking/baking kick because I was trying to lose the rest of my pregnancy weight! I just keep altering recipes to make it fit in better with my diet.
The Weary Chef
12 years ago
I try to make my recipes somewhat healthy, but many of them aren’t exactly what I would call diet food. I had finally lost my pregnancy weight from my youngest, and somehow a few pounds found their way back recently! Ugh.
Brooke
12 years ago
I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day, I made it for dinner tonight. I thought it was very good. I will make it again!
The Weary Chef
12 years ago
Thank you, Brooke! I really appreciate that you took the time to come back to comment, and I am happy you liked the recipe!
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16 comments
LOVED this recipe! I’ve made many lemon pasta dishes and this may be the best. The seasonings made the chicken so flavorful. And the sauce was just the right amount of lemon and had a great creamy flavor without being rich. Quick, easy, pretty healthy dish…can’t wait to make it again and again in the future.
You are so sweet, Lindsay. This made my day! Thank you! xo
Yes! Finally a Pinterest recipe that tastes good! This particular recipe was actually amazing, probably my favorite pasta dish, and that’s saying a lot.
Adrienne, thank you SO much! There are about a bazillion Pinterest recipes out there, so this is a major compliment. Thank you! xo
Hi Andi!
I tried this recipe about a week ago and me and my husband thought it was the best ever!!! We loved it so much we couldn’t wait for dinner the next night, we finished up the leftovers for lunch! And since I’m here, I think about letting you know what I’ve tried of yours lately and what we love, but I’m a little slow at getting around to it – so since I’m here let me just give you a quick update.
I had some left over apple juice and I’ve been dying to try your apple gravy recipe. I used it on chicken we had on (June 16, 2014) and we loved it so much we made it 2 nights in a row. I have now made 11 times since that date, and once for my mom. It is SO SIMPLE and SO WONDERFUL!
My husband couldn’t stop eating the Overnight French Toast Casserole! It was really good and your instructions about how to drop the cream cheese on it was perfect! The Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti was brilliant! SO EASY! SO QUICK ! SO GOOD! The Cabbage Roll Casserole, of course is my favorite for cabbage! We made this at least twice a month during the winter. The Pizza Muffins, awesome! I use that recipe all the time also. And the Banana Spice Cookies, also easy and awesome. I love reading your adventures with your kids and hubby. I REALLY enjoy your blog and look forward to your posts. Thanks so much for the recipes and I promise not to wait so long when I try them – to tell you about them!
Becky
Hi, Becky! Thank you so much for this sweet comment, and I’m sorry for not replying sooner. I was at a blog conference for a couple days, and it is taking me a little while to catch up on everything. It makes me very happy to hear that you have tried several of my recipes and like them! Thanks for taking the time to write, and I do hope you won’t be a stranger around here :)
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious!! Love love LOVE this recipe.
Thank you so much, Emma! This made my night :)
Just made this tonight…super delicious!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Stacey! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and tell me so :)
This was delicious! I loved how the chicken was seasoned and so tender. I actually cooked broccoli and sliced carrots in the skillet first, drained them, cooked the pasta (13 oz box whole wheat) and chicken (1-3/4 lb) next, added the pasta to the veggies, made the sauce (with extra cream cheese (4 oz total) to use up what I had), then tossed it all together with the lemon zest. I told my husband this was our new favorite meal. He said it was really good but still likes my Almond Chicken recipe best. Anyways, he ate three helpings while our two boys and I each ate two. Our toddler only ate one. We even have enough to have two servings for lunch tomorrow! Great! Thank you!
Kirsten, you are back! I’m so happy that you liked this pasta recipe! If the whole family eats it, then that is a huge success if you ask me. (My kids are picky.) Thank you SO much for your comment!
You’re welcome!
I’ve found a lot of recipes on your site that I am dying to try! Too bad I’m on a cooking/baking kick because I was trying to lose the rest of my pregnancy weight! I just keep altering recipes to make it fit in better with my diet.
I try to make my recipes somewhat healthy, but many of them aren’t exactly what I would call diet food. I had finally lost my pregnancy weight from my youngest, and somehow a few pounds found their way back recently! Ugh.
I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day, I made it for dinner tonight. I thought it was very good. I will make it again!
Thank you, Brooke! I really appreciate that you took the time to come back to comment, and I am happy you liked the recipe!