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This delicious Lemon Chicken Pasta was originally known by the name “really good noodles and chicken.” Grilled lemon chicken over a bed of lemon pasta is a dish everyone in your family will love.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Today’s lemon chicken pasta recipe, and the original name “really good noodles and chicken”, comes from a blog reader, Heidi. It was her kids that named it! And I have to say that my family agrees that this is Really Good Noodles and Chicken!
Not being a fan of heavy cream sauces, the light lemon flavored sauce in this dish is just right. The addition of bacon, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese makes this a dish that everyone enjoys.
The honey, rosemary and lemon grilled chicken compliments the lemon pasta perfectly. But I wouldn’t limit this chicken to just this recipe. This chicken would be wonderful on its own or on a salad too.
This dish is perfect for those nights when you need easy and delicious. You can even grill up the chicken ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken breast, boneless, skinless
- Coarse salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Rosemary. I prefer fresh rosemary but dried will also work, use half the amount of dry.
- Lemon, juice and lemon zest.
- Honey
- Spaghetti. I prefer Barilla Plus thin spaghetti.
- Butter
- Garlic, minced
- Bacon
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Tomatoes. I like to use Roma tomatoes that are seeded and cored.
- Capers. These are optional but I love the flavor they add.
- Fresh parsley or fresh basil. Optional as garnish.
How To Grill Chicken
- Pound the chicken thinner so it grills faster and more evenly. Place it between two pieces of wax paper and use the smooth side of a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken.
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary.
- Baste with honey and lemon.
- Grill the chicken over medium high heat until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F and then let it sit for a minute or two.
- Slice or cut into bite-size pieces.
How To Make Lemon Chicken Pasta
While the chicken is grilling cook your pasta and sauce. I like to use a thin spaghetti but any pasta shape or size will work.
Lemon Chicken Pasta Sauce
- Combine butter and garlic in a pan and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in bacon its and cook for another minute.
- Stir in the remaining lemon juice and all of the zest, then the cream. You may find that your cream curdles a bit when you add in the lemon juice and zest, don’t worry, just keep stirring and it will come together.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat.
- Top with sliced, grilled chicken .
- Add some chopped fresh tomato and Parmesan cheese and you’ve got dinner! A garnish of fresh parsley gives it some nice color.
Serve This With:
- Peas. Use fresh or frozen peas. Add them in at the end.
- Roasted or sauteed broccoli or asparagus.
- Freshly cracked pepper.
- Additional cheese. In addition to Parmesan cheese you can add in some Asiago Cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kept stored in an airtight container this lemon chicken pasta will last 3-4 days.
You can use a grill pan on the stovetop to cook the chicken or you can sear it and cook it in a frying pan. Use butter or olive oil in the pan.
Use your whatever your favorite pasta is. A bowtie pasta would work well along with a penne pasta, fettuccini or a linguine.
And then check out some of our other really good pasta dishes including:
Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos!
Lemon Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breast boneless, skinless
- coarse salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary minced
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 8 ounces thin spaghetti I prefer Barilla Plus
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup bacon bits
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 3 roma tomatoes seeds and core removed, diced
- 2 Tbsp capers optional
Instructions
- Start a pot of water boiling to cook the pasta
- Spray your BBQ grill rack with nonstick spray and fire it up
- Sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary on each chicken breast and grill for 7-8 minutes on the first side
- In a small bowl, mix 2 T. of freshly squeezed lemon juice and the honey together, then brush it on the tops of the chicken breasts before flipping them over
- Brush the underside as well, and grill for a few more minutes until they are cooked through (actual cooking time will depend on how thick the breast is, and you could certainly pound them thinner to start with to make it go faster).
- Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm
- Toss your noodles into the boiling salted water if you haven’t already
- Once they are nearly done cooking, begin making the sauce
- It comes together quickly. In a large skillet, melt 2 T. butter then add the garlic
- Saute and stir for 2-3 minutes, then add the bacon bits and cook for another minute
- Stir in the remaining lemon juice and all of the zest, then the cream
- Stir in the cooked and drained noodles, adding a tablespoon or two of the pasta water if needed to thin the sauce
- Slice the chicken breasts thinly
- Stir in the roma tomatoes and parmesan cheese (and capers if you so desire – I’m the only one that likes them around here, so I tossed a few on my own plate), and serve immediately with a portion of chicken breast strips on top of the pile of pasta
Tips & Notes:
Serve This With:
- Peas. Use fresh or frozen peas. Add them in at the end.
- Roasted or sautéed broccoli or asparagus.
- Freshly cracked pepper.
- Additional cheese. In addition to Parmesan cheese you can add in some Asiago Cheese.
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Nutrition Facts:
Originally Posted April, 2009
Debbie Gregory says
I don’t see lemon in the ingredients other than 2 T for the chicken. How much for the pasta sauce?
Leigh Anne says
Debbie, sorry about that – the recipe has been updated.
Liz says
Sounds really good. Thank you.
Merri says
We just made this and it was a hit with the whole family. Definitely going to put this into the rotation. 🙂 Thanks!
Rachelle says
I saw this in your newsletter today for lemony goodness. I’ve marked it to make, because I know you’ve got some delicious recipes here so it has to be good. I’ve made the penne rustica already. I’m always looking for new chicken recipes too. Thanks!