Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine with Chicken (Copycat Recipe)
Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine is their delicious new pasta dish with a light garlic cream sauce, grilled chicken, fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes. Skip the restaurant and make this easy copycat recipe at home in less than 30 minutes!
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Recipe at a Glance
Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine
A light and creamy garlic pasta topped with Italian-marinated grilled chicken, fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes.
Total time: Less than 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Best for: Weeknight dinner, date night, Olive Garden cravings
🔍 COPYCAT SECRETS UNCOVERED!
As soon as Olive Garden releases a new dish, you know I’m making a stop to try it! I taste the restaurant version first, figure out what makes it work and then head home to recreate it for you. Don’t miss these tips to be sure your Creamy Garlic sauce is identical to Olive Garden:
- Garlic and lots of it! I went to Olive Garden to try the new Creamy Garlic Fettuccine as soon as it launched and the first thing I noticed was the waft of garlic was heavy and I loved it! So go heavy on the garlic when you’re making the sauce. I usually use fresh but used frozen garlic cubes (which are frozen from fresh) and they were great!
- Italian Dressing marinade – this was obvious as well with one bite of the chicken! You can make your own Olive Garden dressing – or just buy a bottle!
- Fresh Spinach is key – frozen is just too limp and mushy. Throwing fresh in when the dish is done gives just the right texture!
Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine Ingredients
The ingredients for this are super simple, light and fresh! After tasting it – I couldn’t wait to make it for you!
- Pasta – fettuccine is what Olive Garden is using but this sauce is light and would work with any pasta – long or shapes!
- Chicken – boneless skinless chicken breasts – the ones in the store are so large now – you can slice in half and make four chicken slices out of two large chicken breasts
- Olive Garden also offers Creamy Garlic Fettuccine with sautéed shrimp or Herb Grilled Salmon. Simply swap the chicken for your favorite seafood and prepare the pasta and sauce exactly the same way.
- Marinade – the chicken is marinated in the Olive Garden Italian Dressing which you can make or buy
- Dairy – butter (salted) and half and half
- You could use heavy cream but it will make for a slightly thicker sauce.
- Resist the urge to add cheese – it’s delicious but it quickly becomes fettuccine alfredo rather than a lighter cream sauce.
- Seasonings – flour, garlic cloves, coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder
- Be sure to use fresh or frozen garlic cloves as that is the main flavor profile – so you want it to be fresh and strong. I found these frozen garlic cubes and they worked great!
- I swapped the salt/pepper/garlic for Dan O’s SPG – so handy!!! I’m telling you!
- Veggies – spinach & cherry tomatoes
- You do want to use FRESH spinach not frozen as it’s barely limp in the OG dish – so it still has texture to it vs. the green mush of frozen.
What Is Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Sauce?
Unlike Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce, the Creamy Garlic Sauce is lighter and doesn’t contain Parmesan cheese. It’s made with butter, plenty of fresh garlic, half and half and a little flour to thicken it. The result is creamy without being overly rich, which lets the garlic really shine.
How to make Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine
This is a quick dish – you are juggling a couple things at once – but nothing is difficult. Cook the chicken while the pasta is boiling and then make your sauce and put it all together! The sauce comes together in about five minutes – which is always a dinner win!
- SLICE chicken breasts horizontally so you have four thinner, even slices of chicken breast. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in Italian dressing. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (or overnight).
- BOIL a large pot of water on the stove. Add fettuccine and cook according to package directions.
- SAUTE – Heat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil. When oil is hot, remove chicken from marinade and add to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. Remove chicken to a covered plate to keep warm.
- DRAIN – When pasta is finished and drained, in the same pot, melt butter, over medium low heat. (You do NOT want the butter to BROWN.) Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute (no more!).
- WHISK in flour. Quickly add half and half, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir frequently until the sauce begins to simmer. Turn to medium low and let sauce thicken slightly.
- ADD in spinach and cherry tomatoes and stir until spinach is wilted. Add in drained fettuccine pasta and toss to coat.
- SLICE chicken breasts and serve over top of pasta.
Supplies Used
- Stock Pot – I love my HexClad stock pot – but this version is nonstick and affordable. It’s great for boiling pasta, making sauces and even deep frying!
- Pasta Bowls – I love these beautiful colored pasta bowls – but there’s also something to be said for simple and white!
- Nonstick Skillet – I love my Caraway nonstick skillet – it’s beautiful and functional!
- Silicone Whisk – when you’re making a sauce – you need a good whisk!
How to Store & Reheat Creamy Garlic Fettuccine
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days
- Reheat in microwave for 60 seconds or in a sauce pan with a splash of milk for 3-5 minutes.
- I don’t recommend freezing this pasta. Cream-based sauces can separate when thawed and reheated, which changes the smooth texture of the sauce.
Make It an Olive Garden Dinner
Here are other delicious recipes to make it an Olive Garden dinner night! But no breadsticks recipe – just buy the frozen ones!
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Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb fettuccine
- 1 lb chicken breast sliced into four
- 1 cup Olive Garden Italian Dressing
- 6 tbsp butter
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4 cups half and half
- 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups spinach roughly chopped
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes in half
Instructions
- Slice 2 large chicken breasts horizontally so you have four thinner, even slices of chicken breast. If slices aren’t even, use a mallet and parchment paper to pound them to an even thickness. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in Italian dressing. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (or overnight).1 lb chicken breast, 1 cup Olive Garden Italian Dressing
- Boil a large pot of water on the stove. Add fettuccine and cook according to package directions.1 lb fettuccine
- While water is starting to boil, remove chicken from marinade. Heat a large nonstick skillet with 2 tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. Remove chicken to a covered plate to keep warm.
- When pasta is finished and drained, in the same pot, melt butter, over medium low heat. (You do NOT want the butter to BROWN.) Add in garlic. Cook for only about one minute. You want the garlic fragrant but not browned, which can make the sauce bitter.6 tbsp butter, 5 garlic cloves
- Whisk in flour and cook for about 30 seconds before slowly whisking in the half and half. This cooks out the raw flour taste and helps prevent lumps in your creamy garlic sauce. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir frequently until the sauce begins to simmer. Turn to medium low and let sauce thicken slightly.3 tbsp flour, 4 cups half and half, 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- Add in spinach and cherry tomatoes and stir until spinach is wilted. Add in drained fettuccine pasta and toss to coat.2 cups spinach, 10 oz cherry tomatoes
- Slice chicken breasts and serve over top of pasta.
