Bring the restaurant home with this homemade Copycat Olive Garden Chicken con Broccoli. This creamy garlic pasta is tossed with vegetables and chicken for a great
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This Copycat Olive Garden Chicken con Broccoli is a copycat version of a now discontinued restaurant recipe.
A creamy garlic pasta is tossed with broccoli florets and a lightly breaded rosemary chicken. It was one of my favorite dishes!
We are using the same sauce that we use for our Copycat Olive Garden Tuscan Garlic Chicken and turning it into this amazing pasta recipe!
This Italian pasta recipe is a great quick and easy meal to make for the family when you want something a little different. Still creamy but lighter than an alfredo with a lot of vegetables.
Ingredients
Full details and quantities for this recipe can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Let’s talk about the ingredients we are using and why!
Chicken Breasts – what they use in the restaurant but you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs as well
Orecchiette Pasta – this is the pasta shape the restaurant used. It means “little ears” and looks like little cups. You an use any shape as desired.
Broccoli Florets – fresh or frozen will both work! Use as much as you want based on preference.
Butter
All Purpose Flour
Garlic Cloves – the combination of fresh garlic and powder gives us a great flavor profile
Garlic Powder
Chicken Stock
White Wine – Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay are best. See modifications and substitutions section below if you do not want to use wine
Heavy Cream – you could also use half and half. Whole milk will make the sauce much thinner, but we are not using much so it might work
Red Pepper Flakes – just a little, but you can add a little kick by adding more!
Dried Parsley
Dried Rosemary – for the chicken as the restaurant listed “rosemary chicken” on the menu
Salt
Black Pepper
Instruction Overview
To make the chicken, combine the flour, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
Coat each piece of chicken. Shake off the excess and cook in a large skillet over medium heat in a little olive oil.
When cooked through, set the chicken aside to rest.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water as per package directions. For the last one minute, add the broccoli to cook in the same water.
Reserve some pasta water for later just in case you need it and drain the rest. Set aside.
Make the sauce by first melting the butter in a small pot over medium heat. (Or use the same pasta pot!). Add the garlic and garlic powder. Add the flour.
Then add the rest of the seasonings, stock, wine, and heavy whipping cream. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add the cheese to melt. Season to taste as desired.
(I tend to use more salt but I would rather you under salt at first so that you do not end up with a too salty pasta because of the exact ingredients used!)
Combine the pasta, broccoli, and sauce in the pot and stir to coat. Serve the chicken on the side or, as traditional at the restaurant, cut and serve on top of the pasta or mixed in.
These steps can all be done in the same pot to make a one pot meal if desired – it will just take a little longer.
Modifications and Substitutions
Do you not want to use white wine? Simply replace with the same amount of additional stock and add a small squeeze of lemon to replace the acid lost from the wine.
While the restaurant classic just used broccoli, you could add other vegetables as desired. Mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and asparagus all sound like great additions!
While this recipe classically uses a lightly breaded chicken, feel free to use other options such as grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even frozen breaded chicken to make it easier.
Kim’s Tips
It is important to not overcook the broccoli so it does not turn into mush!
FAQs
What is chicken and broccoli made of?
This chicken con broccoli is made up of a lightly breaded rosemary chicken tossed with broccoli florets and pasta in a creamy garlic sauce.
How do I cook broccoli for pasta?
The easiest way is to add the broccoli to the pasta water for the last minute or two that the pasta is cooking.
When is broccoli done?
When boiling broccoli, you want it to cook very briefly. It will turn a bright green in color and should only cook for 1-2 minutes where it is starting to soften but still has a firm crispness to it.
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Copycat Olive Garden Chicken con Broccoli
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
- â…› teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Assembly
- 1 pound orecchiette pasta or shape of choice
- 3 cups broccoli florets 6 ounces
Instructions
- Start the water for the pasta. Cook as per package directions until just shy of al dente (it will be added to the sauce later and will continue to cook).1 pound orecchiette pasta
- One minute shy of when you want to pull the pasta, add the broccoli to cook in the water. Reserve1 cup of the cooking liquid just in case the sauce is too thick. Drain and set aside.3 cups broccoli florets
Chicken
- As the pasta is cooking, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 Tablespoons of oil.2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Place the flour in a small dish or plate and season with the dried rosemary, salt, and black pepper.½ cup flour, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour to fully coat. Shake off excess flour. When the skillet and oil are hot, add the chicken. Cook approximately 5 minutes per side until browned and the chicken is cooked through. Set the chicken aside.4 chicken breasts
Sauce
- Make the sauce (I like to use the now empty pasta pot). Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat.2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Once melted, add the minced garlic cloves and garlic powder. Cook until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.6 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Add the flour and stir to incorporate until there is no dry flour.2 Tablespoons flour
- Whisk in the chicken stock, white wine, and heavy cream. Add the red pepper flakes, dried parsley, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium low, stirring occasionally.1 ½ cups chicken stock, ¼ cup white wine, ½ cup heavy cream, ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 Tablespoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the Parmesan and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Assembly
- In the large pot combine the pasta, broccoli, and sauce. Add some of the reserved pasta water if desired or needed to thin out the sauce.
- Cut the chicken to put on top or mix in. Or you can serve the chicken whole alongside the pasta. Serve immediately.
This recipe is great, cant wait to try this for tomorrow, thank you for sharing this lovely recipe of yours!
Chicken con brocolli has always been my go to, it is good and healthy. I’ll try to make this tomorrow Thank you!
This is one of the easy, quick, and delicious meals that I made today. So delicious!
This Copycat Olive Garden Chicken con Broccoli is a taste of restaurant-quality comfort at home!