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With a handful of ingredients, this Chicken Scampi with Zoodles is a tasty, healthy twist to your favorite Italian pasta dish. The light and creamy sauce make this chicken recipe feel like a true indulgence!
One of the top things that people say they miss when aiming for low-carb meals is, of course, pasta. Italian food, in general, is typically off-limits…but not anymore! With this low-carb Chicken Scampi with Zoodles, your favorite Italian dinner has never been healthier!
This recipe actually stays pretty close to a traditional chicken scampi, with just the swap of using gluten-free flour and zoodles instead of pasta. The perfect keto-friendly chicken recipe for any time of the week.
What is Chicken Scampi?
Chicken scampi is an Italian dish, usually served over pasta, featuring sauteed chicken in a light sauce. Chicken scampi sauce is often made with wine but can also be made with chicken broth. While still creamy, it tends to be a lighter option than alfredo sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Chicken Scampi Recipe
- Low carb pasta. By switching the pasta noodles for zoodles, this easy chicken scampi becomes a delicious low-carb dinner!
- Light, creamy sauce. With a chicken broth base, garlic, and lemon, this chicken scampi sauce is both light and flavorful.
- Complete meal in one! When you make this chicken scampi with zoodles, you don’t have to worry about a side salad or anything else!
Ingredients You Will Need
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make this healthy low carb chicken scampi recipe. Full measurements are listed further down below.
- Chicken breast – cut into bite-sized pieces
- Gluten-free flour
- Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil – divided
- Shallot
- Garlic – minced
- Chicken broth
- Juice & zest of lemon
- Parmesan cheese – finely grated
- Red chili flakes – to taste
- Fresh parsley – chopped
- Zucchini – spiralized
How to Make Chicken Scampi from scratch
- Wash the zucchini and trim off the ends. Using a spiralizer, create zucchini noodles. If you don’t have a spiralizer just run a vegetable peeler down the length of the zucchini to create thin ribbons.
- Prepare ingredients: Cut the chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Chop the shallot and mince the garlic; set aside.
- Make the flour mixture: Combine flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Transfer the flour mixture to a large resealable plastic bag.
- Coat the chicken pieces: Add chicken pieces to the flour, close the bag and shake well to evenly coat.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat until shimmering. Add coated chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. Once done, remove the chicken pieces onto a plate, and cover to keep it warm.
- Add remaining oil to the skillet and heat until hot. Add in the shallot and garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and shallots begin to soften.
- Pour in the chicken broth, lemon, and lemon zest. Cook on low while scraping any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the chicken bites, and simmer the sauce for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add cheese and zoodles: Stir in the parmesan cheese, mix well until sauce is thickened and nicely coats the chicken bites. Immediately add in the zucchini noodles. Cook for about 2 minutes, tossing with a pair of tongs, until zoodles are slightly softened.
- Serve: Transfer the zoodles to a serving dish. Garnish with chopped parsley and sprinkle with red chili flakes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Cut chicken into equal pieces for even cooking.
- If you’re not a fan of chicken, you can switch it out for shrimp scampi with zoodles.
- Zoodles can be prepped in advance, by keeping the spirals in the fridge until ready to cook.
- While the chicken and sauce can be reheated easily, zoodles are best enjoyed fresh.
- You may also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Use fresh garlic if possible. If you don’t have any fresh garlic and would like to improvise with garlic powder use 1 tablespoon garlic powder instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoodles are best stored uncooked. You can store uncooked zoodles in the fridge for up to 2 days. Cooked zoodles tend to become soggy after being stored. For that reason, we like to cook just as many zoodles as we will be eating and save the leftovers uncooked.
This dish can be served as-is for a complete meal. Since we use zoodles instead of pasta, we don’t feel like we need to prepare more veggies as a side dish. If you’re not on low-carb, a slice of freshly baked bread can make a great addition.
Traditional Chicken scampi sauce is made of a combination of butter, garlic, lemon, and white wine. We used chicken broth in place of the white wine and added milk and parmesan cream for a creamy finish.
More Zoodle Recipes to try
- Turkey Meatball Zoodles
- Keto Shrimp Scampi Zoodles
- Bang Bang Shrimp Zoodles
- Chicken Alfredo Zoodles
- Easy Chili Salmon with Zoodles
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Chicken Scampi Zoodles
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/3 cup gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 large lemon, zest and juice
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes, or to your taste
- one bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 large zucchini, spiralized
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the zucchini and trim off the ends. Using a spiralizer, create zucchini noodles. If you don’t have a spiralizer just run a vegetable peeler down the length of the zucchini to create thin ribbons.
- Next, cut the chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Chop the shallot and mince the garlic; set aside.
- Combine flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Transfer the flour mixture to a large resealable plastic bag.
- Add chicken pieces to the flour, close the bag and shake well to evenly coat. Now, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat until shimmering.
- Add coated chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. Once done, remove the chicken pieces onto a plate, and cover to keep it warm.
- Add remaining oil to the skillet and heat until hot. Add in the shallot and garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and shallots begin to soften.
- Pour in the chicken broth, lemon, and lemon zest. Cook on low while scraping any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the chicken bites, and simmer the sauce for about 3-4minutes.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese, mix well until sauce is thickened, and nicely coats the chicken bites. Immediately add in the zucchini noodles.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, tossing with a pair of tongs until zoodles are slightly softened. Transfer the zoodles to a serving dish.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and sprinkle with red chili flakes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Cut chicken into equal pieces for even cooking.
- If you’re not a fan of chicken, you can switch it out for shrimp scampi with zoodles.
- Zoodles can be prepped in advance, by keeping the spirals in the fridge until ready to cook.
- While the chicken and sauce can be reheated easily, zoodles are best enjoyed fresh.
- You may also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Use fresh garlic if possible. If you don’t have any fresh garlic and would like to improvise with garlic powder use 1 tablespoon garlic powder instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
will it work without the flour or is it needed to thicken the sauce?
It is needed for the sauce. But if you must improvise you can skip it
This looks great! When do you add in the lemon juice and zest?
Hi Winnie. I fixed it. It should go in with the broth
This looks amazing! Could this possibly be meal prepped? I’m in desperate need of new meal preps for lunch. Thanks!
Yes. It should work just fine. Just be mindful of reheating the zoodles. it may release a bit of water.