Creamy Lemon Feta Chicken Pasta (Printable Version)

Tender chicken and pasta in a rich lemon cream sauce with feta and Parmesan

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta

→ Chicken

02 - 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
03 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
05 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
06 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

→ Sauce

07 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
08 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
09 - Zest of 1 lemon
10 - 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
11 - 1 cup heavy cream
12 - 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
13 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
15 - 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
16 - Freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

17 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
18 - Extra crumbled feta cheese, optional
19 - Additional lemon zest, optional

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water for sauce consistency adjustment.
02 - While pasta cooks, season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic powder, ensuring even coating.
03 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add seasoned chicken and sauté for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
04 - In the same skillet, add minced garlic and lemon zest. Sauté for 30 seconds until aromatic. Deglaze by pouring in lemon juice and scraping up browned fond from the pan bottom.
05 - Stir in heavy cream and chicken broth, bringing the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
06 - Reduce heat to low. Add Parmesan and feta cheese, stirring continuously until fully melted and sauce is smooth. Incorporate red pepper flakes if desired.
07 - Return cooked chicken to the skillet. Add drained pasta and toss thoroughly to coat with sauce. Add reserved pasta water gradually as needed to achieve desired consistency.
08 - Taste and adjust seasoning with additional black pepper and salt as needed.
09 - Transfer to serving dishes immediately. Garnish with fresh parsley, extra crumbled feta cheese, and lemon zest.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It feels restaurant-quality but comes together in about the time it takes to watch an episode of something mindless.
  • The feta and lemon combination is genuinely addictive and somehow never gets old, no matter how often you make it.
  • It's flexible enough to add whatever vegetables you have lying around without derailing the whole dish.
02 -
  • Fresh lemon juice makes an impossible-to-exaggerate difference here—I learned this the hard way when a guest brought bottled juice and the dish tasted flat and one-dimensional, teaching me never to compromise on this one ingredient.
  • Pasta water is genuinely magical; it's starchy enough to help the sauce cling to the pasta and adjust consistency in ways cream alone can't manage.
03 -
  • Zest your lemon before cutting it in half for juice, since whole lemons are easier to zest than halves, and you'll actually use all of both elements instead of wasting zest.
  • Let your feta come to room temperature for a few minutes before stirring it in; cold cheese will seize up in the hot cream instead of melting smoothly and evenly.
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