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Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara is a copycat recipe of the popular Olive Garden Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara.
It has breaded chicken and succulent shrimp and pasta with a creamy carbonara sauce, which is basically a white sauce or alfredo sauce.
However, unlike alfredo sauce, traditional carbonara recipes do not contain heavy cream. It uses an egg, parmesan cheese, and pasta water to create the creamy sauce.
Like other Olive Garden Copycat Recipes, such as Chicken Scampi, this recipe is rich and comforting, but this one is bathed in a luxuriously rich carbonara sauce. It will likely become one of your favorite Chicken Recipes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Creamy Carbonara Sauce – You’ll love this creamy sauce that covers the chicken, shrimp, and pasta.
- Pancetta, Shrimp & Chicken – This dish is loaded with protein and flavor from the chicken, shrimp, and Pancetta.
- Comforting Pasta Dish – Creamy, cheesy pasta is so comforting and delicious.
- 30-Minute Dinner – One of the best things is that this dinner can be on the table in 30 minutes!
What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe
Equipment
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Ingredients:
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Pasta – You can use 8 oz fettuccine, spaghetti pasta, or bucatini pasta, the spaghetti-like pasta with a hollow center.
- Cheese – You’ll need 1 cup of parmesan cheese, pecorino, or asiago cheese
- Onion – You’ll need ½ cup white onion, diced. However, you could use a yellow onion, Vidalia onion, or sweet onion.
- Garlic – You’ll need at least 1 minced garlic clove. I’ve been known to add more garlic!
- Shrimp – You’ll need about 11-12 large peeled and deveined shrimp or about 11 oz.
- Chicken – 1 large chicken breast butterflied, about 10 oz. You could also use chicken breast strips, sliced in half vertically as well if that is what you have on hand.
- Oil – 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral cooking oil, your choice
- Pancetta – 1 cup pancetta or more traditional Guanciale or fatty bacon, diced
- Eggs – 2 eggs
- Red Peppers – ½ cup red bell pepper, sliced medium thick
- Black pepper to taste
- Breadcrumbs – 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Flour – ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Egg – 1 large egg
How To Make Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Onions and Peppers. In a larger skillet, add some cooking oil and cook the onion together with the bell peppers until almost softened. Set aside.
- Cook the Shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and black pepper and cook in the same skillet with garlic until it turns pink. Set aside on a plate and cover with aluminum foil while you cook the rest.
- Crispy Chicken. In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg, and in another bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs with a little salt. One by one, coat the chicken pieces first in egg and then dip them in flour mixture. Add more oil to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on both sides until the exterior is nicely golden brown and crispy. Set aside on a plate with paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Pasta. Cook pasta in a pot with water, don't season it with salt. You'll have to complete the next steps quickly to be ready when the pasta is cooked. Do not drain the pasta just yet. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water separately.
- Creamy sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, and a splash of pasta cooking water. The mixture should be thick yet still pourable. Set aside.
- Pancetta. While pasta is cooking, in a new larger clean skillet over medium-low heat, cook pancetta with black pepper to taste (no oil). Take half of the pancetta out on a side plate.
- Once the pasta is cooked in batches, transfer the pasta using tongs to the skillet. Don't drain the pasta and transfer it with tongs from the pot with the same cooking water it comes with. But not too much. Stir through.
- Add in egg mixture, gently stirring through and coating all the pasta with it. The pasta should become creamy. Add an extra splash or two reserved pasta cooking water until you get the creamy texture. The pasta should not be dry and, compared to heavy cream sauces, stays creamy and moist longer while it sits.
- Stir in the bell peppers and onions. Top with breaded chicken and garlicky shrimp, and serve with freshly chopped parsley and more black pepper on top. Enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- Shrimp – shrimp will cook very fast, about 1 minute per side.
- Flavor – well seasoned, salty without adding any salt at all. Ultra creamy.
- Pancetta – needs lots of black pepper. If you can find it, it is best to use traditional guanciale and cut it into thicker strips with lots of fat in it. Fat is what creates the creamy sauce once combined with pasta water.
Variations
- Shrimp Carbonara – Just add the shrimp only to the recipe for a Shrimp Carbonara.
- Pesto Carbonara – Change up the flavor by adding pesto to the sauce.
- Spicy Carbonara – Add some crushed red pepper to the dice to give it a spicy kick.
What To Serve With Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Chopped Vegetable Salad
- Soup – like Minestrone, or Pasta e Fagioli
- Olive Garden Bread Sticks
- Pesto Garlic Bread
- Asiago Cheese Focaccia
- Asiago Bruschetta Asparagus
FAQs
Ideally, this recipe is best when eaten immediately. However, if you want to store leftovers, then place the leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
I don’t recommend freezing the sauce as it will separate when thawed. However, you could freeze the chicken and shrimp, and pasta without the sauce by placing them in a freezer-safe airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Place the leftover carbonara in a skillet over low heat and stir until it is heated. Another option is to microwave the leftovers. However, I recommend heating it 30 seconds at a time, so you heat it just until it is heated through.
More Copycat Olive Garden Recipes
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz fettuccine or spaghetti pasta
- 1 cup parmesan cheese or pecorino
- ½ cup brown onion diced
- 1 garlic cloves minced
- 11-12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined about 11 oz
- 1 large chicken breast butterflied about 10 oz
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral cooking oil your choice
- 1 cup pancetta or more traditional Guanciale or fatty bacon diced
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bell pepper sliced medium thick
- Black pepper to taste
For Breading
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Onions and Peppers. In a larger skillet, add some cooking oil and cook the onion together with bell peppers until almost softened. Set aside.
- Cook the Shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and black pepper and cook in the same skillet with garlic until it turns pink. Set aside on a plate and cover with aluminum foil while you cook the rest.
- Crispy Chicken. In a small bowl whisk one egg and in another bowl combine flour and breadcrumbs with a little salt. One by one coat the chicken pieces first in egg and then dip in flour mixture. Add more oil to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on both sides until the exterior is nicely golden brown and crispy. Set aside on a plate with paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Pasta. Cook pasta in a pot with water, don't season it with salt. You'll have to complete the next steps quickly to be ready when pasta is cooked. Do nto drai nthe pasta jsu tyet. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water separately.
- Creamy sauce. In a small bowl whisk together 2 eggs, parmesan cheese and a splash of pasta cooking water. The mixture should be thick yet still pourable. Set aside.
- Pancetta. While pasta is cooking, in a new larger clean skillet over medium-low heat cook pancetta with black pepper to taste (no oil). Take half of the pancetta out on a side plate.
- Once the pasta is cooked, in batches, transfer the pasta using tongs to the skillet. Don't drain the pasta and transfer it with tongs from the pot with the same cooking water it comes with. But not too much. Stir through.
- Add in egg mixture gently stirring through and coating all the pasta with it. The pasta should become creamy. Add an extra splash or two reserved pasta cooking water, until you get the creamy texture. The pasta should not be dry and compared to heavy cream sauces stays creamy and moist longer while it sits.
- Stir in the bell peppers and onions. Top with breaded chicken and garlicky shrimps and serve with freshly chopped parsley and more black pepper on top. Enjoy.
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