Cowboy Butter Chicken Linguine – Creamy Dinner Idea
Cowboy Butter Chicken Linguine is a creamy, flavorful pasta dish made with juicy chicken, linguine, and a rich cowboy butter sauce infused with garlic, herbs, Dijon mustard, and a hint of spice. It’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or to impress guests with minimal effort.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cubed)
- 8 ozlinguine pasta
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbspbutter
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tsponion powder
- ½ tspsmoked paprika
- ¼ tspcayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cupunsalted butter (softened)
- 2 tbspfresh parsley (chopped)
- 1 tbsplemon juice
- ¼ cupgrated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cupchicken broth
- ¼ cupheavy cream
- 1 tbspDijon mustard
- ½ tspcrushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cook linguine in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup pasta water, then drain.
- Season cubed chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
- Heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until golden and cooked through. Set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt ½ cup butter. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Simmer to reduce slightly.
- Add Parmesan cheese and return the chicken to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Add cooked linguine and toss to coat in the sauce. Adjust consistency with reserved pasta water as needed.
- Stir in chopped parsley. Serve hot, garnished with extra parsley and Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Use freshly grated Parmesan for the best melt and flavor.
Skip cayenne and red pepper flakes for a milder version.
Add sautéed spinach, mushrooms, or sun-dried tomatoes for variation.
Leftover sauce can be refrigerated and used within 2 days.
Do not overboil the sauce after adding cream to prevent curdling.
Nutrition
- Calories: 620
- Sugar: 3g
- Fat: 35g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Protein: 32g