Dinner should be exciting! This Olive Garden Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara takes exciting to the next level! It’s a wonderful take on a chicken and shrimp pasta meal using chicken tenders to update this classic dish.
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What Makes Shrimp Carbonara With Chicken Unique
This classic recipe is an Olive Garden favorite. Who doesn’t love a rich carbonara sauce?. It’s made up of sautéed seasoned chicken, shrimp, and bucatini pasta tossed in a creamy carbonara sauce with bacon and roasted red peppers. But this version uses chicken tenders for the chicken to offer a new twist on this classic dish. The breaded chicken tenders combine with all the other flavors so beautifully. And your kids will love it too!
What is the Difference between Carbonara Sauce and Alfredo Sauce
Both carbonara sauce and alfredo sauce are excellent choices for any chicken and shrimp pasta dish but there is a difference. Alfredo sauce is a white sauce made from butter, parsley, heavy cream, and minced garlic. On the other hand, this Carbonara sauce is made with parmesan cheese, heavy cream, eggs, garlic, pepper, red bell pepper, and bacon. Both are delicious and so easy to make.
If you like Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce, you will enjoy this recipe. I have often made a quick dinner of Alfredo sauce and pasta, but this recipe turns this up just a notch.
This dish is originally a simple dish made of pasta, eggs, cheese, bacon or ham and lots of black pepper. This recipe is slightly different. It has a creamy Parmesan sauce.
Is white sauce the same as carbonara?
Carbonara is a sauce made from egg yolks. White sauce is made from butter, flour, and milk. Carbonara is a gluten-free sauce.
Does carbonara taste eggy?
Carbonara should have a rich, thick, velvety, smooth texture. It will not taste strongly of eggs if cooked properly. The fat from the meat helps to transform the sauce into a rich thick sauce you are going to love.
How do you avoid scrambled eggs in carbonara?
There are two tricks in keeping your sauce from turning into scrambled eggs.
- When making carbonara, you will want to use room-temperature eggs; the change in temperature will be less.
- Stir continually when you add the eggs. Do not stop stirring, if you stop the dish from moving that is when the egg curds will form, so keep on stirring!
Ingredients for Chicken Carbonara Pasta With Shrimp
Here’s what you need:
- Chicken tenders – Provides a tender, quick-cooking protein that’s easy to bread and maintains moisture while cooking
- Flour – Creates the first layer of the breading process, helping the egg wash stick and ensuring a crispy final coating
- Panko Bread Crumbs – Provides a lighter, crispier coating than traditional breadcrumbs that stays crunchy even when sauced
- Salt & Pepper – Seasons every layer of the dish, enhancing flavors and bringing out the natural taste of both proteins
- Large eggs – Serves two purposes: works as the binding agent for breading and creates the rich, silky texture of the carbonara sauce
- Large shrimp – Adds a sweet seafood flavor and tender texture that contrasts with the crispy chicken
- Bucatini or Spaghetti Pasta or Linguine – Long pasta shapes that hold the sauce well; bucatini’s hollow center allows sauce to coat both inside and out
- Butter – Creates richness and helps prevent the garlic from burning while adding a silky mouthfeel to the sauce
- Bacon – Provides the traditional carbonara flavor base and renders fat that enriches the entire sauce
- Garlic – Adds aromatic depth and savory flavor that permeates the entire dish
- Red Bell Peppers – Brings color, subtle sweetness, and a slight crunch while adding nutritional value
- Heavy Cream – Creates the rich base of the sauce while helping stabilize the eggs to prevent curdling
- Parmesan Cheese – Adds salty, umami notes while helping thicken the sauce and create its signature creamy texture
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Start by breading the chicken tenders with flour, panko bread crumbs, egg, and salt & pepper.
- Allow breaded tenders to dry on a rack.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place the breaded chicken in the skillet and cook it on both sides for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
- Boil the shrimp until it’s perfectly pink.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- While cooking the pasta, cook the bacon and butter in a large saucepan.
- Add the garlic and red bell pepper until the bacon is cooked through.
- Add the heavy cream and parmesan cheese mix with a wire whisk until you get a creamy consistency.
- Add the pasta into the sauce and stir in the beaten egg.
- Serve with chicken and shrimp.
Top tips for making Olive Garden Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
🥚 Egg Success: Keep eggs at room temperature and stir continuously when adding to prevent scrambling – the motion is your friend!
🍝 Pasta Perfect: Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining – it’s liquid gold for adjusting sauce consistency if needed.
🔥 Temperature Control: Remove the pan from the heat before adding the egg mixture to prevent scrambling, letting residual heat gently cook the sauce.
Recipe Notes
- The bucatini pasta adds a unique texture to this recipe, but if you don’t have bucatini, you can use regular spaghetti for this dish.
- The last step of this recipe requires you to place one beaten egg into the cooked pasta and sauce. The residual heat of the pasta will cook the egg. If this makes you concerned, you can buy eggs that are already pasteurized, a brand of these is Safest Choice which is sold in many grocery stores. You will want to stir the egg in quickly as you don’t want the eggs to curdle.
- Garnish this dish with more cheese on top and a little black pepper
This dish is more hearty and slightly more updated. I think the additions are good, and you will enjoy them in this copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara.
How to store and reheat these leftovers
You will want to store your leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge. They will last up to three days. I recommend if you aren’t going to consume all of this shrimp carbonara recipe in one sitting, I recommend storing the pasta and the sauce in separate containers. When you store the sauce and the pasta separately so the pasta does not soak up the sauce.
When you reheat this dish, I recommend reheating the sauce in a small saucepan on the stovetop. Heat the sauce gently and slowly, you may want to add a bit more cream to this sauce.
Love copycat Olive Garden Recipes? Be sure to try these Olive Garden copycat recipes
- Chicken Marsala Recipe
- Olive Garden Copycat Soup
- Zuppa Toscana Slow Cooker
- Olive Garden Salads
- Chicken Margherita Recipe
- Olive Garden Lasagna Mia Recipe
- Chicken Parm Olive Garden
- Toasted Ravioli Olive Garden
- Olive Garden Pasta Sauce Recipe
More Shrimp Pasta Recipes
- Shrimp Christopher
- Shrimp Scampi Red Lobster
- Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Butter Sauce
- Outback Chicken Shrimp Pasta
Be sure to check out more amazing pasta recipes and the best Italian recipes.
Ready to start cooking? Let us know what you think about this recipe in the comments below. Remember to follow CopyKat Recipes on Facebook & Instagram! Sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss any copycat recipes!
Olive Garden Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus extra to garnish
- 2 eggs divided use
- 8 ounces chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces shrimp
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup bacon
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1/2 red bell pepper cut into rings
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra to garnish
- 12 ounces bucatini or spaghetti prepared according to package directions
Instructions
- Combine the flour, panko, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
- In another bowl, whisk 1 egg with 2 teaspoons water until well blended.
- Dip the chicken tenders into the dry breading mix, then into the egg wash, and then back into the breading mix. Place the breaded chicken on a wire rack to rest for about 5 minutes before cooking.
- Place the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken tenders and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until chicken is browned and cooked through. Set the chicken aside.
- Cook the shrimp in a small pot of boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the water when they turn pink.
- Prepare carbonara sauce by placing the butter and bacon in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the garlic and red bell pepper. Sauté until the bacon is cooked through. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese to the skillet and stir until the cheese melts.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, and then remove the skillet from the heat. Add 1 beaten egg and stir quickly. The residual heat will cook the egg.
- To serve, place a portion of pasta and sauce on a plate. Add a few chicken tenders and shrimp and garnish with additional cheese and pepper, if desired.
Video
Notes
- The bucatini pasta adds a unique texture to this recipe but if you don’t have bucatini, you can use regular spaghetti for this dish
- The last step of this recipe requires you to place one beaten egg into the cooked pasta and sauce. The residual heat of the pasta will cook the egg. If this makes you concerned, you can buy eggs that are already pasteurized, a brand of these are Safest Choice that is sold in many grocery stores. You will want to stir the egg in quickly as you don’t want the eggs to curdle
- Garnish this dish with more cheese on top and a little black pepper
I never rate an online recipe. I had to do it this time. Fantastic. This is my all time favorite restaurant meal.. This tastes exactly like Olive Gardens. Great Job!!
Spot on!! It’s so delicious