Chicken Pasta Recipe With Olive Garden Dressing
This Chicken Pasta Recipe with Olive Garden dressing is creamy, flavorful, and incredibly easy to make. Tender seasoned rotisserie chicken is tossed with pasta and simmered in a rich sauce made from Olive Garden Italian dressing, Parmesan cheese, and cream cheese. It’s the perfect shortcut dinner when you want bold, restaurant-style flavor without complicated ingredients. Ready in under 30 minutes, this comfort pasta is ideal for busy weeknights, family dinners, or meal prep. If you love creamy chicken pasta recipes with big flavor, this one delivers every time.
Here’s a delicious weeknight dinner that comes together quick and the whole family loves. We prepare this simple but tasty dinner every week since we always have the ingredients and the dish is guaranteed to please.
It’s especially with the use of cooked grocery-style rotisserie chicken such as a Costco chicken. And, you can make your own dressing or use store-bought bottled dressing for convenience.
The result is a creamy, flavorful pasta sauce that perfectly coats the noodles and bite-sized pieces of tender chicken. It’s great for repurposing any leftover rotisserie or cooked chicken that you have.
Looking for more convenient comfort dishes?
Check out more ideas for what to do with Olive Garden dressing, plus delicious recipes about what to do with rotisserie chicken!
If you love Olive Garden, you won’t want to miss our best easy Olive Garden copycat recipes!
Content in this Post
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Recommended Equipment
- How To Make Chicken Pasta Recipe With Olive Garden Dressing
- Step 1: Prep Ingredients
- Step 2: Make the Sauce
- Step 3: Combine and Serve
- What To Serve With Chicken Pasta With Olive Garden Dressing
- Storage Tips for Chicken Pasta With Olive Garden Dressing
- 🧊 Refrigerator Storage
- ❄️ Freezer Storage
- 🔥 Reheating Tips
- ⏳ How Long Does It Last?
- More Olive Garden-Inspired Recipes
- More Creamy Pasta Dishes
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- You'll Also Love
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe is a keeper because it ticks all the boxes.
- Easy – With rotisserie chicken and bottled dressing for convenience, this is a simple to prepare weeknight dinner under 30 minutes.
- Flavorful – Olive Garden’s signature dressing is chock full of flavor and adds such a savory depth to the pasta cream sauce in this recipe.
- Economical – The ingredients are fairly straightforward and relatively low-cost.
- Family Friendly – Everyone loves this dish, it’s mild enough for kids and spice lovers can add basil and hot pepper flakes to their plates, if desired.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta – We recommend tri-color rotini or penne. You could try other small pasta shapes, such as shells, bow-tie pasta and more. It would also be great with linguini.
- Chicken – any cooked and shredded chicken, bite-sized pieces of rotisserie chicken. Perfect recipe for a Costco or grocery store roasted chicken.
- Olive Garden Dressing – homemade or bottled dressing.
- Cream Cheese – regular, Philadelphia-style cream cheese at room temperature. We used about 4 oz, half of a standard 8 oz package.
- Parmesan Cheese – freshly grated Parmesan cheese from a block of Parmigiano Reggiano is ideal.
- Milk – we use regular 2% milk.
- Chicken Broth – homemade or store-bought chicken broth.
- Flour – all-purpose flour
- Butter – salted or unsalted. We use salted butter in our recipe.
- Salt
Optional Add-Ons
- Basil – Dried or fresh, chopped basil or other herbs as garnish, if desired.
- Hot Pepper Flakes – dried, optional garnish for spice lovers.
- Garlic Cloves or Powder
Recommended Equipment
The creamy sauce for this pasta can be whipped up easily in a skillet on the stovetop with a silicone whisk.
An Olive Garden-style Parmesan grater is nice to have, for that restaurant-style feel at home. A regular cheese grater is also convenient for daily cooking.
How To Make Chicken Pasta Recipe With Olive Garden Dressing
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Step 1: Prep Ingredients
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, you can make your sauce.
Be sure to chop the cooked, rotisserie chicken into bite-sized pieces to have that ready to go when needed.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
For the sauce, begin by making a roux on the stovetop. In a skillet on medium heat, melt butter.
Add the flour and use a silicone whisk to whisk the flour with the butter until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
Pour in the milk and chicken broth and continue to whisk until a smooth sauce is achieved.
Next, add in the room temperature cream cheese and Olive Garden dressing. Whisk again to ensure the sauce is smooth, with the cream cheese fully mixed in without lumps.
Add the cooked and shredded bite-sized pieces of rotisserie chicken to the sauce.
Give it a good stir to coat all of the chicken with sauce.
Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and mix it into the sauce.
Step 3: Combine and Serve
When the pasta is cooked to package directions, carefully remove it from the stove and strain the pasta in a colander to remove the cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce with the chicken. Stir well to combine.
Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese as garnish, if desired. Dried or fresh, chopped basil is a great choice for garnish as well. Spice lovers can top the dish with some hot pepper flakes.
What To Serve With Chicken Pasta With Olive Garden Dressing
Whenever Olive Garden dressing is involved, it’s only natural to want a delicious house-style salad.
Not to mention some garlic bread and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Olive Garden Salad
- Breadsticks and garlic bread
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Stuffed Mushrooms
Storage Tips for Chicken Pasta With Olive Garden Dressing
🧊 Refrigerator Storage
Store leftover chicken pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Let the pasta cool completely before sealing to prevent excess moisture buildup.
❄️ Freezer Storage
You can freeze this pasta, but cream-based sauces may slightly change texture when thawed. For best results, freeze the pasta and sauce separately. store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Pro tip: If possible, slightly undercook the pasta before freezing to prevent it from becoming too soft later.
🔥 Reheating Tips
Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Add a splash of milk, cream, or chicken broth to loosen the sauce as it warms.
If using the microwave, heat in short intervals, stirring between each, and add a small splash of liquid to restore creaminess.
Avoid overheating, as this can cause the sauce to separate or the chicken to dry out.
⏳ How Long Does It Last?
- Refrigerator: 3–4 days
- Freezer: Up to 2 months
- Reheated leftovers should be consumed within 24 hours
For best flavor and texture, this dish is best enjoyed fresh or within the first two days
More Olive Garden-Inspired Recipes
If you’re like us and can’t get enough of Olive Garden-inspired meals at home, you should try these:
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Meat Sauce
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Spinach Artichoke Pasta
- Oven-Baked Chicken with Olive Garden Dressing as Marinade
- Olive Garden Salad
More Creamy Pasta Dishes
- Mac and Cheese
- Bacon Mac and Cheese
- Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Shrimp Linguini Alfredo
- Crab Alfredo Linguini
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does Olive Garden dressing taste like in pasta?
Can I use bottled Olive Garden dressing?
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
What pasta works best with this recipe?
How do you store and reheat chicken pasta?
You’ll Also Love
Try this copycat Olive Garden meat sauce that’s perfect over pasta and in lasagna.
Did you try this recipe?
We’d love for you to share it on
and give it
Chicken Pasta Recipe With Olive Garden Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Pasta, dried, tri-color rotini, penne or similar
- 1 Tablespoon Butter, we use salted, but if you have unsalted butter, taste test the sauce after cooking and add more salt if necessary.
- 1 Tablespoon Flour, all purpose
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Milk
- ½ Cup Chicken Broth
- 4 Ounces Cream Cheese, Philadelphia-style, at room temperature
- ½ Cup Olive Garden Dressing, homemade or bottled
- 1 Cup Chicken, cooked and shredded rotisserie chicken
- ¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated, plus some extra for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, the pasta is cooking, you can make your sauce.
- For the sauce, begin by making a roux on the stovetop. In a skillet on medium heat, melt butter. Add the flour and use a silicone whisk to whisk the flour with the butter until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.
- Pour in the milk and chicken broth and continue to whisk until a smooth sauce is achieved.
- Next, add in the room temperature cream cheese and Olive Garden dressing. Whisk again to ensure the sauce is smooth, with the cream cheese fully mixed in without lumps.
- Add the cooked and shredded bite-sized pieces of rotisserie chicken to the sauce. Give it a good stir to coat all of the chicken with sauce.
- Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and mix it in as well.
- When the pasta is cooked to package directions, carefully remove it from the stove and strain the pasta in a colander to remove the cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce with the chicken. Stir well to combine. Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese as garnish, if desired. Dried or fresh, chopped basil is a great choice for garnish as well. Spice lovers can top the dish with hot pepper flakes.
Video
Nutrition
Note
This recipe is provided for informational purposes only. The above nutritional values are estimates and should only be used as a guide. Please use proper food safety practices, always use a food thermometer to ensure safe cooking temperature, and consult a professional if you have dietary restrictions or allergies.
