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Cowboy Butter Chicken Linguine

Cowboy butter chicken linguine is an easy pasta dinner with linguine coated in a bold herb-spiced cowboy butter sauce. Seared chicken strips and red pepper flakes, plus bright lemon zest and fresh parsley, create a vivid, aromatic weeknight pasta bowl.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 680
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken and aromatics
  • 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts Cut into strips.
  • 0.25 Salt To taste.
  • 0.25 pepper To taste.
  • 1 Cajun seasoning To taste.
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
Pasta
  • 12 oz linguine Cooked; reserve 1 cup pasta water.
  • 1 cup pasta water Reserved cooking water for thinning the sauce.
Cowboy butter sauce
  • 6 tbsp butter For the cowboy butter sauce.
  • 4 garlic Cloves, minced.
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley Chopped.
  • 1 tbsp fresh chives Chopped.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Char and cook the chicken
  1. Season the chicken strips with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning, then heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until shimmering. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until charred and cooked through.
  2. Transfer the seared chicken strips to a plate and keep warm while you make the sauce.
Make the cowboy butter sauce
  1. Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat, then add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Keep the heat at medium so the garlic doesn’t brown too fast.
  2. Stir in Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, and cayenne, cooking for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
  3. Add fresh lemon juice, chopped parsley, and chopped chives, then toss the cooked linguine in the cowboy butter sauce. Add reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce clings in a glossy coating.
Finish and serve
  1. Top the pasta with the seared chicken strips and lightly toss once so everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately while the sauce is still glistening.

Notes

Pro tip: reserve 1 cup pasta water and add it a splash at a time so the cowboy butter sauce turns silky instead of oily. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water. Freezing: not recommended, as the linguine texture can soften after thawing. Dietary swap: use gluten-free linguine to make it gluten-free while keeping the same sauce.