Chicken Scarpariello, also known as Shoemaker’s Chicken Is an Italian classic that is made with chicken, sweet sausage, crispy roasted potatoes, mushrooms, and artichokes in a lemony white wine sauce.
You’ll find countless variations of my Chicken Scarpariello recipe on the internet, some with added vinegar and others with pickled peppers. As I always say there are as many ways to make a dish as there are Italian grandmothers.
And although it does have its roots in Italy, its popularity grew as an Italian-American dish created by Italians that helped build this country. After a hard day’s work, Pollo Scarpariello (chicken scarpariello) was a fast and easy dinner to prepare and would have often been served over pasta.
Pasta or rice is a delicious way to soak up that lovely scarpariello sauce.
Not only is Chicken Scarpariello a delicious and easy-to-make dish it’s also a great weeknight meal that you can prepare in under 30 minutes.
Two of my other favorite chicken and pasta dishes are Chicken Pepperoni and Tuscan Chicken with Sausage.
What Ingredients do I need to make Chicken Scarpariello?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Chicken Scarpariello. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
If you’re not a fan of one of the ingredients, you can leave it out. You can always add or take out ingredients to make this dish your very own. Spinach would go nicely in this dish and a little roasted red pepper would add some color.
Remember recipes are guidelines, have fun in your kitchen being creative!
Ingredients used to make Chicken Scarpariello:
- boneless chicken breasts
- all-purpose flour
- olive oil
- sweet Italian sausage
- potatoes
- mushrooms
- artichoke hearts
- chicken stock
- onion powder
- sea salt and black pepper
- lemon juice
- fresh rosemary
- white wine (optional)
- unsalted butter
- Italian parsley
How do I make Chicken Scarpariello?
The first step is preparing the potatoes. Once prepared, place them into a 375-degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Time this so that you’re ready to add the potatoes to the dish when they’ve finished cooking.
- Dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Add the floured chicken to a large saute pan and allow the chicken to cook for 3-4 minutes. *This step will season the chicken and also help make the sauce.
- Add the sliced sausage to the pan and brown the sausage while the chicken continues to cook, stirring occasionally.
- Turn over chicken and sausage and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes as the chicken and sausage continue cooking.
- Add the chicken broth and seasonings to the pan. Stir the pan, scraping the bottom to release the browned bits form the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the roasted potatoes, artichokes, and lemon juice to the pan and continue to simmer for 2 minutes
- Coat the butter with flour (push the flour into the butter) and add to the pan, to help thicken the sauce. The butter-flour mixture is known as a beurre manie.
Use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken to make sure the chicken is cooked. The thermometer should register 165 degrees or more.
My version of Chicken Scarpariello is sure to please your friends and family and I promise you won’t hear your family say “chicken again” when you serve this deliciousness.
For an even heartier version of this dish serve the chicken scarpariello over linguine!
Recipe FAQ’s
Scarpariello literally translates to shoemaker-style. Chicken scarpariello is sometimes attributed to Sicily and Calabria and is made by sauteeing chicken in oil and adding white wine, lemon, rosemary and potatoes.
Either boneless chicken breasts or thighs can be used to make chicken scarpariello. The meat is sometimes cut into chunks. You could also use bone-in, skin on thighs or breasts for this dish.
Potatoes are the traditional choice for this dish. They’re roasted (or air-fried) separately and the crispy potato soaks up some the lemony sauce making them even more delicious.
Pasta also works very well, in addition to the potatoes or as a replacement.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!
Chicken Scarpariello
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or boneless thighs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour for dredging chicken and for beurre manie.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound sweet Italian sausage sliced on a diagonal (do not remove casing)
- 2 medium potatoes skin on – cut into medium cubes
- 6 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 4 ounces artichoke hearts sliced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ tsp granulated onion
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 lemon juice from lemon
- 2 stalks fresh rosemary
- 1 ounce white wine optional
- 1 – 2 tablespoon unsalted butter for beurre manie
- 1 tbsp Italian Parsley chopped for garnish
- 1 lemon cut into circles for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place cut potatoes in baking dish and add one tablespoon of olive oil and a good sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Mix well and place in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes to roast. (they should get good color)
- Allow a large saute pan to get hot then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan.
- Dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Add the floured chicken to a large saute pan and allow the chicken to cook for 3-4 minutes
- Add the sliced sausage to the pan and brown the sausage while you continue to cook the chicken.
- Turn over chicken and sausage and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes as the chicken and sausage continue cooking.
- Add the chicken broth and seasonings to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the roasted potatoes, artichokes, and lemon juice to the pan and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
- Coat the butter with flour (push the flour into the butter) and add to the pan, to help thicken the sauce. The butter-flour mixture is known as a beurre manie.
- Garnish with rosemary, lemon slices, and chopped parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Charlie Ward
How much white wine?
Chef Dennis Littley
an ounce is enough