This creamy garlic chicken recipe is the ultimate easy comfort food! Tender chicken breast smothered in a creamy garlic sauce is irresistible. Garlic lovers unite!
This creamy garlic chicken is ready in about 30 minutes. In my opinion, it's good enough to serve company, but it's also one of those dishes that work for a quick weeknight dinner.
So, I have a fairly large backlog of recipes to write up, but I posted a sneak peak of this garlic chicken recipe on my Instagram stories a couple of days ago, and I got multiple positive responses. I decided to post this one ASAP instead of leaving people hanging. 🙂
How to make creamy garlic chicken
I cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise like I do with similar recipes (such as my creamy Tuscan garlic chicken, this creamy bacon chicken, and my creamy Dijon rosemary chicken) - in my opinion it's easier than pounding the chicken breasts or leaving them whole. The chicken cooks faster and more evenly, so it remains tender and melt-in-your-mouth.
You dredge the chicken pieces in flour and pan-fry them in butter and oil until they're golden, then take them out of the pan.
The garlic cloves are then lightly browned and then you add the sauce ingredients.
The chicken goes back in the pan for a few more minutes to finish cooking, and the sauce thickens up. Perfection. And easy too!
A quick note on the recipe: Yes, I include both garlic powder and an entire head of garlic in this recipe... it's not a typo. Believe it or not, the garlic cloves themselves don't make the sauce ridiculously garlicky. The flavor of garlic powder is slightly different than the fresh cloves. I'm going for all-out depth of garlic flavor here without making it overpowering.
If you've never really cooked with whole garlic cloves before, don't worry. Cooking them in the sauce mellows them right out... it's nothing like biting into raw garlic haha.
What to serve with creamy garlic chicken
Try rice, mashed potatoes, or a salad if you want to keep it low-carb. Sweet corn, roasted veggies (try my maple roasted carrots and beets), or green beans would also go great.
A note on peeling the garlic
You don't have to spend a lot time peeling the garlic cloves. One quick way I recommend is by using this silicone garlic peeler tube (I have a similar one) or by buying garlic cloves that are already peeled if you really want to save a bit of time. I usually just use my knife (here's a quick video tutorial on how if you're curious).
Will you give this creamy garlic chicken recipe a try? I hope you like it.
Questions? Ask me in the comments below.
Creamy Garlic Chicken
This creamy garlic chicken recipe is the ultimate easy comfort food! Tender chicken breast smothered in a creamy garlic sauce is irresistible.
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 whole head garlic cloves peeled
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
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Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you have 4 smaller cutlets. Sprinkle them with some salt & pepper and coat them in the flour.
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Add the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, sauté the chicken for 4-5 minutes/side or until it's nice and golden. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.
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Reduce the heat to medium (or even med-low if using cast iron), and add the rest of the butter to the pan. Let it melt and then add the garlic cloves. Cook them for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until they're lightly browned on the outside.
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Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and garlic powder to the pan. Let it bubble for around 4 minutes or until the liquid is noticeably reduced.
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Stir in the cream and add the chicken back into the pan. Let it cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the sauce is reduced and the chicken is cooked through. Serve with freshly chopped parsley if you wish.
Recipe Notes
- I used my trusty 10-1/4" Lodge cast iron skillet to make this recipe.
- I recommend using fairly large boneless/skinless chicken breasts for this recipe since we're cutting them in half lengthwise. If you have smaller ones, use 4 of them and leave them intact.
- If your garlic cloves are particularly gigantic like some of mine were, feel free to cut them in half so they're all roughly the same size.
T says
Thank you for sharing this. It made for a fantastic easy Friday meal. We found it very flavoursome and it rated as 'please make this again' in our household. Thank you!
Natasha says
That's great to hear!
Irmarie says
I loved the recepie. I added sundried tomato flakes!
Natasha says
Awesome!!
Amber says
If im cooking alot more chicken than just the two chickens do i add more ingrediants? (I have a family of like 9 im cooking this for)
Natasha says
Yes, I would double the recipe for sure... it only feeds 4. Brown the chicken in batches and double the sauce ingredients.
Trisha says
You think I can substitute the heavy cream for half and half or milk?
Natasha says
Hi! I don't recommend it. Personally, I don't like doing those subs because a) the sauce will end up thinner unless you add more flour or something to thicken it b) it just doesn't taste as good IMO, and c) this is cooked at quite a high heat, so there's a good chance the sauce will curdle. With that said, there's literally hundreds of comments on this post, many where people have tried various subs with success, so you may want to browse through.
Hope says
Hi! How well does this keep in the fridge? (Do you think I could meal prep/eat it two days later?)
Natasha says
Hi! Creamy sauces never are quite as good reheated as when first made, but it’ll be fine. Just reheat on a low heat and if it separates, add a little more cream. ♥️
Lea says
Hi. I would like to try the recipe. Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Natasha says
Absolutely! Lots of people have done that and had success with it. 🙂
Jackie says
I can’t wait to try this! I have a feeling you are going to tell me it probably won’t work😩😩 Will this dish freeze well? Thanks so much.
Natasha says
Hi Jackie! You're right... cream sauces are notoriously difficult to reheat after thawing, and in general I am not a big fan of reheating chicken either because it tends to become more dry/rubbery. With that said, there are a couple of things you can try: reheat on a LOW heat and add a little more cream if the sauce starts to separate. Let me know if you try the recipe, though!
Erica says
Amazing recipe! Super easy
Natasha says
🙂
Dan says
I'm thoroughly addicted to this recipe. It's wonderful! I add a chopped onion when I put the garlic cloves into the pan.
Natasha says
Awesome!! I'm happy to hear that! XO
Tim says
Turned out amazing. I didnt have enough garlic cloves so I used about 1/3 of a bulb and then I had one of those jars of minced garlic and I used a about a table spoon of that. This was loved by everyone. Not sure why it was so good. It was a very simple recipe. I dont think im a very good cook cause it took me an hour. Im slow
Natasha says
I'm so happy that it worked out! You're not a bad cook! We all go at different paces. 🙂