This Creamy Garlic Chicken is a quick and easy dinner for busy weekdays. Made with thinly cut chicken breasts and creamy sauce with plenty of garlic, this dinner is comfort food at its best! Serve it with mashed potatoes and steamed or roasted vegetables for a delicious and complete meal.
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Why You'll Love This Dish
Creamy chicken dinners are some of the easiest to make. I have a whole bunch of them that I make often, like creamy tomato chicken or lemon garlic chicken. Done in under 20 minutes and made with a handful of simple ingredients, this Creamy Garlic Chicken will save your dinner time when you're in a rush.
If you are a garlic fan, you will love the creamy sauce! I minced half of the garlic cloves to saute with onions and left the remaining ones whole. The flavor of the creamy, silky sauce is unbelievable!
But don't leave it just for busy weekdays! This dish is so delicious, that it can impress your dinner party guests as well. Make it for a relaxing Sunday dinner and serve it with a simple salad made with seasonal veggies.
Ingredients:
- chicken: boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs;
- seasoning: salt flour, dried oregano, and Italian seasoning;
- flour: helps brown the chicken and thicken the sauce; you can use cornstarch for a gluten-free option;
- garlic: fresh, whole cloves;
- onion: you only need half of a sweet or yellow onion; you can use 2 shallots instead;
- cream: I used half and half which is a mix of equal parts of heavy cream and milk;
- chicken or vegetable stock: needed to deglaze the pan so every bit of flavor is in the sauce;
- Parmesan: adds cheesy flavor to the sauce.
How to make creamy garlic chicken?
- Slice each chicken breast lengthwise into cutlets.
- Season each with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour.
- Heat up oil and melt butter in a skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove onto a plate.
- Saute onion and garlic in the same skillet.
- Add herbs and saute for 1 to 2 minutes to activate them.
- Add cream to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens.
- Return the chicken to the pan and simmer with sauce to heat everything through.
Helpful Tips!
- Remove the chicken from your fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before cooking.
- Using olive oil and butter is my go-to way for browning chicken cutlets. It gives them nice, golden brown color.
- Adjust the heat while cooking, but don't let the pan get too hot or the butter will burn and splatter.
- Add an extra tablespoon of butter to the sauce at the end, to add a rich and silky texture.
What to serve with this dish?
A saucy chicken dish almost always calls for mashed potatoes. At least for me, that's the best pairing. You can serve it with pasta or rice as well.
Steamed broccoli or roasted Brussels sprouts or green beans will make for another great side. A simple salad, like Creamy Cucumber Salad or Perfect Caesar Salad, served before the main dish, makes for a delicious starter.
Recipe FAQs:
Store leftovers in a container with lid, in the fridge, for up to 3 days. To reheat, place in a pan and add a splash of chicken stock or milk to return the sauce to drizzling consistency. It will thicken as it chills.
To save time, you can prepare the chicken ahead of time. Brown it, then cool it completely and store it in a container with a lid. Make the sauce and reheat the chicken just before serving. If you make the sauce in advance, it will thicken and you will need to add more stock or milk to get it back to desired consistency.
I added a handful of fresh baby spinach to the sauce just before adding the chicken. You can add basil or other fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, etc.).
More chicken dinner recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Creamy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 6 to 7 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- spinach optional
Instructions
- Finely chop onion. Mince 4 garlic cloves and leave 3 whole. Set aside.
- Slice each chicken breast lenghtwise, into thin cutlets. Pat them dry with paper towels.
- Season each chicken piece with salt and pepper, on both sides.
- Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken to lightly coat on both sides. Set aside.
- Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of oil to a skillet, and heat up over medium heat until the butter is melted.
- Brown chicken on all sides, until golden brown. Do it in batches to prevent over-crowding the pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add more oil to skillet and add onion. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add garlic to skillet and saute until fragrant and golden. Stir often.
- Add herbs to garlic and onion, stir in and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. This activates the dry herbs.
- Pour stock over the veggies and deglaze the pan (scrape all cooked on bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon).
- Whisk milk with cornstarch. Add to pan along with cream. Stir in and simmer until the sauce thickens.
- You can add a handful of spinach at this point and let it wilt.
- Add Parmesan cheese and the remaining tablespoon of butter to the sauce and stir until melted.
- Return chicken to the pan and simmer with sauce until heated through.
- Serve garnished with chopped parsley, dill or thyme.
Notes
- You can skip the flour and use cornstarch as a gluten-free option.
- Always remove chicken from the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking. Let it come to room temperature.
- Serve this dish with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice. Roasted or steamed vegetables make for a great side too.
- All leftovers should be stored in the fridge, for up to 3 days.
- To reheat the dish, place it in a skillet and add a splash of stock or milk since the sauce will thicken as it chills. Return it to a saucy consistency with more liquid.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use a calorie counter you are familiar with.
Angel Wallace says
Delicious!!! My husband and I loved it!
Anna says
I am so glad! Thank you, Angel!
Jennifer says
My family loved this chicken, even the kids! Love how easy it was to make! 🙂
Abby says
This was the most flavorful and tender chicken I've ever had. Tasted amazing and easy to make. Will make again.
Portia F says
Just delicious! All of my kids loved it and it was so easy to make. I will absolutely make it again!