Get my Cookbooks! Creamy Garlic Chicken
This Creamy Garlic Chicken is smothered in a rich and flavorful gravy that’s easy to make in a single skillet. Caramelized garlic cloves add the perfect balance of gourmet flavor. There is plenty of savory sauce to serve over mashed potatoes with roasted green beans. You have just found your new favorite meal!
Creamy Garlic Chicken
This Creamy Garlic Chicken is dedicated to all of the gravy (and garlic!) lovers out there. Wait until you try this recipe. You’re going to want to make this every week.
The garlic cloves add the best gourmet flavor to the sauce without overpowering it. Since the cloves are whole, the flavor is nice and subtle. They’re also caramelized a bit before the sauce is made, which brings out a hint of sweetness and rounds everything out.
I think you’ve just found your new favorite chicken recipe. Scroll down to see how it’s made, tips for perfectly seared chicken, and other PRO tips!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Slice the chicken into 3 thinner slices. Season with salt/pepper and Italian seasonings. Dredge in flour/Parmesan cheese mixture. Sear in olive oil for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.
Melt butter in the skillet and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot. Add garlic cloves. Cook and caramelize for 6-7 minutes.
Add flour to the butter mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, beef bouillon cube, and seasonings in splashes. Stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add the chicken back and spoon the sauce on top. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with mashed potatoes!
Tips For Searing the Chicken
- Adjust the heat up and down slightly throughout the cooking process for a nice even sear and golden color.
- We want brown (not black) remnants left in the pot. The “fond” left in the skillet gives a lot of flavor to the sauce.
- I would rather cook chicken at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time than at a super high temperature that can cause burning and oil splatter. Start at medium -high and decrease heat slightly as needed. You can always increase it again later.
- If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it’s not ready to be moved and is still developing a crispy crust. Allow it to release on it’s own to avoid tearing the surface of the chicken.
Pro Tips
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Serve this meal with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables such as green beans.
- Mushrooms make a great addition to this gravy, I like to sauté them separately and stir them into the sauce at the very end. Cooking them separately lets them retain their color, texture, and flavor.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 99!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- This meal does freeze well. I reheat from frozen in the microwave, you can also thaw overnight and reheat leftovers in a lightly greased, covered casserole dish at 350° for 20-25 minutes.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- This is the Le Creuset skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
- Garlic Peeler– Makes it really easy to peel a lot of garlic all at once in seconds. Easy to store and clean too!
- Kitchen Tongs– makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing and even easier to flip individual mushroom slices as they cook.
- My Favorite Chef Knife
Try These Next
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- Chicken Stew
-
- Steak with Gravy
-
- Chili Con Carne
-
- Chicken Lo Mein
-
- Chicken Parmesan
-
- Chicken Potato Soup
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Tried This Recipe?
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Creamy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt/Pepper
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 cloves garlic
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 beef bouillon cube or 1 tsp better than bouillon
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce, can sub Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, (optional)
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Combine the chicken broth, bouillon, soy sauce, onion powder, mustard powder, and thyme. Set aside.
- Combine flour and Parmesan cheese on a plate and measure out additional ingredients prior to beginning.
Cut, Pound, Dredge, and Sear the Chicken:
- Slice the chicken to create 2-3 thinner slices. Place the chicken in a gallon freezer bag (or in between saran wrap) and use the textured side of a meat mallet to pound it to ½ inch thick. Pat completely dry.
- Season with Italian seasoning and salt/pepper. Dredge each side in the flour mixture. Tap off excess.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside and leave brown remnants in the pan. (See notes for key tips for searing chicken.)
Make the Sauce:
- Melt the butter in the skillet over medium/medium-low heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot. Add the garlic cloves and let them soften and caramelize for 6-7 minutes.
- Add the flour and whisk with a fork for 1-2 minutes, until raw flour smell is gone and it begins to brown.
- Add the chicken broth mixture in splashes, stirring continuously.
- Stir in the cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Add the chicken back to the pan along with any juice from the plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. The sauce will continue to thicken during this time.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans!
Notes
- Adjust the heat up and down slightly throughout the cooking process for a nice even sear and golden color.
- We want brown (not black) remnants left in the pot. The "fond" left in the skillet gives a lot of flavor to the sauce.
- I would rather cook chicken at a slightly lower temperature for a longer period of time than at a super high temperature that can cause burning and oil splatter.
- If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it's not ready to be moved and is still developing a crispy crust. Allow it to release on it's own to avoid tearing the surface of the chicken.
- Nutrition facts assume that all of the flour is used.
- Consider using low sodium chicken broth to control the sodium content. You can also omit the bouillon but it does add a nice depth of flavor.
- If using smaller chicken breasts, consider using 3-4 instead of 2 large.
- Serve this meal with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables such as green beans.
- Mushrooms make a great addition to this gravy, I like to sauté them separately and stir them into the sauce at the very end. Cooking them separately lets them retain their color, texture, and flavor.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 99!
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- This meal does freeze well. I reheat from frozen in the microwave, you can also thaw overnight and reheat leftovers in a lightly greased, covered casserole dish at 350 ° for 20-25 minutes.
I had to make two batches for my family size but I made one sauce with the Parmesan and one without. They were both great. Everyone LOVED this!
Nice work Barabara! I’m so happy it was such a success with your family. This is one of the first chicken dishes I made that got me tons of compliments from my family. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
I’m super excited to make this. I am planning to use chicken thighs and drumsticks. How could I alter this recipe to do the chicken baked in the oven? Should I make the sauce and let it cook while chicken is in the oven or put it on at the end?
Hi Alexandria! I think preparing the sauce and serving it with the chicken after it has been baked is a great way to go!
Delicious and definitely a comfort meal. It’s made its way into my meal rotation. I’m cooking it for the second time tonight and my teenage girls keep coming into the kitchen asking when it’s going to be ready… 7 people in my family and they all love it. Also, I truly appreciate the suggestion of mashed potatoes and green beans. Most recipes on the internet don’t offer “side” suggestions. I know you don’t have to put this with mashed potatoes and green beans but on a busy weeknight it helps not to have to think of something else to pair with a main dish, so thank you very much
I am sooo thrilled to hear that you and your girls love the recipe Rachael!! And I’m glad that my side dish suggestions helped as well, thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice review on a Sunday, I really appreciate that!! -Stephanie
Absolutely delicious!!! A real keeper! Everyone loved it.
I am so happy that everyone loved it Melody! Thank you so much!!
It’s wonderful!!, but it made a LOT of sauce. I made 2 1/2 times the recipe, and there was definitely too much sauce. Not a real problem, as now I have a lot of yummy sauce to put with something for another meal. I just wanted to mention it. Also, I used thighs, which I highly recommend because it’s a lot less work, and they come out very tender.
So glad that you enjoyed it Karis!! 🙂 The recipe makes about 1/2 cup of sauce per person after it’s reduced a little bit, which I love as there’s enough to serve with potatoes or pasta if desired, I’m just a big sauce lover even without a side dish! 🙂 I’m glad that you loved it, using chicken thighs is delicious!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!