Every now and then you come across one of those recipes that just leaves you speechless. Well, today I’m introducing you to one of those recipes. This Creamy Garlic Chicken is so delicious, so flavorful, and so easy to make for a quick weeknight meal! It starts with tender, pan-seared chicken breasts that are then covered with a creamy, garlic-infused sauce. The moment my family tried this recipe, they instantly loved it! It honestly took everyone’s breath away. If you love simple recipes that are packed with flavor and made with a luscious cream sauce, then make sure to add this one to your weekly rotation!
Ingredients For Creamy Garlic Chicken
Here’s everything you need to make this creamy garlic chicken recipe:
- Chicken: If you’ve seen a couple of my recipes, then by now you probably know I love using chicken breasts. So I opted for two boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I cut in half. But you can certainly use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- All-purpose flour: A little bit of flour adds a light breading to the chicken breasts and the perfect compliment to the creamy garlic sauce.
- Garlic: Garlic is the star of the show for this dish, so we’re using lots of it. One whole head of garlic to be exact. The garlic cooks down and infuses the sauce without overpowering the dish.
- Olive Oil and Butter: Both are used to cook the chicken breasts and a little more butter is used to sauté the garlic cloves.
- Chicken Broth and Heavy Cream: The rich garlic sauce is made with a combination of chicken broth and heavy cream. Both of them simmer together, along with the garlic cloves, until a creamy, flavorful sauce is formed.
- Seasoning: The chicken breasts are seasoned with a little salt, pepper and Italian seasoning; and the sauce is seasoned with garlic powder plus a little salt & pepper to taste.
Can you eat the garlic cloves?
You may be curious if you can eat the whole garlic cloves with your chicken. The answer is YES! Sautéing the garlic cloves in the butter, then simmering them in the sauce, removes any overpowering, strong garlic taste and leaves a very subtle, delicious flavor. I love to spoon the garlic over the chicken along with the creamy sauce right before serving.
Recipe Tips!
- After all the garlic cloves are peeled, I like to carefully smash them with the side of a large chef’s knife by pressing down on the side of the knife with the heel of my hand. Smashing the cloves releases more of their flavorful oils and gives the sauce a stronger garlic flavor.
- Make sure you stir the garlic cloves frequently when sautéing them in the skillet with the butter. You don’t want the garlic to burn. As soon as it starts to turn a light brown color, add in the liquids and stir.
What To Serve With Creamy Garlic Chicken?
Creamy sauce recipes like this creamy garlic chicken are perfect to serve with Mashed Potatoes, so the potatoes can soak up all of that extra sauce. You can also serve the chicken and sauce over a bed of pasta or rice, or serve it with a simple side salad or in our case a Caesar Salad. You really can’t go wrong with any side that you choose!
Creamy Garlic Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total) ($6.49)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.06)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.27)
- 1 whole garlic bulb (about 8-9 garlic cloves) ($0.64)
- 1 cup chicken broth ($0.17)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream ($1.08)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- Salt and Pepper to taste ($0.04)
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, carefully fillet each chicken breast into two thinner cutlets (or use thin-cut chicken breasts).
- Season each breast with Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Then sprinkle the flour over both sides of the chicken breasts and rub it in until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 minutes per side). Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and cover to keep warm.
- While the chicken is cooking, peel the garlic cloves and then carefully smash them with the side of a large chef's knife by pressing down on the side of the knife with the heel of your hand.
- Once the chicken is removed, to the same skillet add the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter, then add the garlic cloves. Turn the heat down to medium-low and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Make sure to stir the garlic frequently to prevent it from burning.
- Next pour the chicken broth and heavy cream into the skillet, then add the garlic powder. Stir and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Allow the sauce to simmer in the skillet for 8-10 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened by about 50%. Taste the sauce at this point and add salt and pepper if needed (I added about ⅛ tsp of salt and ⅛ tsp of black pepper).
- Finally, return the cooked chicken breasts to the skillet and spoon the creamy sauce over top. Allow the chicken to heat through. Serve with fresh chopped parsley (optional), and enjoy!
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Creamy Garlic Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Using a sharp knife, carefully fillet 2 chicken breast into two thinner cutlets (or use thin-cut chicken breasts). Season each breast with 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup all-purpose flour over both sides of the chicken breasts and rub it in until the chicken is evenly coated.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through (about 4 minutes per side). Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and cover to keep warm.
While the chicken is cooking, peel the garlic cloves from 1 whole head of garlic. Then carefully smash them with the side of a large chef’s knife by pressing down on the side of the knife with the heel of your hand.
Once the chicken is removed, to the same skillet add the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter, then add the garlic cloves. Turn the heat down to medium-low and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Make sure to stir the garlic frequently to prevent it from burning.
Next pour 1 cup chicken broth and 3/4 cup heavy cream into the skillet, then add 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Stir and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Allow the sauce to simmer in the skillet for 8-10 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened by about 50%.
Taste the sauce at this point and add salt and pepper if needed (I added about ⅛ tsp of salt and ⅛ tsp of black pepper). Return the cooked chicken breasts to the skillet and spoon the creamy sauce over top. Allow the chicken to heat through.
Serve with fresh chopped parsley (optional) and enjoy this creamy, flavorful sauce with mashed potatoes, pasta, or any of your favorite sides.
The flavor was great. However, I cook everything from scratch and wanted to try something new. All my gravies and sauces I do home made. Still somehow I followed this recipe and the sauce did not thicken properly as the picture shows. The chicken does not hold enough of the flower for it to be thick enough from that alone. I ended up having to thicken it with corn starch to keep the flavor the same and I served it on pasta. However, even my 4 year old daughter loved the chicken plain so this is still worth doing, I just had to make some alterations with things I already had at home. I would still recommend it because worst case scenario you just have to thicken it with a flower and water mixture or a corn starch and water mixture. Also the chicken on its own cooked in the olive oil and butter mixture can make an awesome part of a dinner even without the sauce. Just add a little extra salt if you’re a family who likes more salt, my family doesn’t but I know people who would want to double the salt. Long story short. . Atleast try the chicken even if the sauce doesn’t turn out correct because it isn’t a lot of seasoning and still turns our wonderful.
What do you suggest serving this with? Noodles? Rice? Is that an option?
We love both of those! Mashed potatoes are great with it as well!
I absolutely looove this recipe! Unfortunately I can no longer eat chicken, which is a huge bummer. What other meats could be used? Would pork chops work or would they get too tough?