Creamy Garlic Chicken

Creamy garlic chicken is a delicious one-pan meal that’s perfect for busy weeknight dinners and fancy enough for a dinner party.

Ready in about 30 minutes, this easy-to-make dish takes chicken to a whole new level of deliciousness!

Creamy garlic chicken is the ultimate comfort food. Simmered in a rich, creamy garlic sauce, creates a depth of flavors guaranteed to bring smiles to your table.

The tender pan-seared chicken breasts smoothed in the creamy garlic sauce will change how your family views week-night dinners, and you definitely won’t hear them say chicken again.

Serve our creamy garlic chicken over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta for a flavorful and filling meal.

If love creating delicious chicken dishes in your home kitchen, make sure to check out our French Onion Chicken and Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipes.

Ingredients to make Creamy Garlic Chicken

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

Do I really need a whole head of garlic?

Yes, you do. I know you’re probably thinking it’s way too much garlic, but you’ll need to trust me on this one.

Browning the onion and garlic in a butter oil mixture begins the caramelization process, then gently simmering it in the chicken broth allows the garlic and onion’s natural sweet flavor to develop.

If you’re a garlic lover and prefer a stronger flavor, smash the cloves with the blade of a chef’s knife. This will release more of the garlic flavor.

For a milder garlic flavor, leave them all whole.

How to make Creamy Garlic Chicken

• Add the all-purpose flour and parmesan cheese to a shallow bowl.
• Whisk to combine.
• Split large, boneless skinless chicken breasts in half (you want 4-6 ounce portions).
• Lightly pound them with a meat mallet so that they are flattened out.
• Season the split chicken breasts with salt and black pepper.
• Dredge chicken in the flour mixture, coating both sides.

• Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and unsalted butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan to mix the butter and oil.
• When the oil is hot, add the floured chicken breasts to the pan and cook until golden brown.
• Flip the chicken over to cook the other side (3-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the breasts).
• Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate (tent with foil to keep it warm).
• Reduce the heat to medium, and add the chopped onion to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Don’t let the onion burn.
• Smash 6 cloves of garlic with the side of a large knife. Add the smashed garlic cloves and whole garlic cloves to the pan and cook until fragrant over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. This begins the caramelization process.
  *Add more butter or oil if necessary.

*If you’d like to add a splash of white wine to the sauce, do it before adding the chicken stock to the pan.

• Add the chicken broth to the pan, scraping all of the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan, and simmer on low until the broth has reduced by half (4-5 minutes).
  *This gives the garlic time to fully cook and release the sweet garlicky flavor instead of a bitter hot flavor.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the heavy cream.
• Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring as needed.
• Add the parmesan cheese to the sauce and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Stirring as needed.
• Add the chicken back into the pan.
• Let it simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken has reached an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.

Taste the sauce and season with salt and black pepper as needed.

Garnish the creamy garlic chicken with chopped fresh parsley and serve with green beans and mashed potatoes or your favorite side dishes.

Store any leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. When reheating, you may need to add additional stock or heavy cream to the sauce.

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes You’ll Love!