Creamy Garlic Chicken

5 from 11 votes

Creamy Garlic Chicken

Ready in about 30 minutes our Creamy garlic chicken is a delicious one-pan meal that's perfect for busy weeknight dinners and fancy enough for a dinner party.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 701kcal

Author: Chef Ryan Littley

Ingredients

Chicken

1 ½ - 1 ¾ lb boneless skinless chicken breast two large breasts split in half to make four pieces
4 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 tablespoon parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Sauce

3 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup sweet onion finely chopped
1 head garlic peeled and divided into 10-12 cloves
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup parmesan cheese
table salt season to taste
black pepper season to taste
2 tablespoon Italian parsley garnish for serving

Instructions

Add the flour, and parmesan cheese to a shallow bowl and whisk to combine.
Split large chicken breasts in half (you want 4-6 ounce portions)
Lightly pound them with a meat mallet so that they are flattened out.
Dredge chicken in the flour mixture, coating both sides.
Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the 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.
Add the chicken broth to the pan, scraping all of the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan.
*If you'd like to add a splash of white wine to the sauce, do it before adding the chicken stock to the pan.
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 garlicy 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.
Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
Garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Notes

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 all of 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.

Nutrition