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This creamy garlic chicken recipe is the ultimate easy comfort food! Tender chicken breasts smothered in a creamy garlic sauce are irresistible. Garlic lovers unite!
Love creamy chicken recipes? Try my Creamy Tuscan Chicken, this Creamy Bacon Chicken, or my Creamy Mushroom Chicken.
Why you’ll love it
This creamy garlic chicken is ready in about 30 minutes. It’s good enough to serve company, but it’s also one of those dishes that works for a quick weeknight dinner. A lovely reader said that it’s “one of the best things I have ever eaten!!!” It was an early hit on the blog and actually shaped the direction of S&L towards easy comfort food.
Yes, I include both garlic powder and an entire head of garlic in this recipe. It’s not a typo! Believe it or not, the garlic cloves themselves don’t make the sauce ridiculously garlicky. The flavor of garlic powder is slightly different than the fresh cloves. I’m going for all-out depth of garlic flavor here without making it overpowering.
What you’ll need
- Chicken – we’re using two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise to cook faster and more evenly, so it remains tender and melt-in-your-mouth
- Flour – for a tasty crust on the exterior of the cutlets, and it also helps thicken the sauce
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing
- Garlic cloves – use an entire head of garlic. Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact same number of cloves as I used. It’s not precise.
- Chicken broth – for the savory base of the sauce
- Lemon juice – a little bit of acidity for balance
- Garlic powder – for a different garlicky aspect! It’s a staple in my pantry.
- Heavy cream – it’s what makes the sauce luxuriously rich
Do I eat the garlic cloves?
- You do! If you’ve never really cooked with whole garlic cloves before, don’t worry. Cooking them in the sauce mellows them right out. It’s nothing like biting into raw garlic.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- You don’t have to spend a lot time peeling the garlic cloves. Use a silicone garlic peeler tube, or buy garlic cloves that are already peeled if you really want to save a bit of time. I usually just use my knife. Here’s a quick video tutorial how.
- This is my trusty 10.25″ Lodge cast iron skillet, and I use a chef’s knife to cut the chicken.
- Chicken is safe to eat at 165F, and the best way to never have undercooked or overcooked meat is using an instant read thermometer.
How to make creamy garlic chicken
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cut the chicken breasts into four cutlets, season with salt & pepper, and coat with flour. Pan fry until golden, and then take them out of the skillet. Lightly brown the garlic cloves in the same pan.
Add the broth, lemon juice, and garlic powder to the skillet. Let it up bubble for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced somewhat. Pour in the cream, and return the chicken to the pan to cook until it reaches 165F inside and the sauce thickens. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Substitutions and variations
- Sub the cream at your own discretion. If you use something like milk or half-and-half, the sauce may curdle due to the high heat and end up thinner. I recommend reading through the reader comments. There’s tons of tips from readers who have tweaked this recipe to their liking.
- I use boneless/skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. You can substitute for chicken thighs, but keep in mind those may take a bit longer to cook.
- For an elegant touch, swap the chicken broth for a dry white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
- Readers have tried minced garlic in a jar, but the results won’t be the same and our kitchen has not tested that. You’re welcome to experiment.
What to serve with creamy garlic chicken
- Try Mashed Potatoes, a classic Easy Baked Potato, Stick of Butter Rice, pasta, or scoop up those tasty garlic cloves with fresh crusty bread.
- For veggie sides, I suggest sweet corn, Maple Roasted Beets and Carrots, or my very delicious Easy Roasted Cauliflower recipe. Green beans would also go great.
- If you’re pairing it with a salad, I love this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad or going all out with my popular 10-Minute Caesar Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Store any leftovers of this creamy chicken in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in a saucepan slowly and over a low heat until warmed through.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one. The chicken will dry out, and creamy sauces don’t hold up well in the freezer.
More 30-minute chicken recipes
If you made this creamy garlic chicken recipe, leave a star rating and comment below! You can find me on Instagram and showcase your creations.
Creamy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Flour for dredging
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 whole head garlic cloves peeled
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you have 4 smaller cutlets. Generously season them with salt & pepper and coat them in the flour.
- Add the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, sauté the chicken for 4-5 minutes/side or until it’s nice and golden. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium (or even med-low if using cast iron), and add the rest of the butter to the pan. Let it melt and then add the garlic cloves. Cook them for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until they’re lightly browned on the outside.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and garlic powder to the pan. Let it bubble for around 4 minutes or until the liquid is noticeably reduced.
- Stir in the cream and add the chicken back into the pan. Let it cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the sauce is reduced and the chicken is cooked through. Serve with freshly chopped parsley if you wish.
Notes
- I recommend using fairly large boneless/skinless chicken breasts for this recipe since we’re cutting them in half lengthwise. If you have smaller ones, use 4 of them and leave them intact.
- If your garlic cloves are particularly gigantic like some of mine were, feel free to cut them in half so they’re all roughly the same size.
- This recipe also can be found in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious! My chicken was fantastic. Very easy to follow!
That’s great to hear!! 😀
Delicious! I have made this many times. I skip the lemon juice and I add a little flour, salt, pepper and at least 2 t of garlic powder. Another good addition is 8 oz of sliced mushrooms.
I was looking for a quick recipe to use with two left over chicken breasts from a large package, and this looked easy enough (plus I had heavy cream on hand). I am not that great of a cook, but it was so good I felt like I was eating food from a fancy restaurant. I didn’t dredge in flour, and just used chopped garlic from a jar, but it was still amazing.
I love this recipe as it is so flavorful! However, how can o make it without burning the butter? It seems like my sauce isn’t as golden as I would like it to be.
Hi! I’m so glad you enjoy it! I haven’t ever burned the butter myself, and I do get the pan pretty hot. Browned butter is fine (a step or two before it’s burned). I use cast iron and it gets a nice sear and the browned bits that a non-stick pan wouldn’t produce.
Loved this recipe! I had only thighs on hand so used those, and I would say I lost some sauce to the longer cooking time. And you do not want to lose any of this sauce.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That’s a good tip.. perhaps double the sauce if using thighs next time.
I used four thighs, skin on-bone in, but butterflied the thigh meat around the bone, exposing it. Cooked the thighs skin side down on medium high heat, covered, approx. 12 minutes. I used a heavy non-stick pan, and the amount of brown “crystallization” on the pan (not burnt) was terrific. Reduced heat, and followed remainder of the recipe nearly exactly, except I let the sauce with the cream reduce before adding back in the Chicken. I also sautéed some mushrooms for added earthiness to the dish. The method for cooking the chicken thighs was one I discovered watching a Jacques Pepin “Cooking At Home” episode he did recently. Natasha’s cream sauce was fabulous, and just what I wanted. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Michael!
This is one of the best things I have ever eaten!!!! Will definitely be making again!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Shannon! 😀
So I made this tonight for supper and wow this is a fabulous recipe – served with mashed potatoes and a crunch salad and I really do not want my husband to take it for work tomorrow as I want to enjoy the leftovers. So very good and easy enough! I made your bacon mushroom pasta last week which was also delicious but I didn’t think to post a review. Will be trying more of your recipes thanks again for a great way to serve chicken breasts!
I’m so glad you liked it and the bacon mushroom pasta! 🙂 Thanks so much for your review. Let me know if you make anything else!
Really easy and really tasty. I forgot to flour the chicken first but it still turned out good.
Fantastic!! Thanks for your review! 😀
Absolutely love this recipe….quick, easy, and absolutely delicious!!!
Actually modified the recipe and used canned cream of mushroom soup and water in place of cream and chicken stock…was at a hunting camp with limited supplies but came our AMAZING!!
All thanks to you for the starting point!!!
So happy you were able to make it work, Tad!
This deserves 10 stars! It’s the best dish I’ve made in a month of Sundays! I would be proud to serve it to guests. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much!! 🙂 I’m so glad it was a hit, and I really appreciate your 5-star review, Doris!
Loved this recipe so much! Restaurant quality dish. Well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂