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!
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I made this tonight and it was delish!!! One of the best chicken recipe by far! Thank you we loved it and the flavors of the sauce was awesome!!
Charissa Woods
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. If you’re feeling lazy, I recommend 2.5 Tbsp of pre-minced garlic.
- 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.
- A great budget-saving hack we love is to use Better Than Bouillon paste. It has a long shelf life, which is great for when you’re using just 1 cup at a time. I recommend the roasted chicken base, but several readers loved the roasted garlic base in this recipe, too!
- For a lower-fat option, try swapping out the heavy cream for half-and-half.
- For a thicker sauce, add a roux of 2 Tbsp flour and 1 Tbsp melted butter or a slurry of 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1-2 Tbsp cold water.
- Some great additions our readers have loved include sautéed or caramelized onions, cooked crumbled bacon, spinach, sautéed mushrooms, a squeeze of lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese.
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.
As always great recipes to follow! Easy and love the step by steps. The family loved this chicken. Best place for recipes! Thank you
I love this recipe as my daughter made this when I visited. However, when I went to print it there was a problem. It printed all the comments from other cooks. I didn’t need this as it was so tasty.
Can you correct this as I am sure I will want to print other recipes of yours.
Thank you
That’s so weird! I just tried it and it worked fine for me! Did you use the print recipe button on the recipe card? When you click that it should open up this printer friendly page. https://www.budgetbytes.com/wprm_print/creamy-garlic-chicken
Had some chicken breast sitting in my fridge and found this amazing recipe. My picky kids loved it that much that went back for second and even third round. Thank you! It was delish;)
I’m so glad I found this recipe. Fast and delicious! I’d have this each day. Thank you so much for this great find :)
Really delicious! Can you please make a baking version?? I want to bake this for NYE
We can definitely test it out! But since we haven’t tried it yet, I can’t give you concrete directions by tomorrow!
This is one of our family’s favorite recipes. It’s always delicious and never fails! Thanks so much.
Wow, this is one of the best recipes I have tried in a long time. Using already thin sliced chicken breast from the store (they were on sale buy 1 get 1 free) saved time and made for a fast and tasty weeknight meal.
I just stocked up on various Better Than Bouillons (great sales this time of year!) And made this with the garlic stock instead of chicken… out of this world!
Oh wow..I’ve never tried their garlic stock. That does sound good!!!
Sounds like a delicious dish. I’m going to try it tonight.
I’m not sure if it’s normal for so many ads to pop up on a page and I didn’t know if you knew your page was having ads constantly so I wanted to let you know. It’s very hard to get to the recipe and instructions because the ads pop up all over and your recipes are too good to have ads get in the way because I almost went back to click on different recipe because I was tired of the ads but so glad I didn’t since it was absolutely the best chicken ever!!
Ads pay the bills
Good Recipe. Will try it tonight!
I made this tonight and it was delish!!! One of the best chicken recipe by far! Thank you we loved it and the flavors of the sauce was awesome!!
Sounds delicious! I plan to try to make this tonight accompanied by rice. I’m wondering, though, can you give any advice of how to make more sauce, as I like to pour a bit over the top of rice (since it’s a bit dry and flavourless), or is there enough to infuse the rice already?
It’s pretty saucy as is, so you should be good!
This is delicious thank you for this recipe my husband and I cooked this dish together it was fun and worth every minute.
Love this recipe
I love heavy cream but would like a lower fat option – can I use a low fat creme fraiche instead?
thanks :-)
We haven’t tried it, Lynn, but I’m sure it would result in a similar sauce. You may need some milk or more broth to thin it out since creme fraiche is thicker than heavy cream, but you can try it out and see!
This recipe was easy to make, delicious to eat, and will definitely be in our rotation.
Unrelated to the recipe or meal itself, but feedback I wanted to share with others nonetheless, the sauce gave my family terrible gas for the last 24+ hours. We all ate multiple cloves of garlic, which is probably the culprit, so maybe just avoid doing the same :)
I was nervous about the amount of garlic but it was perfect. My husband dubbed this dish “restaurant worthy”! Thank-you so much. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes as this one was beyond easy and delicious.
This was really good!
Fairly easy to make, although the prep time at 10 minutes seems a little low. Maybe because I was doing all the dishes and the sides at the same time. Very yummy however and much appreciated by the family.
This is delicious. Came out great. Thank you
I need to make this for 7 people. Could I make in 2 batches and keep warm in the oven? or will it dry out. I want to make ahead of company by about 3 hours.
It sounds sooooo good
I think that could work! I would be VERY careful not to overcook the chicken though so it doesn’t get dry. I do worry about keeping it warm for that long and it entering a danger zone with temperature. If you can’t make it before serving, I would almost rather recommend you make it early, store in the fridge and reheat right before. Cream-based sauces can tend to separate a little with reheating, but with a little whisking it should be fine.
School project!
Delicious recipe. want to try tonight.
I made this last weekend. I used the already crushed garlic and probably didn’t use as much, but the taste was fine for me. And I added cooked asparagus. Definitely my new favorite dish that I did all by myself!
This was amazing. Had it with mash potatoes. The only thing I would do differently is that the portion size of the chicken vs how much sauce. Meaning if you have a lot of chicken like I did, you might need to add more heavy cream. Once I added the chicken back into the sauce, it thickened more from the flour coating that was applied. So I needed more sauce. With a slight adjustment and a little more cream I had enough to pour onto my mash as well. Also it was extremely garlic-e. I prob could use half that clove and it would of been just as good.
I love this recipe, but I’m wondering if I can do it in a slow cooker
We haven’t tested it out that way so I’m not sure!
This was so incredibly good! Followed the recipe almost exactly as written—only change I made was using brown rice flour instead of all-purpose for the coating (I have celiac).
I felt like the recipe made a LOT of sauce relative to the amount of chicken—I think I could’ve easily done another breast without doubling the sauce. That being said, having an overabundance of sauce is the opposite of a problem, especially when it’s this delicious. I had it over mashed potatoes, and I also ended up slicing up some gluten-free baguette so I could sop up every last drop. It would also probably be lovely tossed with some pasta.
My husband described this recipe as being “like a warm hug in my stomach and soul,” and I can’t think of a better description. I will definitely be adding this one to my regular rotation.
If using pork chops, would you change the Italian seasoning to something else?
No, I think it would still be delicous!
I made this last night for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. The only thing I did different was used minced garlic, and added mushrooms with the garlic to saute. We put over pasta noodles. My only disappointment was I put too much pasta on my plate for the amount of sauce I made. Next time will be doubling the sauce for sure. Yes this will be in my rotation at least 2 xs a month. Thank you. I bragged to my whole family about this. Wish I could share my pic.
Smells GREAT, tastes just as good; I’m surprised my whole family wasn’t in the kitchen asking what I was cooking and wanting a sample!
I did make several changes, though. I like thicker sauce, so I added a roux of 2 Tbsp flour and 1 Tbsp melted butter once the sauce was about done. I also had some bacon I needed to use up, so I chopped that up and cooked it between doing the chicken and the garlic, adding it and the chicken back to the sauce when it was done. I’m also a lazy bum, so I used about 2.5 Tbsp of the pre-minced garlic I keep on hand. Think I’ll add more next time; we really love our garlic!
I made this a few times it’s soooo good! I used Speghetti squash as a side and put some of the sauce on it. It was very tasty!
Delicious recipe! My husband prefers a thicker sauce,so I made a roux and then added the cream & chicken broth. This is a very versatile recipe that one could add cooking sherry to imbue a different flavor. One could also switch out the chicken breasts for pork chops.
They would be very tender.
Use this recipe as a base and add your imagination.
My notoriously picky 2 year old who does not eat a lot of meat, LOVED this. Safe to say this will be thrown into our rotation of recipes. Absolutely delicious!
I’m not even finished with my plate yet, but had to comment. I love this!!! I hate to be that kinda person, but I did deviate somewhat because I like to use things up before they go bad in the fridge. I diced half an onion and added that before the garlic. I also threw in a handful of spinach at the end. I believe this recipe made just as written would have been just perfect. I got the request that this be added to the rotation and it will be. This was really easy, customizable and very tasty. Thank you for another banger!
Haha! Thanks for sharing Jackie! Onion and spinach are perfect additions to this recipe :)
Very yummy, added mushrooms and ate it over pasta with some sauteed Brussels on the side.
So delicious and perfect for Sunday dinner with sautéed collard greens and roasted fingerling potatoes.🫶🏾
Whoa, now this is my type of dinner! I love collard greens and potatoes!
Sooo good and simple! My husband and I are adding this to our rotation for sure! We added a jalepeno (bc we do to everything) and poured everything over pasta. Only regret was not making more!
A great crowd pleaser! Not too difficult, especially for a weeknight.
I added mushrooms. I use both whole garlic (smashed) and minced garlic
( in jar) ! You can thicken with corn starch as desired.
I never comment on recipes, even the great ones. But I had to for this one. It was amazing! I was told by my wife and kids it was the best meal I’ve ever made! My daughter, who was returning to college after I made this for dinner, texted me at 1am and said she couldn’t sleep because she wanted to eat the leftovers so bad. I made a mistake and sliced the breasts long in half vertically instead of horizontally (recipe says to filet them, my bad). I also added (rehydrated) dried morel mushrooms that I found at Whole Foods and topped the finished product off with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Unbelievable. This will go into the permanent rotation. Thank you Marsha!
Extremely watery sauce.
Made this last night with pasta, it’s sooo good!! I had jarred minced garlic so I added 8 teaspoons instead of the whole garlic. Adding this recipe to my regular rotation, thanks!
Hi Marsha, this is a wonderful recipe. I had a leftover chicken breast that had been cooked in the crockpot that was rather ‘chewy,’ so I was looking for something to disguise it. 😊 I varied it a little based on what was in the fridge. I sauteed mushrooms with the garlic, then added the other ingredients, but used tempered sour cream instead of cream, plus a little white wine. Made a corn starch slurry to thicken it a little. Added the chicken, cut up into bite- sized pieces, last. It was so good & the chicken was unbelievably tender! Thank you for such a delicious, easy to make recipe. This will become a favorite.
So sorry, but I left this review for the wrong recipe. I actually made your Creamy Dijon Chicken!! 🙃 I have this one saved, haven’t tried this one yet.
So good! I somehow overlooked the flour when I first made it and it turned out phenomenal. It is so good I made it 2 nights in a row per my picky 12 year old’s request. She even commented on it being restaurant quality!! The first night I served it with broccoli and tonight with green beans. The sauce with the green beans was amazing. It reminded me of green bean casserole. Thank you for this recipe!!
Mix a lil corn starch and water to make a slurry n add to sauce to make thicker ! Came out perfect afterwards
The sauce was too watery. So I changed the recipe slightly.
I used lactose free single cream(the only available), made it thickened cooking with a bit of flour in a small pot and a small portion of the cream, and slowly mixed with the the rest of the sauce. I also skipped the chicken broth liquid as it makes even more liquid, and to increase the flavour I marinated the chicken for 2 hours on the garlic and my preferred seasoning such as paprika, little cumin, salt and pepper and did the chicken on butter and some chicken fat. It was lovely.
Ps. Without the broth, the cream can not boil much, has to be added as the last phase and low heat.
Looking forward to trying many of these recipes!! They look delicious and easy to make!! I can’t wait to try them!@!
The family loved it! My son thought it looked restaurant quality!
Cooked it tonight! Creamy and moist chicken is the best, my wife loved it, even though I forgot the parsley flakes. The only downside was the sauce wasn’t as thick as I thought it would end up being. I just let the chicken soak for a while before taking it out. Despite that, it was still very moist and tasted delicious.
Delicious. I added portobello mushrooms just before the garlic, and a little bit of red pepper flakes toward the end.
I had no garlic cloves on hand so I substituted with garlic powder. It was the perfect garlicky flavour for my teenage son. Sauce was also watery for me so I just cooked it down a little longer than the recipe calls for. Overall, a success and my son has already requested I make it again.
I only gave three stars because my sauce wasn’t thick.
Ok was glad to see I wasn’t the only one the sauce did not thicken
Really? If you read the very first paragraph it says “creamy garlic sauce” not “creamy garlic gravy”. Sauces are not thick!
Paula, it says in the recipe that it should thicken by 50%. Did you bother to read that? No need to have snotty comments.
Sounds like you’re confused about the difference between a sauce and common sense. I’ll give you a hint: both should thicken when the heat’s on!
We loved it!!! And it’s so quick to make. I’ll definitely be making it again!
Thank you.
My mom and dad loved this recipe! :) thank you so much for sharing!! Was really wonderful and easy too.
Delicious! My husband said this is the best chicken and gravy he’s ever had! Nice and tender!
A W E S O M E!!!.
This came out delicious! A keeper for sure!
Loved it
Delicious
I made this today for my parents lunch and Father’s day (England) and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you and I’ll be looking through your other recipes for some delicious meals 👍😁
I tried this ! It absolutely blew my wife and I away ! So delicious! I added some Italian seasoning but that’s it ! What a dish ! My new favorite way to eat chicken ! It’s also classy, great for company etc ! Awesome!
This chicken was delicious. My whole family loved it!
Really delicious chicken recipe. The sauce was flavorful and the chicken tasted great!
Love it !
This was absolutely delicious! We really enjoyed it with a salad and some potatoes.
I do quibble with the One Pot Meal tag, though. Shouldn’t those recipes be a full “meal?”
Such a pleaser!
This was great! The sauce made a flavorful gravy for mashed potatoes. I served this with green beans for a nice date night meal.
I’m making the exact same thing but I roasted some garlic in olive oil to put in my mashed potatoes, very delicious…
Can this recipe be frozen?
You should be able to freeze it okay! Creamy dishes tend to separate after freezing, but with some heat and stirring you should be able to get the sauce emulsified again.
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.
Hi Jen. I put the flour and seasonings in a bag and just tossed the chicken (which i cut into smaler chunks) until coated and which thickened up the sauce nicely.
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?
I’d think it would work on a thicker pork chop.
This might be the best recipe on this site. So good! I added a squeeze of lemon to the sauce right at the end which bumped up the flavors to the next level
Looks amazing and I’m looking forward to making it! Just a heads up, this meal was tagged gluten free but calls for all purpose flour, which is not. Should be fine to use a gluten free flour as a modification but would be helpful to have a note of that / not tag it GF.
Fixed it! Thank you so much for letting us know!
Really good with roasted broccoli. Can’t believe how much the garlic transforms into delicious fragrant awesomeness!
LOVE this recipe! Made it last night and everyone loved it. Served it with pasta and steamed broccoli. Kiddos commented the sauce tastes great on the pasta. And one was dipping broccoli into the sauce. I was nervous about so much garlic but it added this great mellow flavor. Thank you!
Easy and fabulous! Here it is, a recipe with enough garlic! I added a little bit of parmesean to the sauce at the end and served over spaghetti with roasted asparagus on the side.
FANTASTIC!!! Definitely making again, thank you!!
I made this last night and it was so delicious and creamy, such a hit with the whole family! Can’t wait to make it again.
This was delicious and SO easy!! My husband complimented it like 4x (after being very upset that we were having “chicken, again?!?”)
Soooo good! Even my “picky” eaters loved it! We served over white rice.
I am always seeking new recipes, especially chicken, and found this. Prepared for dinner yesterday. EXCEPTIONAL recipe and easy. Everyone loved it! Followed your directions and it came out superb. Served with buttered noodles and chopped spinach. Will definitely prepare again. Thank you.
Very good! I wanted something different to cook, and like most Budget Bytes recipes, this recipe used ingredients I had on hand. I plan to make it again. Served it over a mix of rice and cauliflower. Delicious. Thank you!
Very good! I wanted something different to cook, and like most Budget Bytes recipes, this recipe used ingredients I had on hand. I plan to make it again. Thank you!
This was a really good weeknight meal!! Served over thin spaghetti noodles. Would be great with mashed potatoes though!
Excellent! The fiancé requested that the dish go into our rotation!
My lord this was a great recipe super easy to make and the whole family loved it definitely a new favourite and going into some meal rotations i added in pre cooked shrimp when it calls to throw the chicken back in the sauce and minced a third of the garlic it calls for and paired with broccoli and mashed potatoes was perfect.
Needed inspiration and this was the recipe featured today. So so good. And easy. I used better than bullion roasted chicken and roasted garlic bases for the broth. Use lots of black pepper. Highly recommend.