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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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.
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.