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!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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.
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!