Chicken in Garlic Sauce is an elegant dinner recipe. You can brown the chicken and make the sauce in one pan, making this meal easy enough for weeknights, but it’s perfect for special-occasion meals, too. Serve it over rice or pasta for a delicious dinner.
I like dinner recipes that can pull double-duty like this chicken and garlic sauce. It’s not hard to make and is doable for a weeknight dinner, but it’s fancy enough for dinner parties or special holiday dinners like Valentine’s day, date-night, or anniversary dinners.
Table of Contents
What is Chicken with Garlic Sauce?
It’s a one-pan chicken recipe that is easy to make. The chicken is browned in the pan first, and then you make the garlic sauce made with shallot, chicken broth, a little cream, and garlic.
You will use a whole head of garlic for this recipe, which might seem like a lot, but I promise it isn’t. Cooking garlic mellows its sharp, intense flavor, so all you get is buttery, soft garlic cloves that are so delicious.
I’m showing you how to make chicken in garlic sauce that takes about 30 minutes. It’s easy to do, and the flavors pair well with various side dishes, so it’s easy to switch up every time you make it.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Flour
- Dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Chicken broth
- Sliced shallot
- A whole head of garlic
- Heavy whipping cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Chopped parsley
How to Butterfly Chicken
For this recipe, you will need to butterfly the chicken before you cook it. This is just a fancy way to say “slice in half lengthwise,” so you have two equal-sized pieces that you can lay open like a book. Then just slice them down the middle, so you have two pieces.
Cutting the chicken this way makes them look nicer but also ensures they will cook evenly.
How to Brown Chicken Breasts
Combine the flour, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge each piece of chicken in the mixture, coating it evenly on both sides.
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Heat some olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, cook the chicken until it’s golden brown on both sides. This usually takes about four to five minutes on both sides.
When the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and set it aside while you make the sauce.
How to Make Garlic Sauce
Take the head of garlic and divide it into individual cloves. Peel and mince five of the cloves and set them aside. Peel the rest of the garlic, and then smash them with your knife.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, melt so more butter over medium heat. Cook the chopped shallot in the butter for a few minutes and then add some olive oil and add the smashed garlic cloves. Cook the garlic for a couple of minutes or until they start to turn golden around the edges.
Add the chicken broth to the pan. It will simmer, making it easy to scrape up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer the broth until it reduces by half.
Add the minced garlic and cream. Stir and simmer the sauce for two minutes. Add the salt and pepper and stir. Place the chicken breasts in the sauce and let them sit in the simmering sauce for a couple of minutes.
For garnish, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top along with chopped parsley.
What Goes with Chicken and Garlic Sauce?
- Serve the chicken on top of rice or pasta with the sauce spooned over the top.
- You can serve it with mashed potatoes – they go great with the butter garlic sauce.
- Add cooked green beans, broccoli, or carrots on the side for a healthy vegetable.
- Serve it with bread and a tossed green salad with your favorite dressing.
This chicken in garlic sauce recipe is better than any restaurant, and no one will guess how easy it is to make. The combination of garlic, butter, herbs, and chicken is classic – the perfect celebration meal or easy weeknight dinner. Be sure to give it a try!
Other Dinners You’ll Enjoy
Chicken in Garlic Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts cut lengthwise (butterflied)
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- ¾ cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 large shallot sliced
- 1 whole head garlic
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Divide the garlic head into individual cloves. Peel and mince 5 of the cloves. Smash and peel the remaining cloves, but don’t chop them. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. While skillet is heating, combine flour, oregano, salt and pepper on a large dish or shallow bowl.
- When skillet is hot, add one tablespoon oil and one tablespoon butter. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, shaking off excess flour. Place breasts in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Do not overcrowd the pan, work in batches if needed. Remove breasts to a clean plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add one tablespoon butter to the skillet. Saute the shallots until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add the whole cloves to the skillet with one tablespoon olive oil. Cook until slightly browning on edges, about 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet. Deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits. Simmer until reduced in volume by about half.
- Add the minced garlic and cream. Stir and gently simmer for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken breasts to the skillet. Heat until warmed through, about 2 minutes, spooning sauce over the chicken.
- Turn off heat. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and garnish with lots of fresh chopped parsley. Serve warm, with extra sauce spooned on top.
Recipe Notes
- If one whole garlic head seems like a lot, don’t worry, it’s not! The garlic flavor will mellow when cooked and the cloves will soften. You will be left with a deliciously flavorful sauce and buttery soft cloves.
- Serve with rice or over pasta.
Recipe Nutrition
Chicken in Garlic Sauce is the perfect combination of garlic, butter, herbs and of course chicken. The flavors marry so well together to create this elegant dinner dish.