Cream Cheese Garlic Skillet Chicken

Creamy, rich, and savory, this garlic cream cheese chicken is made in one skillet in less than 30 minutes and with simple ingredients. Tender chicken swaddled in a delicious sauce, this recipe is perfect over mashed potatoes, pasta, or mashed cauliflower.

🧄 What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Rich & savory cream cheese garlic chicken couldn’t be simpler… yet it’s also super impressive and delicious. You don’t need anything fancy or out of the ordinary, either. In fact, you probably have all these ingredients in your pantry and fridge right now, especially if you’re a keto eater. There’s also no roux or breading or flour of any sort, so gluten-free diners can enjoy this one as-written.
• This method for pan-seared skillet chicken delivers tender, juicy, succulent chicken that’s not dry or tough whatsoever. Not always the case with boneless, skinless chicken breasts! This recipe’s totally foolproof, though, so you don’t have to worry about messing it up or timing things wrong.
• All of the cooking happens in a single skillet, so clean up’s a breeze. The whole recipe only takes about 30 minutes, too. Great for busy evenings full of errands and carting kids to practices, or just anytime you don’t have the spoons to cook something super involved.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

• The food safe internal temperature for chicken breasts is 165° Fahrenheit, but you’ll want to remove the chicken from the skillet once it reaches 160°F inside. Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you serve or eat raw chicken. The residual heat will keep cooking the chicken as it rests, bringing it up where it needs to be. Plus, you’ll be adding it back to the skillet for a few minutes at the end of the process. If you were to cook it to 165°F right off the bat, the chicken would be dry and tough by the time you sit down to eat it.
• Make sure your chicken breasts are all pretty uniform in size and thickness. That way, they’ll cook at the same speed. If you have 2 really large chicken breasts, you can use those instead of 4 medium ones. Just halve the large pieces horizontally, like you would cut a hamburger bun. That’ll give you 4 chicken cutlets which will cook much faster and more evenly than 2 large chicken breasts.
• Adding cold dairy products to hot skillets or hot liquids can cause the dairy products to separate or curdle. Definitely not something you want for your cream cheese garlic chicken! Make sure your cream cheese and heavy cream are at room temperature when you start the recipe. Don’t microwave them to speed the process along, either, as that can give you the same negative results. Also, make sure to remove the skillet from the heat before adding them to the rest of the sauce, and let it cool a little first. That way there’s not as much of a temperature difference.

🐔 Even More Delicious Chicken Dishes

• Honey Garlic Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs
• Smoked Chicken Legs
• The Best Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe (Restaurant Style)
• Cajun Chicken Salad with Cajun Ranch Dressing
• Chicken Roulade with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Prosciutto
• Perfect Pan Seared Chicken Thighs
• Achiote Chicken
• Creamy Garlic Chicken
• Creamy Dijon Chicken
• Truffle Honey Chicken
• Chicken Fajita Casserole
• Firebirds’ Chicken Pasta Copycat Recipe
• Crockpot Marry Me Chicken
• Chicken Savoy
• Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 1 vote

Cream Cheese Garlic Skillet Chicken

Prep 15 minutes minutes

Cook 30 minutes minutes

Total 45 minutes minutes

This 30-minute skillet entrée combines tender chicken and a rich, garlicky cream cheese sauce that's perfect with potatoes, pasta, or roasted veggies.

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4 servings

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Equipment

• Cutting board or flat work surface
• parchment paper or plastic wrap
• meat tenderizer or rolling pin
• Large skillet
• Tongs
• internal meat thermometer
• Large plate
• Silicone spatula or wooden spoon

Ingredients

For the Garlic Chicken

• ▢ 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 6 ounces each
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder divided
• ▢ 2 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil

For the Garlic Cream Cheese Sauce

• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ ⅓ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• ▢ ⅓ cup chicken broth
• ▢ ⅓ cup heavy cream or half and half, at room temperature
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ ½-1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to taste, juice from ¼-½ of one lemon

Suggested Garnish

• ▢ chopped fresh parsley or chopped fresh chives

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

• ▢ mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower
• ▢ angel hair pasta or palmini noodles

Instructions

• Cover cutting board with large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Place 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board and cover chicken with second sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap.
• Use meat tenderizer or rolling pin to pound chicken breasts until each is uniformly one-half-inch thick in all spots. Uncover chicken and discard parchment paper (or plastic wrap).
• Liberally season each chicken breast with plenty of salt and freshly cracked black pepper on all sides, then sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder onto each chicken breast. Flip chicken over and sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder onto other side of each chicken breast. Set chicken aside.
• Heat large skillet over medium heat. When pan is warm, add 2 tablespoons avocado oil and swirl or tilt pan to distribute oil evenly across surface. Continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery.
• When oil is hot, place chicken breasts in skillet. Cook chicken 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown, then flip chicken over. Cook 2 to 4 minutes more or until chicken reaches 160° Fahrenheit according to internal meat thermometer.
• As chicken reaches desired temperature, transfer chicken breasts to large plate and set aside.
• When all chicken breasts have been transferred to plate, add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Melt butter, swirling pan occasionally to distribute butter across skillet.
• Once butter is melted, add 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Sauté garlic, stirring constantly, 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant.
• Pour ⅓ cup dry white wine into skillet to deglaze pan. Use spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to bottom of skillet.
• Stir in ⅓ cup chicken broth, then increase heat under skillet to medium-high. Bring liquid to gentle boil, then immediately reduce heat under skillet to medium-low. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until liquids have reduced by 50%.
• Once reduced, remove skillet from heat and let liquid cool slightly. Add 4 ounces cream cheese and ⅓ cup heavy cream. Whisk vigorously until cream cheese has melted and mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.
• Return skillet to heat. Add salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and ½-1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Stir gently to incorporate ingredients.
• Once ingredients are incorporated and sauce is warmed through, remove skillet from heat. Return chicken breasts to skillet. Let chicken rest in sauce until warmed through, flipping chicken breasts in sauce occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.
• Plate chicken breasts with mashed potatoes, pasta, or veggies as desired. Spoon plenty of sauce over tops of chicken breasts, then garnish with chopped parsley or chives and serve dish warm.

• Dry White Wine: Pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc work well in dishes like this.
• Make it Alcohol Free: Replace the white wine with ⅓ cup chicken broth. Note: this is in addition to the ⅓ cup chicken broth already called for in the recipe.
• Make it Keto: Serve your chicken with mashed cauliflower, mashed palmini, palmini noodles, or roasted broccoli.
• Make it Gluten Free: Be sure your chicken broth is 100% gluten-free.

Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 497calProtein: 39gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 176mgSodium: 401mgPotassium: 694mgTotal Carbs: 3gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 3gVitamin A: 518IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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