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+ servings
Overhead view of 4 chicken breasts in a creamy garlic sauce in a large silver skillet.

Creamy Garlic Chicken

Juicy chicken breasts in a creamy, garlicky, restaurant-quality sauce.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Yield:4 servings

Equipment

  • 2 cutting boards
  • large knife
  • Large skillet
  • spatula or tongs
  • Plate

Ingredients

For the Chicken

For the Creamy Garlic Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons butter see Notes
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 head garlic 10-12 cloves, peeled; divided
  • ½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 ½ cups half and half see Notes
  • salt to taste
  • freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese plus more to garnish, see Notes
  • chopped freshly parsley to garnish

Instructions

  • Place chicken cutlets on cutting board. Liberally season all sides of each cutlet with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set chicken aside.
  • Place 6 cloves garlic on clean cutting board or other flat surface. Carefully use side of large knife to smash garlic cloves. Leave remaining 4 to 6 cloves whole. Set garlic aside.
  • Heat large skillet over medium heat. When skillet is hot, add neutral oil and swirl pan to distribute oil evenly across entire bottom surface of skillet. Heat oil over medium heat until oil is hot and shimmery.
  • When oil is hot, place seasoned chicken cutlets in skillet. Fry cutlets until golden, approximately 4 to 5 minutes, then carefully flip cutlets over and fry another 4 to 5 minutes or until cutlets are golden brown and cooked through. Transfer cooked cutlets to plate and set aside.
    Overhead view of 4 chicken cutlets in a large cast iron skillet. Cutlets have been fried until golden brown.
  • When cutlets have been transferred to plate, add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Melt butter completely, swirling pan occasionally to distribute butter.
  • Add chopped onion to melted butter. Sauté onions until softened and translucent, approximately 10 minutes.
  • Once onion is softened, add smashed and whole garlic cloves to skillet. Sauté until garlic is fragrant, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
    Overhead view of a cast iron skillet containing translucent sautéed onions, whole garlic cloves, and smashed garlic cloves.
  • When garlic is fragrant, pour white wine into skillet to deglaze pan. Use spatula or tongs to scrape up any browned bits of chicken or onions that may be stuck to skillet.
  • When skillet is deglazed, pour in 1 cup chicken broth. Stir to incorporate. Raise heat to medium-high and bring liquid to boil. When liquid begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid has reduced by 50%, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Once liquid has reduced, remove skillet from heat. Add 1 ½ cups half and half and ½ cup grated parmesan to skillet. Stir to incorporate, and continue stirring until parmesan has melted.
  • Return skillet to heat and let sauce simmer 3 minutes, or until mixture has thickened slightly. Season sauce with salt and black pepper to taste.
    Overhead view of creamy garlic sauce for creamy garlic chicken in a large silver skillet on a white countertop.
  • Return chicken cutlets to skillet. Spoon sauce over tops of cutlets and let chicken rest in skillet until warmed through. When ready, transfer chicken to serving plates. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. When serving, garnish cutlets with plenty of creamy garlic sauce, additional grated parmesan, and chopped parsley.

Notes

  • Half and Half: Let half and half come to room temperature (or close to it) before adding it to the sauce. If it's too cold, it'll curdle when added to the hot liquid.
  • Parmesan Cheese: Let your cheese come to room temperature before adding it to the sauce. If the cheese is too cold, it'll clump or turn grainy when it's added to the hot liquid. Also, for best results, purchase a block of parmesan and grate it yourself. Prepackaged shredded and grated cheeses include added starches and fillers to prevent clumping, which can also prevent the cheese melting like it should.
  • Make it Keto: Use heavy cream instead of half and half. Grate your own parmesan from a fresh block to avoid the added starches and fillers used in prepackaged grated cheese.
  • Make it Dairy Free: Use plant-based butter, an unsweetened non-dairy milk, and plant-based parmesan.
  • Make it Paleo: Use ghee instead of butter, an unsweetened non-dairy milk, and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1serving | Calories: 446kcal | Protein: 29g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 566mg | Potassium: 636mg | Total Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 1g | Net Carbs: 10g | Vitamin A: 635IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 237mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe By:Cheryl Malik