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Creamy Garlic Chicken

Thin chicken cutlets seared golden, then simmered briefly in a garlic, Parmesan and cream pan sauce built on the browned bits in the skillet. One pan, thirty minutes.

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Makes
Serves 4
Jump to the recipe
Seared chicken in a cream sauce with broccoli and roasted potatoes
Photo: Huzaifa Bukhari / Pexels

Chicken breasts dry out for a geometric reason. They are thick at one end and thin at the other, so by the time the thick end is cooked through, the thin end has gone well past done and turned stringy. Creamy garlic chicken fixes that before it starts: the breasts are sliced in half horizontally into thin cutlets of even thickness, which cook through in three to four minutes per side and stay juicy.

To cut them, lay each breast flat, press down on it with one palm, and slice through the side parallel to the board with a sharp knife. You get two thin, even pieces. If they are still uneven, pound the thick parts gently with a rolling pin between sheets of plastic wrap.

A light dusting of flour on the cutlets helps in two ways. It browns quickly and evenly, giving a golden crust in the short cooking time, and some of it stays in the pan and thickens the sauce later. Shake off the excess; a thick coating turns gummy in the cream.

Sear the chicken in a hot pan with a mix of oil and butter, without moving the pieces, until they release easily. Then flip once. The browned layer left in the pan, the fond, is what the sauce is built on. Do not wash the pan, and do not let it burn either; if the fond turns black, lower the heat for the next batch.

Then the garlic, and plenty of it. Six cloves sounds like a lot but mellows in the cream. Cook it in butter over medium-low heat for about a minute, just until fragrant and barely golden. Garlic goes from golden to burnt and bitter in seconds, so watch it and have the broth ready.

A splash of chicken broth or dry white wine lifts the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let it reduce by half, then add the cream and Parmesan. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. Spinach or sun-dried tomatoes can go in now if you want color.

Return the chicken to the pan for the last two minutes, just to heat through and coat it in sauce. It is already cooked; simmering it longer is how a good dinner turns tough.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon, which cuts the richness, and fresh parsley. Serve over pasta, mashed potatoes or rice, with something green, because there will be extra sauce.

When you want crisp skin rather than a sauce, air fryer chicken thighs take about the same time. For a stuffed version of the same idea, garlic butter mushroom stuffed chicken fills the breast instead. Creamy chicken gnocchi adds the starch to the pan, and fettuccine alfredo is the richer pasta night.

Whole heads and cloves of garlic
Photo: stevepb / Pixabay

Creamy garlic chicken in thirty minutes

Thin chicken cutlets seared golden, then simmered briefly in a garlic, Parmesan and cream pan sauce built on the browned bits in the skillet. One pan, thirty minutes.

Thin cutlets and a garlic Parmesan cream

For the chicken

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ lb (680 g)
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 3 tbsp (25 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) unsalted butter

For the garlic cream sauce

  • 2 tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup (120 ml) chicken broth or dry white wine
  • 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
  • ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan, finely grated
  • ½ tsp dried Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups (60 g) baby spinach (optional)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Sear, build the pan sauce, warm through

  1. 1 Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally into 2 thin cutlets. Pound any thick parts to an even ½ in (1 cm). Pat dry.
  2. 2 Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika and season the cutlets on both sides. Dust them lightly with the flour and shake off the excess.
  3. 3 Heat the oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, in two batches if needed, and cook without moving until golden and it releases easily, 3–4 minutes. Flip and cook 3 minutes more, until it reaches 165°F (74°C). Transfer to a plate.
  4. 4 Lower the heat to medium-low. Add 2 tbsp butter and the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and just turning golden, about 1 minute.
  5. 5 Pour in the broth or wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until reduced by half, 2 minutes.
  6. 6 Stir in the cream, Parmesan and Italian seasoning. Simmer gently until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon, 3–4 minutes. Add the spinach, if using, and stir until wilted.
  7. 7 Return the chicken and any juices to the pan and spoon the sauce over it. Heat for 1–2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Thighs, a lighter sauce and sun-dried tomatoes

  • Chicken thighs: use 1½ lb (680 g) boneless thighs, cooked 5–6 minutes per side. They need no slicing.
  • Lighter: use half and half instead of cream, and simmer it gently; it will be thinner.
  • Sun-dried tomatoes: add ⅓ cup (40 g) chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes with the cream.
  • Leftovers: refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of broth; the sauce thickens when chilled.
  • Gluten-free: skip the flour coating and thicken the sauce by simmering a little longer.

Dry chicken, bitter garlic and split sauce

The breasts were too thick or uneven, or they simmered too long in the sauce. Cut them into thin cutlets, sear until just done, and return them only to warm through.

It burned. Lower the heat before adding garlic, cook it only until fragrant, and add the liquid right away.

It boiled hard, or a low-fat dairy was used. Heavy cream at a gentle simmer is the most stable choice.

Pasta, mashed potatoes or rice to catch the sauce, and a green vegetable or salad to balance the richness.