This garlic butter chicken recipe features seared chicken and sauteed mushrooms, all in a flavorful butter, garlic and herb sauce. A super easy dinner option that always gets rave reviews from family and friends!
When I’m looking for a way to turn plain old chicken into something extraordinary, I turn to flavorful favorites such as chicken scampi, spatchcock chicken, and this simple yet satisfying garlic butter chicken.
I’m always adding more easy dinner recipes to my recipe repertoire, and this garlic butter chicken makes it onto our meal rotation almost every week. The combination of chicken and mushrooms with plenty of garlic and lemon just can’t be beat!
How do you make garlic butter chicken?
Start by cutting boneless skinless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sear it in a pan with a little olive oil until the chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm. Add sliced mushrooms to the pan, and cook until they’re golden brown and tender. Return the chicken to the pan, and add fresh garlic, butter, Italian seasoning and lemon juice. Cook until the chicken is warmed through and everything is coated in the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve immediately and enjoy.
Tips for the perfect dish
- Cut your chicken into similar sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
- It’s important to cook the chicken in a single layer. If you add too much meat to the pan at once, the pieces will steam instead of sear, and you won’t get that golden brown crust.
- This chicken stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, which makes it great for meal prep. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
- I like to serve this dish over mashed potatoes or rice. If you’re watching your carb intake, you can try cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower. I also serve a green vegetable on the side such as asparagus or green beans.
- You can use any type of mushrooms you like in this recipe. I typically go for white button mushrooms, but other great choices are portobello, cremini, oyster or chanterelle mushrooms.
Garlic butter chicken flavor variations
This chicken and mushrooms dish is fabulous as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to customize the flavor profile to your tastes.
- Protein: Instead of chicken thighs, try diced chicken breast, sirloin steak or pork tenderloin. This recipe is also great with shrimp!
- Vegetables: Swap out the mushrooms for a different quick cooking vegetable such as asparagus, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini or broccoli.
- Flavorings: Amp up the flavor of the sauce by adding kalamata olives, parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, white wine or shallots.
- Herbs: Instead of chopped parsley, try using chives, thyme, basil or green onions.
I love how easy and versatile this garlic butter chicken and mushrooms is – it’s sure to please both the kids and adults in your life!
More chicken recipes to try
Garlic Butter Chicken and Mushrooms Video
Garlic Butter Chicken and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 4 tablespoons butter divided use
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken in a single layer in the pan; you may have to work in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and golden brown.
- Return the chicken to the pan. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and the Italian seasoning, then stir until the butter is melted.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, then serve.
Laura Spalding says
What a great recipe!!! So easy and if you wanted to take it one step further you could add marsala wine and make chicken marsala! I was lucky and found baby bella melushrooms on sale for buy 1 get 1 free so I added 2 packs of 8 ozs of mushrooms (but really are there ever enough mushrooms?!?!) I served this over egg noodles (seasoned with butter and garlic powder) and this recipe will definitely be added to the regular rotation!
Katie says
I love anything made with garlic butter. I can’t wait to try this with my family!
Jen says
This was the perfect way to change up our normal chicken dinner routine. We love mushrooms so there weren’t any leftovers.
Jacque Hooper says
Couldn’t have made a better tasting meal for dinner last night! The garlic butter paired with the mushrooms is spot on delicious; easily, my new favorite dinner recipe!
Betsy says
Wow! This is so good! So crazy delicious! Reminds me of Chicken Marsala except no wine… Yum!
Beth says
I am not a big fan of leftovers so that’s why I am excited about this recipe! I can promise you there will be nothing but licked clean plates with this dish! Yum!!
Jo says
This is our favorite dinner recipe! Thanks for sharing this incredible dish!
Jawanda Barnett Mast says
Made this tonight and we all loved it. It was such an easy recipe. A new addition to our regular dinner rotation.
Tara says
What a delicious option for a weeknight dinner! I especially love the flavors in that garlic herb sauce. So good!
Jamie says
The mushrooms and garlic butter add so much flavor to this dish! Definitely making this again for my family. We all loved it!
Nicole Durham says
This recipe was so delicious and filling. Perfect for pairing with a side of white rice or egg noodles (which is what we did).