This garlic chicken is chicken breast tenders with plenty of fresh minced garlic in a creamy parmesan sauce. A quick and easy meal that tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant!
I’m constantly coming up with new and easy chicken dinners – some of my favorites include balsamic chicken, garlic and herb drumsticks and this simple yet satisfying garlic chicken.
When I’m looking for a speedy dinner, I often turn to chicken breast tenders. They’re lean, cook quickly and my kids love ’em. This garlic chicken uses breast tenders in the most delicious creamy sauce with plenty of garlic involved! Add some mashed potatoes and a steamed veggie and dinner is served.
How do you make garlic chicken?
The first step in this recipe is to brown your chicken in a little butter. After the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, a generous amount of garlic goes into the pan. The next step is to make the cream sauce, which consists of butter, chicken broth, cream and parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce over the chicken and dinner is served!
Tips for garlic chicken
- Use freshly minced garlic for this recipe – the jarred stuff doesn’t have nearly as much flavor!
- Don’t have chicken breast tenders? You can also use chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- I recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese if possible – the pre-shredded kind often contains anti-caking agents and it won’t melt as smoothly in the sauce. You can also try using romano or asiago cheese instead of parmesan.
- Garnish your garlic chicken with fresh herbs. I typically use parsley because I always have it on hand, but other great choices are chives, basil or thyme.
- This recipe calls for heavy cream which produces the richest and thickest sauce. You can use half and half or whole milk instead, but you may need to add a thickening agent such as cornstarch or flour.
- This recipe can easily be doubled if you’re feeding a larger group. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing this one, as dairy based sauces have a tendency to separate when frozen.
Garlic chicken variations
I typically make this garlic chicken as written, but sometimes I add other ingredients for a different flavor.
- Spinach leaves
- Cooked crumbled bacon
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Marinated artichoke hearts
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Halved cherry tomatoes
This garlic chicken is best served over pasta, mashed potatoes, or with bread to sop up all that amazing sauce! If you’re watching your carbs, you can serve this dish over spaghetti squash or cauliflower rice. I like to add a green vegetable on the side such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans or zucchini. I love that this meal tastes like it came from a restaurant, but you can make it in the comfort of your own home in about 30 minutes. A must-try recipe for sure!
More great chicken recipes
- Instant Pot Mushroom Chicken
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Italian Chicken
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken
Creamy Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter divided use
- 1 1/4 pounds chicken breast tenders
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Season the chicken breast tenders with salt and pepper on both sides, then add them to the pan.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and put on a plate. Cover to keep warm.
- Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until broth is reduced by about half. Add the cream and simmer for another 3-4 minutes or until starting to thicken.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese, keep stirring until cheese has melted and sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the chicken and garlic to the pan of sauce. Spoon some of the sauce over the top of the chicken.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Sadie says
Simple, quick and tasty recipe but I’d definitely watch the salt here, the parmesan adds saltiness so adding much more than that besides to season the chicken is going to take this to ‘salt lick’ level – otherwise I enjoyed it; I added onions at the beginning and carmelized them a bit before cooking the chicken and added them back to the sauce with the chicken at the end, because…. I love caramelizing onions in butter! I added some extra garlic too, but that’s just my preference.
Kyle says
We love this and have made it a coulple of times. If we double the recipe, does it effect cooking times?
Pter says
You are a Genius , thank you for sharing.
Wendy says
This was full of flavor. I plan on making again.
Jessica says
Delicious! I made it and my husband loved it, my daughter didnt. I made it over pasta and made extra sauce for the pasta.
FYI I cant smell or taste anything ever, so getting a new meal made is risky but it was great!
Layton says
I LOVE this recipe!! The only changes I made were using milk and cornstarch due to not having heavy cream on hand and adding mushrooms for texture. This was delicious and sooo super easy! Thank you for
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