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Crispy, golden chicken on the outside, tender and succulent on the inside and lightly simmered in a creamy sauce with an abundance of flavour. This is the ultimate secret to moist chicken breasts!
Chicken breasts tend to have a bad reputation for being too dry, chalky or hard to swallow. However, this recipe yields perfectly juicy breasts every time, lightly floured and pan-fried.
With all of the creamy sauce recipes I have on this site including Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp, Creamy Dijon Chicken, Creamy Salmon Piccata, and Creamy Parmesan Shrimp, this one seems to stand out from the crowd! Possibly because the entire dish can be ready to rock in 30 minutes or less.
Why this Recipe Works
Bursting with flavor and yet, versatile enough to be paired with pretty much any side, this dish packs in everything you need from a classic weeknight meal. It’s simple, easy and wicked delicious and the best recipe to make when you’re looking to make dinner in a flash.
What Goes into this Recipe
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally to make them thinner.
- Butter: For the richness.
- Flour: To coat the chicken and get that bit of crunchiness on the exterior.
- Chicken broth: For that flavor-packed sauce.
- Heavy cream: To add creaminess to the sauce. Use evaporated milk or half and half if you don’t have this.
- Aromatics: Fresh garlic and white onion, to build that savory base. You’ll need a whole head of garlic here.
- Parmesan cheese: For that salty, nutty deliciousness.
- Seasonings: Just a bit of salt, pepper and some garlic powder.
- Parsley: Chopped fresh, to garnish.
- Olive oil: To fry the chicken.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
How to Make Creamy Garlic Chicken Breasts
- Season chicken: Season the sliced chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Prepare the coating: In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and Parmesan cheese and set it aside. Coat the seasoned chicken well in this mixture.
- Fry chicken: Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chicken. Fry for a few minutes on each side until they’re light golden brown, then remove and set them aside on a plate.
- Saute aromatics: In the remaining oil-butter mixture, saute the aromatics until they soften and slightly brown.
- Deglaze: Add chicken broth to deglaze the pan and scrape any brown bits stuck on the surface of the pan. Let this simmer for a few minutes and reduce to half.
- Prepare cream sauce: Pour in the cream and let this simmer for a few minutes. Now mix in the Parmesan cheese and season more if needed.
- Add chicken: Add the chicken to the pan and give it a stir. Let this cook for a minute, and the sauce will start to thicken.
- Garnish and serve: Take it off heat, garnish with chopped parsley and crushed black pepper.
I love serving this chicken breast recipe with some steamed rice or Mashed Potatoes! You can also team it up with a simple pasta, some Cauliflower Mash or even some zucchini noodles.
If you’re a bread lover, try my No Knead Artisan Bread or Individual Garlic Cheese Breads– both work wonderfully to mop up that delicious sauce.
Recipe FAQ’s
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and reheat in a pan over medium heat or in the microwave, pausing at every 15 second interval. You may also need to add a splash of milk or chicken broth to get the sauce back to the right consistency.
Yes, you can! I love the idea of trying this recipe with shrimp, steaks and even salmon. Just remember that the cooking time will be different depending on the kind of meat you’re working with.
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Creamy Garlic Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 2-3 boneless chicken breasts large, skinless, halved horizontally to make 4
- 4 tablespoons flour (all purpose or plain)
- 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese finely grated, fresh
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper cracked
For The Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 whole head of garlic peeled and divided into 10-12 cloves
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth (stock)
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream half and half (or evaporated milk)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese finely grated, fresh
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley to serve
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt, garlic powder and pepper.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, parmesan cheese. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture; shake off excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl pan to coat evenly.
- Fry 2-3 chicken breasts until golden on each side, cooked through and no longer pink (about 4-5 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your chicken). Transfer to a warm plate. Set aside.
- Wipe pan over with a sheet of paper towel. Repeat with remaining oil, butter and chicken breasts. When cooked, transfer the chicken onto the same plate.
- Reduce heat to medium. Sauté the onion in the remaining oil/juices in the pan until softened.
- Smash 6 whole cloves of garlic with the blunt edge of the back of a knife
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat through, mixing it through the onions. Sauté smashed garlic cloves and whole garlic cloves until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the broth to deglaze the pan. Scrape up any browned bits and let simmer and reduce to half, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour in the cream. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer for about 2-3 minutes, combining all of the flavours together.
- Mix in the parmesan cheese. Continue cooking gently for about 2-3 minutes until cheese melts, while stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Add the chicken back into the pan and let simmer for a further 2-3 minutes to thicken the sauce to your liking. The chicken breast will soak up all of the delicious flavours.
- Garnish with parsley and a little black cracked pepper. Serve over pasta, cauliflower mash, zucchini noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
- You can use heavy cream, whipping cream or thickened cream in the sauce.
- For a lightened up sauce, use evaporated milk or half and half. If using half and half, be careful not to bring your sauce to a rapid boil or it may curdle.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today and it was delicious!! Unfortunately I mixed the flour, cheese and salt and pepper together and 2 tsps salt is too much. I’m going to make it again the same way only using 1 tsp of salt.
I made this today and I am in love! I made it exactly as written and made roasted asparagus and riced cauliflower to go with it and also crusty bread! I will absolutely make this again!
This has been one of my favorites since I discovered the recipe several years ago. Just fixed it again for a couple of friends and both expressed desire to pick up and lick their plates clean, the sauce was so delicious. One said she felt like she’d been treated to a fancy, expensive meal at a fine restaurant. (I served it with herb-seasoned smashed taters and southern style fresh green beans with bacon and onions.) How great a compliment is that?!
Thank you! Highly recommend this simple ingredient recipe as a Must Try.
Hi Pat, That’s the best compliment ever! So happy you and your friends loved it so much. A plate-licking good sauce is always the goal! Enjoy Xx
This was so good. Several steps but easy to make.
Very good & flexible recipe
One of my go-to recipes. Having it tonight
Elizabeth, I’m so happy this one has become a go-to for you! Hope you enjoyed it tonight. Xx
This recipe is a fam fave and added to the rotation
I slightly adapted this recipe so I could make it in my Instant Pot and it turned out great. I used the saute function to brown the chicken and saute the onions and garlic. Then I added the chicken broth and used pressure cook for 6 minutes then a 5 minute natural release to fully cook the chicken breasts. Then I removed the chicken and used the saute function again to finish the sauce. I also omitted the flour to make the recipe gluten free. It was easy and absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Darla,
Great suggestion! so happy to hear you have successfully made this in the Instant Pot! Thanks for sharing! Xx
I made this tonight and I have to say that in all my years of cooking, this was the most delicious garlic cream sauce with chicken that I have ever had. My son said, “Mom, you’re the best cook in the world!” I took credit…(sorry)
One thing I was careful NOT to do: I did not wipe the pan after that deliciously coated chicken cooked in the oil, and butter. I cooked the chicken perfectly and carefully, and there were no over-cooked bits and pieces in there, so I continued with the oil, butter and flavors that were previously in the pan without wiping it out and continuing with the other chicken breasts. Didn’t want to waste it! Also, I never salt the chicken when I use chicken broth in a sauce, because, the broth and the parmesan cheese is very high in sodium. Salt can always be added later. Thank you for such a wonderful dinner tonight!
Well done Cheryl! So happy to hear everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing! Enjoy cooking Xx
I’ve made this several times now and it is FANTASTIC! It’s fairly labor intensive, but worth it all (worst part is peeling all the garlic). I used chicken breast tenders and it worked great (reduce cooking time in frying the chicken, of course). I used a combo of smashed, whole and chopped garlic (we love garlic). The flavor is incredible and leftovers are even better!!