This Creamy Garlic Chicken is a one-pan meal made in just 30 minutes. The dish features chicken breasts cooked on the stovetop in a creamy white sauce made with grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, and heavy cream. It’s an impressive yet easy-to-prepare recipe that’s perfect for weeknight dinners or special occasions.
You’ll love this dish if you like chicken dinner recipes like this Creamy Dijon Chicken and this Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce.
This dish is easy enough for weeknight cooking but tastes like an impressive restaurant-worthy meal. Made with simple ingredients, it’s great served on its own or atop rice with a side dish.
Whether you’re new to cooking or just looking for a versatile chicken dish, this recipe delivers both ease and flavor. Plus, with its quick cooking time and one-pan preparation, you’ll have more time to enjoy your meal and less time spent cleaning up.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Impressive, memorable, and restaurant-worthy meal.
- Made in just one pan.
- Ready in 30 minutes.
- Gluten-free, high in protein, low-carb, and keto-friendly.
➡️ Ingredients
⏲ How to make creamy garlic chicken
This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Season Chicken: Season the chicken breasts with garlic powder, pepper, and salt.
- Cook Chicken: Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. 2 pieces at a time, cook the chicken until golden on each side and cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (use a meat thermometer to check), about 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel, add 2 Tablespoons of oil, and cook the remaining 2 pieces of chicken. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe the pan out.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Reduce the stovetop heat to medium-low, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to the pan, and cook the onion until softened, about 1 minute. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about an additional 30 seconds.
- Prepare Creamy Garlic Sauce: Pour in the chicken stock and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow the mixture to sit and simmer until it reduces slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour in the heavy whipping cream and simmer for about 1 minute. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and allow it to melt.
- Return Chicken to Pan and Simmer Sauce: Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and allow it to simmer and thicken the sauce, which should take about 2 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish the dish with parsley and freshly cracked pepper, then serve.
👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions
- Chicken Breast: Use chicken thighs, but note the cooking time may be slightly different.
- Garlic Powder: Sub in anywhere from 5-10 garlic cloves. Mince them up and use them in place of garlic powder.
- Avocado Oil: Substitute olive oil or vegetable oil at a 1:1 ratio.
- Unsalted Chicken Stock: Salted chicken stock can be used at a 1:1 ratio. However, if using salted chicken stock cut back on the added salt in the recipe. You can also use chicken broth or beef stock or broth.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: You can use half-and-half at a 1:1 substitution ratio, but note the creamy sauce will be slightly less creamy than the original recipe intended.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: Grated Asiago cheese or Pecorino Romano would work best.
✨ Variations
- Add spinach, sliced mushrooms, sliced red bell peppers, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes for extra flavor and nutrients.
- Add a splash of dry white wine for a more complex sauce. Cook it down with the chicken stock before adding the cream.
- Stir in cooked crumbled bacon for added flavor and texture.
- Sprinkle in red pepper flakes while cooking or as a garnish for some heat.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten up the flavor of the sauce.
〰️ How to serve
- Rice — Serve over cauliflower rice or white rice.
- Pasta — Serve over fettuccine, penne, spaghetti, zucchini noodles, or shirataki noodles.
- Veggies — Serve with baked sliced zucchini, baked jicama fries, buttery roasted cauliflower, or green beans.
- Side Dishes — Serve with halloumi fries or fried cabbage with bacon.
- Salad — Serve with creamy dill cucumber onion salad or caprese salad.
💬 FAQs
How should this creamy garlic chicken recipe be stored?
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
How should stored creamy garlic chicken be reheated?
Stovetop: Cook in a pan over medium heat until warmed throughout.
Oven: Bake at 350 degrees F until warmed throughout.
Microwave: Microwave for 30-90 seconds, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
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Creamy Garlic Chicken
This Creamy Garlic Chicken is a one-pan meal made in just 30 minutes. The dish features chicken breasts cooked on the stovetop in a creamy white sauce made with grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, and heavy cream. It’s an impressive yet easy-to-prepare recipe that’s perfect for weeknight dinners or special occasions.
Ingredients
- 4 thin chicken breasts,
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- ½ (~50 grams) small onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Garnishes:
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Season Chicken: Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, pepper, and salt.
- Cook Chicken: Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. 2 pieces at a time, cook chicken until golden on each side and cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate and set aside. Wipe pan clean with paper towel, add 2 Tablespoons oil, and cook remaining 2 pieces of chicken. Transfer cooked chicken to plate and set aside. Do not wipe pan out.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Reduce heat to medium-low, add remaining 2 Tablespoons oil to pan, and cook onion until softened, about 1 minute. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about an additional 30 seconds.
- Prepare Sauce: Pour in chicken stock and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan. Allow mixture to sit and simmer until it reduces slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour in heavy whipping cream and simmer for about 1 minute. Stir in Parmesan cheese and allow it to melt.
- Return Chicken to Pan and Simmer Sauce: Add cooked chicken back to pan and allow it to simmer to thicken the sauce, about 2 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with parsley and freshly cracked pepper, then serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
Refrigerator Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Freezer Storage: Store the prepared dish in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Stovetop Reheating Instructions: Cook in a pan over medium heat until warmed throughout.
Oven Reheating Instructions: Bake at 350 degrees until warmed throughout.
Microwave Reheating Instructions: Microwave for 1-3 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 chicken breast with sauce, Calories: 654kcal (33%), Carbohydrates: 7g (2%), Protein: 43g (86%), Fat: 51g (78%), Saturated Fat: 19g (119%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 23g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 191mg (64%), Sodium: 779mg (34%), Potassium: 820mg (23%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 2g (2%), Vitamin A: 1114IU (22%), Vitamin C: 7mg (8%), Calcium: 253mg (25%), Iron: 1mg (6%)
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