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Creamy Garlic Chicken Breast Skillet is a quick and easy meal that tastes as if it came from a fancy restaurant! It’s a rich, flavorful one-pan healthy chicken recipe that only takes about 30 minutes to make.
This creamy chicken skillet offers mega-crowd appeal! It’s super easy to make and leaves you with just ONE pot to clean. Yes, one pot! Isn’t that just awesome because who likes doing dishes?!
It’s ultra creamy with layers of irresistible garlic flavor, and is special enough for a romantic dinner, but is easy enough to whip up on any weeknight after the family comes home from work or school. Don’t delay… make it tonight!
Recipe Summary
- Quick: This recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes making it perfect for weeknight dinners!
- Easy: Everything cooks in one skillet with very little cleanup!
- Versatile: Serve this alone, with veggies, or with a simple salad for a low-carb meal option, or plate it atop pasta for a satisfying dinner.
- Family-friendly: All ages LOVE this chicken breast skillet recipe. The ingredients are simple but so satisfying–even for kids.
Ingredients you will need
See how easy the ingredients list is for this recipe. You can find these items at most grocery stores near you. You can also shop online for groceries, too. Here’s the lineup:
- Chicken breast: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts to keep things on the lighter side, but you can use chicken thighs, instead, for a richer and juicier flavor.
- Salt & pepper: To bring out all of the delicious flavors.
- Olive oil: For cooking the chicken.
- Garlic cloves: Use fresh garlic for this recipe – the jarred stuff doesn’t have nearly as much flavor!
- Chicken broth: Not only adds flavor but also adds the perfect amount of liquid for the sauce.
- Heavy cream: For the richest, thickest sauce, we recommend heavy cream. This works well for those who are on keto and are looking for a low carb, high fat, and high protein meal. You can use half and half or whole milk instead, but you may need to add a thickening agent, such as cornstarch or flour. Another healthy option is to use coconut milk (in cans)
- Chopped parsley: This garlic chicken is wonderfully garnished with fresh herbs. We typically use parsley, but other great choices are chives, basil, or thyme.
How to make creamy garlic chicken
Even though this dish looks fancy and tastes amazing, the recipe is really quite easy to make. Here’s the simple method:
Full, printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Prep chicken breast: Slice the chicken breast in half, lengthwise, and season with salt and pepper. Preheat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook chicken: Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
- Make the sauce: To the same skillet, add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir through the bottom of the pan to deglaze.
- Add chicken to pan & serve: Allow the sauce to thicken and reduce by half, for 3-4 minutes. Return the chicken and nestle it into the sauce, and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Tips for recipe success
- Don’t have chicken breasts? You can also use chicken breast tenders or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Be sure to cook the chicken until golden and done. The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the thickness and size of the chicken breast, it will take between 3-5 minutes per side to fully cook.
- Don’t wipe the pan after cooking the chicken. There will be some bits left in the pan after cooking the chicken breasts. Don’t clean that out! It will add savory flavor to the sauce.
- To skip a step, you can buy chicken that has been sliced into 4 cutlets.
Frequently asked questions
The key is not overcooking the chicken. If you cook the chicken too quickly over high heat it will become tough and chewy. It is best to cook the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
You can soften chicken breast by marinating it for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
The chicken will take anywhere between 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken breast. Chicken needs about 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat.
Serving suggestions
This creamy garlic chicken skillet is best served over something starchy to sop up all of the delicious sauce. Try it over any variety of pasta, healthy mashed potatoes, or crusty bread.
To keep the recipe low carb, it’s great served over spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, or cauliflower mash. We also enjoy adding a green vegetable on the side, such as Air Fryer broccoli, parmesan-baked asparagus, roasted garlic green beans, or zucchini.
Recipe variations
We love to enjoy this chicken skillet dish as written, but if you’d like to customize this creamy chicken recipe with different flavors. Try these add-ins:
- Baby spinach leaves
- Cooked crumbled bacon
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Marinated artichoke hearts
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Halved cherry tomatoes
Storing & reheating
Storing leftovers: Store leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat: For best results, reheat leftovers in a skillet on the stove over medium-low heat until warmed through.
More Chicken Recipes
- Easy Lemon Chicken Breast Recipe
- Grilled Boneless BBQ Chicken
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Breast
- Grilled Italian Chicken Breast Recipe
- Cheesy Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast
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Creamy Garlic Chicken Breast Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise, or 4 small chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream, or coconut milk (in cans) see notes
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cut your chicken breast in half lengthwise and season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
- To the same skillet add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir through the bottom of the pan to deglaze.
- Allow the sauce to thicken and reduce by half, for 3-4 minutes. Return the chicken and nestle it into the sauce, and garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
- Don’t have chicken breasts? You can also use chicken breast tenders or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Be sure to cook the chicken until golden and done. The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the thickness and size of the chicken breast, it will take between 3-5 minutes per side to fully cook.
- Don’t wipe the pan after cooking the chicken. There will be some bits left in the pan after cooking the chicken breasts. Don’t clean that out! It will add savory flavor to the sauce.
- To skip a step, you can buy chicken that has been sliced into 4 cutlets.
- Heavy Cream: This ingredient is specific to those who want a low carb high-fat diet. A healthier choice could be using half-and-half or even coconut milk. The ones you get from cans and not what you drink.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
