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Creamy, garlicky, comforting chicken is a way to my heart. It’s made with household ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen, so there’s nothing extra to buy. This dinner is so easy and has minimal effort, making it a quick dinner to get on the table during busy weeknights.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Tips & FAQs
- Recipe:
- Check out these other great recipes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
When a dish on the menu has the words “creamy, garlic, & saucy”, I’m all in. No other choice on that menu matters to me other than those select words right there. I love garlic so much; it’s disgraceful when a recipe calls for only three garlic cloves for a GARLIC dish. I mean, how can you really capture the garlic flavor when you only use three cloves? Internet, please do better.
Anyway, this is a dinner that I put together one weeknight when I had heavy cream to get rid of, and felt like having a delicious sauce with chicken. Of course, I naturally put Parmesan cheese in this, because why not? Garlic parmesan anything is already delicious. You can’t go wrong. This dinner, however, I felt like I was at a restaurant. The chicken was cooked to a golden brown and juicy protein. All those delectable browned bits at the bottom of your pan must NEVER go to waste, so I poured in white wine to deglaze it and let the garlic simmer in the wine after reducing it a bit. From there, butter went in, then the sauce ingredients, then the parmesan. I made some mashed potatoes and green beans to go with this; I needed something to mop up that utterly delicious sauce with.
Trust me, you absolutely need this recipe in your repertoire of repeat dinners you keep on hand. This was so easy to throw together and required minimal effort. The only effort you need to put into this is pounding the chicken breasts into even thickness; that’s it! Serve this dinner with mashed potatoes, like I did, or over pasta. It’s the easiest, most comforting, and quick dinner to make during the busy weeknights when school is in session!
Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Chicken Breast: You can opt for boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you wish. You want to make sure you pound the chicken breasts into an even thickness so they all cook evenly. If you don’t, you risk undercooking the chicken, which is a huge no-no.
- Garlic: LOTS of it! I used about 8 cloves of garlic because when I write something with garlic in the name, I need it to shine.
- Chicken Bouillon, Heavy Cream, Chicken Broth, Italian Seasoning, Onion Powder: The main sauce ingredients. I love using the chicken bouillon with chicken broth. It enhances the flavors.
- Dry White Wine: Deglazing the pan has never been easier! If you don’t have wine, you can use the same amount of chicken broth instead.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: The Parmesan part of the garlic Parmesan sauce! It also helps thicken the sauce naturally, so no flour is needed.
- Lemon Juice: This wakes up the dish. It’s absolutely needed since it’s so rich.
Tips & FAQs
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. To reheat this, you’ll need to add a bit of cream or milk to tie the sauce back together, since it’ll start to break when heating in the microwave.
- I do not recommend freezing. Cream sauces tend to break and become watery when thawing or reheating from frozen.
- What to Serve With This: I served mashed potatoes and green beans with this. Other options include pasta, rice, egg noodles, roasted veggies, or Stick of Butter Rice (which happens to be my #1 TikTok video!). If you want something lighter, choose a simple salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
- Variations:
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Add some spinach towards the end of cooking to wilt it in. Sauté some mushrooms when sauteing the garlic. Asparagus is another great veggie to add.
- Swap the parmesan for pecorino romano cheese for a bolder taste.
- Wine Pairings:
- Chardonnay is a classic choice, but make sure you get unoaked or lightly oaked. Its buttery notes go well with the sauce, while the acidity keeps it from feeling too heavy.
- Another good pairing is Pinot Grigio. Its bright acidity cuts through the richness of the cream sauce, making it not too overwhelming.
- If you want a red, go with a Pinot Noir. It’s lighter in body and has softer tannins, so it won’t overpower the creamy sauce.
- Avoid heavy tannic wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It’ll clash with the cream and make things taste almost metallic. Don’t get sweet wines either. It won’t taste good together.
- For Non-Alcoholic Options: Make a sparkling lemonade with club soda and lemonade. Sparkling apple cider is another great pairing. You can also make an herbal iced tea with thyme, rosemary, or basil & lemon.
Recipe:
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Creamy, garlicky, comforting chicken is a way to my heart. It’s made with household ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen, so there’s nothing extra to buy. This dinner is so easy and has minimal effort, making it a quick dinner to get on the table during busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base, or 1 1/2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, or more to taste
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, combine the chicken bouillon, chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, and onion powder. Set aside for now.
- Pound the chicken breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness, then season both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the chicken breasts (in batches, if necessary) and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through to 160F. Set them aside onto a plate.
- Turn the heat down to medium and immediately pour in the wine. Gently scrape up the browned bits from the bottom and allow to simmer for 2 minutes, until slightly reduced. Add the garlic and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Melt the butter in and let it simmer for about 1 minute. Pour in the heavy cream mixture. Bring it to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer gently for 8 minutes, stirring often, allowing the liquid to reduce slightly.
- Reduce the heat to low and gradually add in the parmesan cheese, stirring to avoid any clumping of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, adding more if needed. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Add the chicken back in, along with any accumulated juices, and let it gently simmer for 5 minutes to heat the chicken through and thicken the sauce to your preference. If it has thickened too much, then add a little more cream to thin it out.
- Serve immediately with sides of choice.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. To reheat this, you’ll need to add a bit of cream or milk to tie the sauce back together, since it’ll start to break when heating in the microwave. I do not recommend freezing. Cream sauces tend to break and become watery when thawing or reheating from frozen.
What to Serve With This: I served mashed potatoes and green beans with this. Other options include pasta, rice, egg noodles, roasted veggies, or Stick of Butter Rice (which happens to be my #1 TikTok video!). If you want something lighter, choose a simple salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Variations:
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Add some spinach towards the end of cooking to wilt it in. Sauté some mushrooms when sauteing the garlic. Asparagus is another great veggie to add.
- Swap the parmesan for pecorino romano cheese for a bolder taste.
Wine Pairings:
- Chardonnay is a classic choice, but make sure you get unoaked or lightly oaked. Its buttery notes go well with the sauce, while the acidity keeps it from feeling too heavy.
- Another good pairing is Pinot Grigio. Its bright acidity cuts through the richness of the cream sauce, making it not too overwhelming.
- If you want a red, go with a Pinot Noir. It’s lighter in body and has softer tannins, so it won’t overpower the creamy sauce.
- Avoid heavy tannic wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It’ll clash with the cream and make things taste almost metallic. Don’t get sweet wines either. It won’t taste good together.
- For Non-Alcoholic Options: Make a sparkling lemonade with club soda and lemonade. Sparkling apple cider is another great pairing. You can also make an herbal iced tea with thyme, rosemary, or basil & lemon.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
453Fat (grams)
35 gSat. Fat (grams)
17 gCarbs (grams)
9 gFiber (grams)
1 gSugar (grams)
2 gProtein (grams)
33 gSodium (milligrams)
1065 mgCholesterol (grams)
145 mgThis is calculated for 4 servings. The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and the brands of ingredients used.
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