Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Chicken with garlic sauce is a flavorful way to prepare chicken, and is terrific served over pasta, with roasted potatoes, or a simple salad!

Garlic Sauce, a Delicious Way to Jazz Up Chicken

Simply seasoned and seared chicken breasts can be used in a variety of creative ways, in so many recipes.

And when you're looking to jazz up that chicken, my garlic cream sauce can turn it into something a little extra special and tasty!

Served over tender bow-tie pasta, chicken with garlic sauce makes for a succulent and flavorful dinner to enjoy any day of the week, especially dressed with an extra drizzle of that velvety garlic cream sauce.

Homemade Creamy Garlic Sauce with Seared Chicken Breasts

Skinless, boneless chicken breasts are super quick and easy to prepare. When seared to perfection, they get so succulent taking on the flavors of a simple yet savory mix of seasoning.

My garlic sauce begins as a simple cream sauce made with butter, flour, and a bit of milk, but it doesn't end there.

Mashed cloves of soft roasted garlic are added to the sauce at the end, along with some grated parmesan cheese, lemon, baby spinach and thinly sliced roasted red pepper.

The combination of ingredients I add to my recipe packs a lot of flavor!

Here’s a quick look at how I prepare my chicken with garlic sauce (or just jump to the full recipe further down...):

1. Roasted garlic is the best way to go for this recipe, because it lends a subtle-sweet flavor to the garlic sauce. So I begin by wrapping my heads of garlic in foil and roasting them; once roasted, I allow them to cool just until they can be handled. Then I squeeze the cloves out and mash them into a paste, and set it aside.
2. Marinating my chicken with some tasty seasoning ingredients is also a flavor boost, and I do this before I sear both sides of the breasts until golden-brown in a hot pan.
3. I prepare my simple garlic cream sauce and finish it with a hint of parmesan cheese, the squeeze of lemon, plus the baby spinach and some roasted red pepper.
4. Then the seared chicken breasts get nestled back into pan, and I spoon some of the sauce over each.
5. Since I love a little finishing flourish, I sprinkle a little chopped and crisped prosciutto into the pan!

Recipe

Chicken with Garlic Sauce

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This chicken with garlic sauce is a rich, creamy dish prepared with roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, plus vibrant spinach and roasted red peppers—so savory!

Category: Entree
Cuisine: American

Yield: Serves 4

Nutrition Info: 503 calories

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes garlic roasting time)
Total time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 heads garlic (or 3 if very small), tops cut off
• Avocado or olive oil
• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise to create 4 thinner cutlets
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Pinch paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 1 ½ ounces unsalted butter (3 tablespoons)
• 1 ½ ounces flour (about 5 level tablespoons)
• 3 cups milk (2%)
• ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Pinch white pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• Squeeze of lemon (scant ¼ teaspoon)
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• ⅓ cup julienned roasted red peppers (from a jar, patted dry)
• 4 slices prosciutto, chopped and crisped up

Preparation:

- To roast the garlic heads: preheat the oven to 400°, drizzle a little oil over the heads of garlic, and wrap each in a small piece of foil; roast for 45 minutes, until golden-brown and soft; unwrap and allow to cool, then using a knife or fork, mash the roasted garlic into a paste, and set aside.

- While the garlic roasts, marinate the chicken: place it into a bowl, and drizzle over a little of the oil; sprinkle in a couple of pinches of salt and black pepper, plus some paprika and the pressed garlic cloves, and allow to marinate while the garlic roasts.

- Once chicken is marinated, place a heavy-bottom skillet (cast iron, or the like) over medium-high heat; once hot, drizzle in a couple tablespoons of the oil, and sear the chicken until golden-brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side; remove from pan, and set aside for a bit.

- Clean out the pan, and lower the heat to medium or medium-low; add in the butter, and once melted, whisk in the flour to create a “roux” or paste-like consistency; cook that for about 30 seconds, then slowly pour the milk in, whisking all the while to fully dissolve the roux.

- Allow the milk mixture to come to a gentle simmer, whisking all the while until thickened, then turn off the heat; whisk in the roasted garlic “paste” until it melts into the sauce, along with the Italian seasoning, a couple of good pinches of salt, a pinch of black pepper, a small pinch of white pepper and nutmeg, and the grated parmesan cheese; taste the sauce to see if additional salt/pepper is needed.

- Add in the squeeze of lemon, along with the spinach, and stir those in just until the spinach wilts in the heat; add in about half of the julienned roasted red pepper and stir that in, then return the chicken breasts back into the pan and spoon some of the sauce over each.

- Sprinkle the rest of the julienned peppers over top of the sauce, along with the crispy prosciutto, and serve over bow-tie pasta, or with roasted baby potatoes, is desired.

Tips & Tidbits for Chicken with Garlic Sauce:

• Roasting your garlic: It is very simple to roast garlic, as all you'll do is prepare three small squares of foil, cut the tops off of each head of garlic, drizzle with a touch of oil, salt and pepper, then wrap each head in the foil, and roast for 45 minutes. Allow them to cool before handling.
• Larger skinless, boneless chicken breasts for even cooking: Rather than having super thick chicken breasts which can cook unevenly, I like to use larger breasts which I then slice in half lengthwise to create 4 thinner cutlets. These cook up nice and quick!
• Milk for a lighter garlic sauce: I use 2% milk for my creamy garlic sauce, and this helps save on fat and calories; but feel free to use whole milk, half and half, or even skim milk, if you prefer.
• Prep ahead for easy chicken with garlic sauce: The components of this recipe can be prepped ahead of time for ease. Simply prepare the garlic cream sauce and allow it to cool, then keep in the fridge and reheat when ready to serve the dish. You can also sear off the chicken and allow it to cool, along with any sides you'd like to serve such as pasta or potatoes. Then just reheat everything, and proceed with the recipe to serve.
• Tasty accompaniments: I love tender bow tie pasta with this recipe, but penne or corkscrew pasta would work well too. Roasted potatoes are also a scrumptious pick, or even a simple green salad.

Craving more delicious chicken recipes? Check out this recipe for Grilled Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Basil Salsa, this Teriyaki Chicken, or this Chicken Parmesan!

Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2017, and has been updated with even more love!