This Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that will become a sure family favorite.
The tender chicken is smothered in an irresistible creamy garlic parmesan sauce that is perfect over rice, pasta, or potatoes! Easy and delicious comfort food at its very best.
The recipe uses chicken breast fillets to ensure you get tender juicy chicken. Pan-fried until golden, you can then make the creamy parmesan sauce in the same pan! Have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes with this one-pan dinner!
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Say goodbye to dry chicken
I cannot stand dry chicken! I love juicy chicken that is soft and easy to eat. And I promise you that this recipe is just that. No dry, chewy chicken, just soft tender chicken breasts in an irresistibly creamy, cheesy sauce!
The key to getting juicy chicken is to cut the chicken into chicken breast fillets. This ensures they cook quickly (as they are thinner), so there is less chance of them drying out, then you finish them in the creamy garlic parmesan sauce! Juicy and tender. AND DELICIOUS!
How to make Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
To start the recipe, we are going to cut the chicken breasts into fillets. To do this, you want to place them on a board, pat them dry gently to stop anything slipping and sliding about.
Then take a sharp knife and holding it parallel to the chopping board, cut the chicken breast directly through the middle.
This is the same technique that we use in my Greek Chicken, this Creamy Basil Chicken, my Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts, and this Creamy Champagne Chicken.
The reason this works so well is that it flattens the chicken, which reduces the cooking time. This means it is easier to get the middle cooked through without overcooking the chicken breast. Thus tender juicy chicken!
Once the chicken has been filleted, you dredge it in well-seasoned flour and then pan-fry in a mixture of oil butter and oil. This allows you to use a higher heat, but still, get the golden finish to the chicken.
Once the chicken is almost cooked, it is removed from the pan, and then you make the easy creamy garlic parmesan pan sauce.
Making a creamy pan sauce
I love a good pan sauce! They are super simple to make, have so much flavor, thanks to all the juices the chicken has left behind, and you don’t need a separate pan!
To make this creamy, cheesy sauce, once the chicken has been removed from the pan, add a little more butter and gently fry off the garlic. Once this is fragrant, a little chicken broth is added.
Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan and get up all the lovely sticky bits left from cooking the chicken. This gets reduced down to intensify the flavors; then, it is finished with cream and parmesan. So easy and so quick!
What to serve with your creamy chicken
Sides for your chicken
All that creamy cheesy sauce needs something delicious to soak it up.
- Pasta – try this herb pasta or this garlic bacon pasta
- Garlic rice
- Creamy mashed potato
- Mashed white beans
- For some fresh greens why not add a simple salad
- Add goodness with some garlic green beans.
- Or add some garlic naan bread.
What wine to choose
For white wine lovers, pair this creamy bacon chicken with a lightly oaked Chardonnay, an oaked Chenin Blanc or Viognier.
They will all cut through the richness of the sauce and stand up to the salty parmesan.
For red drinkers, try a Pinot Noir, a Chianti, or if you can find it an Italian Teroldego. They are bright enough to balance the cream yet light enough not to overpower the flavors in the dish.
Enjoy x
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Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 chicken breasts – see note 1
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dry sherry – optional – see note 2
- ¾ cups chicken broth/stock
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard – see note 3
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
To serve
- grated parmesan
- fresh parsley
Instructions
To prepare the chicken
- Lay the chicken breast flat on a chopping board and pat it dry so it doesn't slip.
2 chicken breasts - Use a large sharp knife, and keeping it parallel to the board cut sideways through the breast. (see bulk of post for pictures)
- Carefully cut through until you have two plump fillets. Repeat with the second chicken breast.
- If you find they are not an even thickness, you can use a meat mallet (or a heavy pan) to bash the plumper end down.
- Add the flour to a shallow dish.
¼ cup flour - Season the chicken fillets on both sides with salt and pepper, then coat them lightly in the flour. (don't discard the leftover flour yet)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
To cook the chicken
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet or frying pan, over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the butter and the chicken fillets to the pan.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter - Cook chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove the fillets to a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
To make the sauce
- Turn the heat on the pan to low (don't wash it out), add the butter and the finely chopped garlic, stir well and cook for 2 minutes until softened but not colored.
2 tbsp butter
6 garlic cloves (finely chopped) - Add two tablespoons of the remaining dredging flour to the garlic and stir to coat. (see note 4)
2 tbsp of the dredging flour - Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and sherry (if using).
¾ cup chicken broth
2 tbsp sherry (option) - Bring to a simmer and cook gently for a minute.
- Add the heavy cream, mustard, salt, and pepper to the pan and stir well. Bring to simmer then add in the grated parmesan cheese.
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper - Add the chicken back into the pan, plus any collected juices. Simmer together for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened, and the chicken is cooked through.
- Season to taste and serve.
- Garnish with extra parmesan and chopped parsley.
Notes
- Using larger chicken breasts will make this process easier. Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs; instead, they will need to be cooked for 15-20 minutes instead of 8.
- You can replace the dry sherry with white wine or masala if you have that on hand instead. If you don’t consume alcohol then just leave it out.
- I use Dijon mustard, but you can use grain mustard, hot English mustard, or sweet American mustard.
- Don’t worry about using the flour that has touched the raw chicken; it is going to be cooked out and will be perfectly safe. Once you have added the flour to the sauce, the remaining flour needs to be thrown away.
Nutrition
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