Name: Garlic Butter Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken breast (boneless, skinless); 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 2 tablespoons cooking oil (avocado oil is recommended); 3 tablespoons salted butter; ½ cup chicken stock; 4 large cloves garlic (minced); Fresh parsley (as an optional garnish)

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This Garlic Butter Chicken recipe is a wholesome, comforting, economical, and classic easy dinner recipe. All you need is a handful of common ingredients and about 20 minutes for deliciously juicy, tender chicken with a golden exterior that everyone will love.

Nothing beats garlicky, buttery garlic chicken. Whenever I make it, its delicious aromas always fill the house. This garlic butter chicken recipe is packed with flavor, and the garlic butter sauce elevates the dish to a whole new level!

The simple combination of butter, garlic, and chicken stock creates a rich and savory sauce that perfectly complements the juicy chicken breasts.

This dish is simple, inexpensive, and requires little to no preparation, but the outcome is juicy, perfectly cooked chicken with golden-brown skin that’s buttery-crisp. It is healthy, comforting, and no fuss, because it is prepared in a single pan, so requiring little cleanup.

Why this Garlic Butter Chicken Recipe is So Popular

Quick and easy: You only need about 20 minutes to prepare this butter garlic chicken breast, and there are no additional breading or dredging processes. It’s also easy to clean up because I can make the sauce in the same pan. So this recipe is the best option for busy midweek or hectic weeknight dinners!
Simple ingredients: This is a delicious, garlicky chicken made with just a few ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry!
Tender, juicy chicken: Although the recipe instructions already help in this, for even more amazing outcomes, see my tips below.
Flavorful garlic butter sauce: This dish is all about the sauce! This sauce is light, buttery, and garlicky, unlike my Buffalo Chicken Wings or Chicken Chile Verde, which are rich and creamy. Perfect for drizzling.
Make ahead and store: If you have any leftovers, just store them in the fridge and reheat them the following day. You can marinate the chicken ahead of time if you’d like.
Gluten-free and keto: This dish is also naturally gluten-free and low in carbs. Be sure to use gluten-free chicken stock.

Ingredients for Garlic Butter Chicken

Chicken Breast: Although I typically use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you may also use boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. Try to get pieces that are around the same thickness so that they cook evenly.
Spices: I used minimal spices to keep it light. I just used Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
Cooking Oil: I start by searing the chicken in avocado oil because the butter would burn. You can also use light olive oil.
Salted Butter: You can use salted butter, but then you have to adjust the salt content in the sauce.
Chicken Stock: Chicken stock works well. This not only serves as the sauce’s base but also scrapes off any leftover residuals from the pan after frying the chicken. Using low-sodium stock, if available, is preferred.
Garlic: The star ingredient of this butter garlic chicken recipe is, of course, garlic. Be sure to mince or dice them finely.
Fresh Parsley: Parsley and garlic are a timeless combination. Additionally, it’s not overpowering, allowing the garlic to shine as it should.

How to Make Buttered Garlic Chicken Breast

Pat both sides of the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. If the chicken breasts are more than ¾ inch thick, slice them in half or pound them with a meat mallet to allow for more even cooking.
Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned.
Reduce the heat to medium, flip the chicken, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes more, or until lightly browned and the internal temperature reaches at least 160º F with a thermometer. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Plenty of yummy bits should be left over in the pan; do not discard them. Add the butter and chicken stock to the pan. Scrape the bottom and heat until the butter melts and the sauce starts to simmer.
Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, stir, and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Return the chicken breast to the pan and cook about 2 minutes more to heat and coat the chicken with the sauce, rotating halfway.
Serve the chicken with the garlic butter sauce spooned over and garnished with parsley.

Variations

Garlic Butter Lemon Chicken: If you prefer a lemony flavor, add 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice and/or a teaspoon of lemon zest to the sauce near the end, before returning the chicken to the pan. This tastes a lot like my Lemon Chicken Cauliflower Rice Bowls but with a buttery pan sauce.
Add Some Veggies: To make this dish an even heartier dinner, you can try adding small, halved (roasted/boiled/steamed) baby potatoes, Dutch (baby) carrots, a handful of broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, bell pepper, or asparagus to the sauce along with chicken breast.

Serving Suggestions

Garlic butter chicken goes well with a variety of sides, particularly those that soak up the delicious sauce! Some of my favorites are as follows:

Mashes: Nothing beats mash for soaking up garlic butter sauce! I really like it with Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes or Easy Creamy Mashed Potatoes.
Noodles or Rice: It tastes great if you serve it over rice or noodles. Serve the chicken over a mixture of your preferred rice such as Coconut Rice, Lemon Rice, plain steamed rice, or enjoy it over Zoodles.
Simple Salads: Try a fresh salad, such as my Mexican Street Corn Salad or Fingerling Potato Salad with Green Olives, to counterbalance the rich main course.
Roasted Veggies: To ensure that my main course and side dish finish cooking simultaneously, I prefer to put them in the oven before beginning the garlic butter chicken recipe. This chicken goes nicely with Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Asparagus, or Roasted Green Beans.

Storage Tips

Refrigerate: You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to four days in an airtight container.
Reheat: To reheat this garlic butter chicken, I recommend baking it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, with the chicken covered in foil to maintain its moisture. Reheating on the stovetop is an option, but it can be challenging to reheat the chicken without drying it out or burning the sauce. The microwave is another option, although it dries things out.
Freeze: Put sauce and serving portions in freezer-safe bags and store for up to two months. Before reheating, let it thaw overnight in the fridge.

Recipe Notes and Tips

The ideal thickness of chicken breast is ½ to ¾-inch. Cut thick chicken breasts in half or pound them with a meat mallet to ensure more even cooking. This is the key to getting a nice, even brown chicken breast on the outside without over or undercooking the center.
To ensure that the chicken turns out lovely and juicy, do not cook it directly from the refrigerator. The chicken will get chewy and seize up as a result. Before frying, bring the chicken to room temperature (about 20 minutes) for more even cooking.
You can try other seasonings, such as lemon pepper, or add fresh-squeezed lemon juice to the garlic sauce to make garlic butter lemon chicken.
Make sure the pan is preheated and the oil is hot before adding the chicken breasts to create a nice sear.
Don’t overcrowd the pan. Depending on the pan size, you’ll likely need to cook in two batches.
A skillet works best for this recipe, but you can also use an aluminum or non-stick pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Know if Chicken is Cooked?

The chicken is cooked when the outsides are lightly browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F as measured with a food thermometer. If you don’t have a food thermometer, be sure the center is completely white.

What to Serve with Garlic Butter Chicken?

Garlic butter Chicken is best served with cooked pasta, mashed potatoes, steamed rice, noodles/zoodles, garlic bread, a green leafy salad, or roasted/steamed veggies.

How to Get Juicy Breast Chicken?

As cooking time is always the key to a juicy chicken breast, it is suggested to use a reliable meat thermometer to check for doneness. I often take the chicken out of the pan once it reaches 160–163 degrees F after searing.

You may brine the chicken to make it juicier. As long as you don’t overcook the garlic butter chicken, it comes out juicy, so this is completely optional.

What is the Secret to Good Butter Chicken?

The key to this incredibly flavorful sauce lies in the “fond,” the browned bits left in the pan after cooking the chicken, which adds depth and complexity to the sauce.

When you add butter, garlic, and a little white wine or broth to the heated pan, the fond loosens up and melts right into the sauce, infusing every drop with rich, savory goodness. It’s the type of sauce that clings to each piece of chicken, elevating the entire dish to a restaurant-quality meal.

Can I Garnish it With Other Herbs?

You can use rosemary or thyme. They are both more potent than parsley, so I recommend starting with a small amount and increasing gradually. Make sure you’re always using fresh herbs. Dried herbs won’t properly infuse the sauce.

Delicious Garlic Recipes to Try: