Creamy Garlic Chicken

This Creamy Garlic Chicken is the latest recipe I’ve added to our comfort food collection. Picture sautéed chicken coated in a creamy sauce, all perfumed with garlic and savory flavor. It’s beyond delicious and so easy to make too! It’s naturally gluten-free with dairy-free options. This recipe is simple enough for a weeknight dinner but stunning enough to serve for date-night or entertaining.

This recipe is my latest answer to the ever-present question, ‘What’s for dinner’? It’s the perfect comfort food that’s healthy as well. And it’s just as good for a family dinner or an at-home date night.

It’s simple and creamy but light enough for spring meals, especially when you pair it with roasted asparagus. As the name ‘garlic chicken’ suggests, this dish has lots of garlic.

But it’s not overwhelming because the garlic is lightly browned and then simmered into creamy submission. A subtle balance is added with just a touch of Italian seasoning to round out all the flavors.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken – I used large chicken breasts, (8 oz each) cut into half lengthwise to make 4 chicken breasts about 1 – 1 1/2″ thick. You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs as well.
• Cassava flour – regular all-purpose, gluten-free, or Einkorn wheat flour all work here. The chicken is dredged in the flour and then pan-fried. And as it simmers in the sauce, that bit of flour thickens it perfectly. If you use gluten-free flour, I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 or Cup4Cup because they have the best flavor.
• Garlic – As mentioned above, there’s a lot of garlic in this recipe. You’ll see below the recipe calls for a whole bulb, and that’s not a misprint! You’ll find that the garlic flavor isn’t as strong as you might think once it’s been thoroughly simmered. Also, I like to cut the cloves in half lengthwise so they can completely soften in the sauce.
• Seasonings – I add just a touch of garlic powder, (I know… more garlic, but trust me!) and some Italian seasoning. These both round out the flavors of the sauce and make sure you don’t taste the coconut milk if you use the dairy-free option. If you can find garlic granules, I think they have the best flavor. They’re like a coarse garlic powder rather than being powder fine in texture.
• Heavy cream or Coconut milk – canned coconut milk is what makes this garlic chicken creamy for dairy free. And you definitely don’t taste the coconut flavor with everything else going on here. However, if you want to go all out, you can use heavy creamy here as well!
• Chicken stock – homemade chicken stock will always give you the best flavor. But if you’re looking for store-bought, try and find a brand with low sodium.

Step 1: First we’ll prep all the ingredients and cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise.

This gives you 4 chicken breasts and they cook faster as well.

Step 2: Dredge both sides of each piece of chicken in flour to make a light coating.

Step 3: Panfry the chicken to brown on both sides over medium-high heat.

You don’t need to cook it all the way through at this point. It will finish cooking in the sauce at the end.

Step 4: Then we’re going to lightly brown the halved garlic cloves in melted ghee or olive oil. The browning adds lots of ‘roasted garlic’ flavor to the final sauce.

Step 5: After the garlic is browned, you’ll add the seasonings along with the liquids.

Step 6: From here the most crucial part of the recipe is to keep the sauce at a slow simmer. This allows the garlic to fully soften and not be overwhelming, and the sauce to reduce.

Step 7: The final step is to simmer the chicken in the sauce until the chicken is done in the center. I like to sprinkle a touch of chopped parsley over the top for a bright pop of color, and a touch of fresh flavor.