Chicken with Butter Sauce is comfort food: the best one-pot comfort on a cool, dreary day. It’s a simmering pot of chicken, meat and vegetables swimming in a rich, warm butter sauce that soaks into the rice. There are tons of chicken recipes out there but yet this one is my ultimate favourite just because I can’t resist such a tantalising one-pot meal.
Garlic Butter Chicken
This garlic butter chicken is perfect for a quick and easy midweek dinner. It’s rich, garlicky and only requires 4 ingredients for the sauce!
Better still it only takes 30mins to make. PLUS, I’ve got a sneaky suspicion you might have most of the ingredients on hand already 😏 Follow me…
Garlic Butter Chicken Breast
For this recipe you’ll want to use boneless skinless chicken breast. You’ll also want to butterfly the breasts right through to make 4 even sized breasts. This will not only ensure the breasts cook quicker, but also more evenly.
Room Temp
An important tip to ensure the chicken comes out nice and juicy is to make sure you don’t cook it straight from the fridge. This will cause the chicken to seize up and go chewy. Bring the chicken close to room temp before frying.
Dredge through flour
Dredging the chicken through seasoned flour is a nifty trick to ensuring the sauce sticks to the chicken. When you fry chicken that’s been dredged through flour it’ll go nice and crispy. When you pour sauce over the chicken it absorbs into the thin coating of flour on the chicken.
Process shots: mix flour, garlic powder and s&p (photo 1), coat chicken (photo 2), add to oil & butter (photo 3), fry both sides until golden (photo 4).
Pan Fried Garlic Butter Chicken
Pan frying is the best method here because you get to start the sauce with the leftover flavour from frying the chicken. First things first, let’s see what the magic 4 ingredient sauce consists of:
- Butter – You’ll want to use unsalted butter, just so you can control the level of salt in the sauce more efficiently.
- Stock – Chicken stock works best. This not only creates the base of the sauce, but it’s great to scrape off any leftover flavour stuck in the pan from frying the chicken.
- Garlic – 2 cloves is all you’ll need! Make sure they’re finely diced/minced.
- Parsley – Garlic and parsley is a classic combo. It’s also not too overpowering which ensures the garlic shines, as it should.
Can I use other herbs?
Thyme or rosemary work great. They are both more powerful than parsley though so I recommend starting off with a smaller amount and working your way up. In all cases make sure you’re using fresh herbs. Dried herbs won’t have long enough to infuse into the sauce properly.
Process shots: fry garlic (photo 1), pour in stock (photo 2), melt in butter (photo 3), whisk to emulsify butter with stock (photo 4), add parsley (photo 5), add chicken back in (photo 6).
Serving Garlic Butter Chicken
Once you’ve added the chicken back in, give it all a good baste then plate up right away. You don’t want to leave them in the pan too long or they’ll overcook.
From there I always serve up with a wedge of lemon. The sauce is quite rich, so a squeeze of lemon juice at the very end will cut through that richness. Optional, but recommended 🙂
What to serve with Garlic Butter Chicken?
Here I serve with asparagus and Lemon Roasted Potatoes. Other sides that would pair nicely include Roasted Broccolini, Roasted Baby Potatoes or Mustard Mash.
And there we have it! All my top tips for the perfect garlic butter chicken.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this butter garlic chicken shall we?!
How to make Garlic Butter Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN
This garlic butter chicken is perfect for a quick and easy midweek dinner. It’s rich, garlicky and only requires 4 ingredients for the sauce!
Servings (click & slide): 4
Course: Dinner / Main Course
Cuisine: Universal
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Calories per serving: 337kcal
Cost per serving: £1.50 / $2
Equipment:
- Large Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Shallow Dish (for dredging)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Jug (for stock)
- Tongs
Ingredients (check list):
- ▢2x 9oz/250g Chicken Breasts, brought close to room temp
- ▢1/4 cup / 40g Plain / All Purpose Flour
- ▢1/2 cup / 120ml Chicken Stock
- ▢6 tbsp / 90g / 3.2oz Unsalted Butter, divided into tbsp chunks (see notes)
- ▢2 cloves of Garlic, minced/finely diced
- ▢1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley
- ▢1 tbsp Olive Oil
- ▢1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ▢1 tsp Salt, plus more to taste
- ▢1/2 tsp Black Pepper, plus more to taste
- ▢1 Lemon, divided into 4 wedges (to serve)
Instructions:
- In a shallow dish, combine 1/4 cup flour with 1 tsp garlic powder & salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- Butterfly your chicken breasts right through the centre to make 4 even sized breasts. One by one dredge in the flour (press in the flour to get an even coverage), give them a shake then place to one side.
- Add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add in the chicken breasts and fry until golden on each side and white/piping hot through the centre. Approx 3-5mins each side depending on thickness. Place to one side.
- Turn heat down to a medium and add garlic. Fry for 1-2mins until it just begins to brown, then pour in stock. Use your wooden spoon to scrape off any flavour stuck to the pan, then add in your remaining 5 tbsp butter. Swiftly whisk as it melts to bind with the stock, it should turn slightly cloudy. Sprinkle in parsley and season to taste with salt & black pepper.
- Allow to simmer for a few mins to thicken, then turn down heat to low and add back in chicken. Spoon over the sauce then serve up with extra sauce drizzled over and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste (optional – see notes).
Quick 1 min demo!
This garlic butter chicken is perfect for a quick and easy midweek dinner. It’s rich, garlicky and only requires 4 ingredients for the sauce!
Notes:
a) Butter – I like using unsalted butter because you get so much more control over how salty it ends up. If you’ve only got salted just go easy when you season to taste and preferably use low-sodium stock if you’ve got it. Important to measure correctly (i.e not heaping tbsps) otherwise you’ll end up with way too much butter.
b) Lemon – The sauce is quite a rich, so I like serving with a lemon wedge. A gentle squeeze over at the end cuts through the richness. Don’t squeeze it straight into the pan or it’ll break up the sauce. Lemon is optional.
c) Herbs – Parsley is the classic pairing with garlic butter and goes beautifully here. I have tried with thyme and rosemary, which both work nicely, but they’re a lot stronger so just be aware of that. In all cases make sure you’re using fresh herbs. Dried herbs won’t have long enough to infuse the sauce.
d) Calories – slight over estimate as not all the flour is picked up. Whole recipe shared between 4.
Skillet Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce
The perfect chicken recipe! This super quick and easy seared skillet chicken topped with a delicious garlic and herb pan sauce that’s sure to be a hit! It’s a flavorful protein rich dish, and just what you need for busy weekdays.
You’ll Love This Pan Seared Chicken Recipe!
Who says you need bone-in, skin-on chicken to get lots of flavor?? What you really need is a good sear on your chicken, lots of those delicious browned bits at the bottom of the pan…
And some butter. Everything is better with butter.
Then fresh herbs add a final layer of flavor.
Trust me this is a chicken recipe you don’t want to miss out on! You get perfectly tender, moist chicken breasts and a sauce people will want to it by the spoonful!
Plus it can easily be ready in under 25 minutes so there’s just no reason not to try this!
Watch the Video!
Skillet Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce
Skillet Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter Sauce – Super quick and easy skillet seared chicken topped with a delicious garlic and herb pan sauce that’s sure to please! A perfect chicken recipe for busy weeknights.
Ingredients You’ll Need for This Recipe
- Chicken breasts
- Fresh garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Low-sodium chicken stock or dry white wine
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh sage, thyme and rosemary
Scroll below for full printable recipe.
How to Make Chicken with Pan Sauce
- Heat a skillet. Pound thicker parts of chicken to even their thickness.
- Dab chicken dry. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add oil to skillet, then add chicken.
- Cook chicken through (turning once). Transfer to a plate.
- Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter in same skillet. Add in garlic and sage and saute until golden brown.
- Pour in chicken broth and scrape up browned bits.
- Add remaining butter to to skillet along with remaining herbs.
- Return chicken to pan and spoon sauce over top.
Tips for Pan Seared Chicken
- Pound the thicker parts of the chicken breasts with a meat mallet to even out their thickness, this way it cooks evenly.
- Dab the chicken dry. The drier exterior will encourage browning.
- Cook in oil so the chicken doesn’t stick. Don’t use too much or it will just splatter all over the place. You can also use a splatter screen to reduce splatter further.
- Don’t move chicken around as it cooks. You’ll get better browning if you let it sit still and only move once when flipping.
- Take the temp! It should register from 160 – 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer, go over that and it starts to dry.
- Use up those browned bits stuck to the pan for a pan sauce! That’s right that golden brown stuff stuck on the pan afterward creates an incredibly flavorful sauce.
Can I Use Other Herbs?
And like I mentioned in the recipe, feel free to swap out the herbs I listed for others you like or what you have on hand like oregano, marjoram, parsley, basil.
Just note that some you’ll want to be more heavy handed with like the parsley as it has a lighter flavor.
Easy 20 Minute Butter Chicken
Quick 20-minute butter chicken is creamy and packed full of flavor. It’s simplified and cooked all in one pan and goes great with a side of rice or naan!
Ever since moving to Alexandria, Virginia we’ve been in luck with all the Indian, Pakistani, and Aghani restaurants around us. We love the cuisine because it’s loaded with flavor and spice and is great for cold nights. One dish we keep going back for is the butter chicken. The spicy creaminess is unforgettable and always makes us go back for more!
MY LATEST RECIPES
I’ve been experimenting with my own version of home-made butter chicken over the past few weeks and I’ve finally found the perfect one. This simple no-fuss one pan butter chicken is just perfect. It’s simplified and does not require a whole bunch of ingredients, yet it’s packed with just the right amount of spice.