An easy and delicious chicken dinner! This creamy garlic chicken is made with boneless chicken breast fillets, cooked with mushrooms and garlic, all in a creamy sauce, perfect for spooning over mashed potatoes, pasta or gnocchi.
Why I love this creamy garlic chicken
- This creamy garlic chicken with mushrooms is a bit of a back pocket recipe, that manages to always satisfy without too much fuss or muss.
- It’s also very versatile. I’ve stirred some cooked gnocchi into it. I’ve served it over pasta and I’ve served it with mashed potatoes. Or skip the carbs and serve with just a salad or a green vegetable.
- I love that this I just need a few chicken breasts and a tray of mushrooms to make this delicious dinner happen!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are halved make for quicker cooking and less worry about the thicker full breast cooking through completely. You could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs here, as well.
Mushrooms – I’ve used cremini mushrooms here, that I sliced from whole. I prefer to slice the mushrooms myself, rather than buying them sliced, as I love the extra texture from the rounded bits. I can also control the thickness of the slices.
Shallot – Shallots are nice in this sauce, but finely diced onion will work fine here, as well.
White Wine – The use of white wine to deglaze the pan brings a slightly acidic note to the sauce, which brightens the sauce. If you opt not to use the wine, consider adding a little something to bring the same acidic note to the dish. A teaspoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar will do the trick.
Cream – Heavy whipping cream will always produce the smoothest sauce and is less likely to split when there is wine in the sauce. If you only have a lighter cream (such as Half and Half), you may need to thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry (detailed below in the Recipe Tips).
Step-by-Step Photos
- Coat chicken breasts in seasoned flour.
- Brown chicken in a little oil, then remove to a plate.
- In the same pan, add the mushrooms and brown.
- Add the shallots to the pan and cook until softened.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook 1 minute.
- Add the flour to the pan and cook 1 minute.
- Add the white wine to the pan and cook until mostly evaporated.
- Add the chicken broth to the pan.
- Add the mustard and thyme to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add the cream to the pan.
- Return the chicken to the pan and simmer together with the sauce to rewarm and thicken the sauce.
- At the end of cooking, taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed.
Recipe Tips
- Having all the ingredients prepped before starting cooking makes this dish come together really easily and is worth the bit of time upfront.
- I like to cook the chicken and mushrooms on medium-high heat, to get good browning, since browning always equals flavour.
- This dish benefits from a generous seasoning during and at the end of cooking, so be sure to taste and season well, to really bring out the flavours.
- I’ve provided some variable amounts for both chicken broth. Use less chicken broth for a thicker sauce or a bit more for more sauce that’s a bit thinner. I start with 1/2 cup and I go from there.
- You can adjust the amount of creaminess as well, by varying the amount of added cream, as well.
- I tend to vary these depending on how I am serving it. I will make a thicker sauce if just enjoying the chicken, as is or maybe a more plentiful sauce if serving over pasta or gnocchi, for example.
- If your sauce somehow ends up thinner than you prefer, mix up a cornstarch slurry by stirring together 1 Tablespoon cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon cold water. Add a bit at a time to the simmering sauce until the sauce thickens to your liking.
How to serve this creamy garlic chicken
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.
- Serve over a bit of pasta. I like to remove the chicken and slice it, then toss some cooked pasta in the sauce. Serve the sliced chicken on top of the tossed pasta.
- Serve with gnocchi. You can simply add some cooked gnocchi to the pan at the end of cooking.
- Skip the carbs and enjoy as is, with a simple side salad or green vegetable.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
You could make this dish ahead and reheat it. You may need to add a splash of chicken broth to loosen the sauce when rewarming.
Creamy sauces never freeze well, so freezing isn’t recommended.
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Ingredients
- 12 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise (about 6 oz. each)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, halved or sliced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced or onion
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white wine, or water with a splash of lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 – 1 cup chicken broth, less for thicker sauce but a bit less/more for a bit thinner sauce, but more of it
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup heavy cream, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 thyme sprigs, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Pat dry. Place the flour on a plate and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, place chicken pieces in the flour mixture, one at a time, shaking off excess flour, then place into the hot skillet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Cook chicken until golden underneath, then flip over and brown the other side as well. (Chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked at this point, simply browned). Remove browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
- If skillet seems dry, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Add mushrooms to the pan and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat, stirring regularly, until golden. Add the shallots and cook, stirring regularly, until the shallots soften and start to colour. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is softened, about 45 seconds. Add the flour to the pan and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to loosen any browned bits and allow to cook until the wine is mostly evaporated. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. *I like to start with about 1/2 cup of broth, then I go from there. It is easy to add more later, but impossible to take it out). Add the cream and Dijon mustard to the pan stir to combine. Add the thyme to the sauce. Add the chicken back into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer about 10 minutes, to reduce and thicken the sauce and finish cooking the chicken.
- Taste the sauce and add additional salt and pepper, as needed (if the sauce tastes flat, it needs more salt).
- If sauce isn't as thick as you'd like, mix up a cornstarch slurry by stirring together 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of cold water. Add a bit at a time to the simmering sauce, stirring in, until sauce thickens to the preferred level.
- Enjoy as is, with a side salad or green vegetables or serve with mashed potatoes or over pasta or gnocchi.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I made this last night for 2 and it was delicious.
My husband loved it. Great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sally! Thanks :)
I forgot to mention, I linked your blog on a food forum – for the umpteenth time. Love your recipes. :)
Thanks so much, Gwen :)
Wonderful, cooking for one so did one large breast – will have 2 meals. Mis en place went quickly… might mention mustard addition is missing from instructions. LOL when I saw my mustard still sitting there at the end, I pulled out the meat, added the mustard, stirred and all is well!
Lovely recipe, with all my favourite ingredients. Wish I had fresh thyme as I find it makes such a difference but the garden isn’t quite producing yet.
So glad you enjoyed it Gwen and sorry about the mustard. I had noticed it and corrected the Recipe Card this morning. I am anxiously awaiting my fresh herb garden, too :) Thanks!