In the mood for chicken with gravy? This delicious, one-pan, Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy fits the bill perfectly and is a garlic lover’s dream dinner! You’ll want to bust out the mashed potatoes to soak up every bit of this fabulous gravy!
This one-pan, chicken with gravy dinner is so delicious, you’re sure to make it a regular in your household! The chicken is moist and browned and the gravy is rich and full of garlic. Twenty cloves worth! But you’d never know it, because the garlic too gets browned and softened and changes into sweet bits of flavour, much like the beautiful mellow flavour of roasted garlic.
If you’re like me, the thought of separating and peeling the 20 cloves of garlic for this recipe isn’t super appealing. I picked up a bag of the pre-separated and peeled cloves at the grocery store for about $1. Money well spent, if you ask me :) And again, don’t worry that you won’t be able to leave the house for days after eating this. Like roasted garlic, this garlic becomes very mellow. You’ll know it’s there, but it won’t knock you (or anyone else) over.
As for the chicken, any cut will do. I used thighs here and I like skin-on for a more moist chicken, but skinless will work. Sadly, the skin on my thighs stuck a lot when I was cooking them this time. I think I rushed it and my oil wasn’t as hot as it should be, so I guess that’s a tip to make sure your oil is almost smoking hot before adding your skin-on chicken to it. It will look prettier if the skin actually stays on the chicken, but even if it doesn’t, the skin still cooks in with the dish, so the flavour and crispy bits are still there. I scooped them out with the chicken pieces, so they didn’t burn when the garlic was cooking.
Cook’s Notes for Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy
You’ll want serve this with something on the side to make the most of the delicious garlic gravy. My choice is usually a creamy mashed potato, but pasta or rice would also be nice.
At the risk of carb over-load, I’d even through a great crusty bread in to the mix, to dip in the gravy. Add a salad or veg for a complete meal. I love green beans or broccoli with this dish.
Updated: Since originally writing this post, I’ve taken to always browning up my skin-on chicken in a non-stick skillet and found it to be a foolproof method of keeping the skin on and getting it beautifully golden! Simply heat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the skin-on chicken, skin side down and allow to cook until deep golden, before flipping. Don’t rush it, this may take as much as 8-10 minutes depending on the size. Move the chicken around in the pan once in a while, to ensure even browning. Since my non-stick pan isn’t oven-proof, I will just transfer the works to an oven-proof skillet for the oven part. Yes, it’s one more pan to wash, but it’s non-stick so clean-up is easy and I never have to worry about getting all that the lovely chicken skin stuck to the pan :)
Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil vegetable, canola etc
- 6 pieces skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs (could use any skin-on chicken, such as breasts or drumsticks )
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 20 cloves garlic separated and peeled (2 full heads)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dry white wine anything you would drink
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or about 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves)
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
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Heat the oven to 400° F (205C) with rack in center of oven.
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In a oven-safe Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces well by patting them with a paper towel. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with a bit of salt and the pepper. Cook the chicken until well browned, turning regularly, for about 8 minutes in all then remove chicken to a plate. You can remove some of the fat in the pan if you have lots, but do leave enough to cook the garlic in the next step.
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Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, until it is starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre-heated 400° oven. (If you pot or skillet doesn't have a lid, you can tightly cover the top with tin-foil instead.)
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Remove the pot from the oven and put it on a burner. Be careful not to touch the hot pot! Remove the chicken pieces from the pot to a clean plate. Over medium-high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, thyme and a bit more salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until sauce thickens. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper, if it needs it. Add the chicken back to the pot to re-warm with the sauce. Serve spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
Recipe Notes
Be sure to read the "Cook's Notes" in the original post, for more tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!
More Great Chicken Thigh Recipes from Seasons and Suppers
Hi Jennifer,
I’m so happy I found your blog and this recipe. I made it for today’s lunch and it’s been a complete success among my diners. From now on, it’s going to be part of my recipes collection.
Thanks a lot for sharing it with us.
Lots of love from far Spain
Thanks so much, Yolanda :) So glad you all enjoyed it!
Came across your blog yesterday & made Rustic Chicken with Gravy last night, it was delicious. Thanks so much for a yummy supper!
Thanks so much, Mary! So glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks so much, Mary :)
So delicious! I made it with wild rice and crescent rolls. Loved the sauce with whole garlic cloves so much! I will just use a little less salt next time, and after the chicken was taken out to make the sauce, I noticed the chicken needed a little more time, so after the sauce was done, I put the chicken back into the sauce and put it back in the oven for 10 more minutes. It was so incredibly delicious soaking and bubbling in the sauce! Keeping this recipe. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it Tania and yes, the salt can easily get away on this one, as the amount of salt in the chicken stock will always vary. Thanks!
I’ve made this so many times. One of my favourites. I start with bacon first and cook the chicken in that. I also add mushrooms with the garlic. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks so much, Amy :)
Hi Jennifer! I made this for our Christmas dinner and it was probably one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever made. I’m planning on making it again this weekend…my only problem is that my guests cannot have wine. Is there a substitute I could use? If I left it out completely would it make or break the dish? Welp!
Hi Debbie, I usually suggest just replacing the 3/4 cup wine with that much more chicken broth, but adding something for a little acidity. A squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of white wine vinegar works well. Enjoy!
I’m going to make this tonight with boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets. Also since I have no patience, I’m going to use a small jar of chopped garlic.
Wish me well!
Enjoy Derease! The pre-peeled whole garlic is another option for those of us with no patience :)
I am going to try out this recipe right now. The only thing I’ll substitute is wine.
Enjoy Renata!
Absolutely fabulous. I was totally leery about the 20 cloves of garlic, but worry not! As long as you cook everything according to the directions, it is a fantastic dish.
My husband and son both gave this a “two-thumbs-up” – served with mashed spuds and steamed Brussels sprouts.
So glad you all enjoyed it, Sandra :) Thanks!
Could this be made with thick cut boneless center Pork loin chops?
Hmmm … I’ve never thought of making this with pork. I think it would taste fine, the only difference would be lack of meat juices for the gravy, so you’d probably have to up the added chicken stock. Let me know how it was if you try it :)
Hi Jennifer,
I found your recipe on pinterest and wow did it exceed my expectations! So good!!! I did half bone-in, skin-on thighs and half boneless, skinless chicken breast (because my hubby doesn’t like dark meat- weirdo). I don’t eat the skin but I think it gives this recipe so much flavor!! I served it over mashed potatoes. YUM!!! Hubby loved it so much he ate the second chicken breast after I went to bed. The leftovers heated up perfectly the next day!
Thanks for sharing!!
So glad you enjoyed this Tina and I agree, that the skin and bones adds that something extra :) Thanks!
When you stir in flour with garlic and put chicken back in oven in pot, does the flour not burn?
Hi Janice, no it won’t, as their will be liquid in the pan, so you will simply be thickening it (it won’t be dry flour in the pan).
This has been one of my favorite recipes to make since you first published it! It smells amazing while it’s cooking, and even though it’s so simple, it never fails to impress. I was just thinking about making this over the past week and it popped up on Pinterest. Must be a sign! I’ve always made mine in a Dutch oven and never had any problems.
So glad to hear, Chandra :) Thanks!
I happen to be finishing off the last of our Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy as I type. This is utterly delicious! It’s as good leftover and reheated as it was when freshly cooked. A definite winner!
Thanks so much, Janet! So glad you enjoyed it :)
The garlic cloves are left whole? That’s new to me.
Yes they are. If you don’t leave them whole in this one, the garlic would burn. And burnt garlic is not a pleasant taste :)
Wow! I just tried this recipe and it was even better than I expected. Thank you!
So glad to hear, Lynette! Thanks :)
Hi Jennifer. I am new to your blog and am greatly anticipating cooking from your recipes, which look wonderful.
Thought I would share an insight I recently garnered from two of Bon Appetit’s chicken recipes, given your observation that initially your chicken thighs stuck when browning. The writers at Bon Appetit suggest blotting the thighs with paper towel before seasoning and then placing them, skin side down, in a cold, dry Dutch oven. Turn heat to medium and leave them be for 15 to 20 minutes. Apparently as the pan heats the thighs begin to release fat and they get lovely and brown.
Hi Jane and thanks so much! I will definitely try that suggestion, though I have to say, I have taken to just grabbing my non-stick pan when it comes time to sear skin-on chicken. Never, ever sticks and crisps up beautifully. Of course, it always means an extra pan to wash unfortunately ;)