In the mood for chicken and gravy? This delicious garlic chicken fits the bill perfectly and is a garlic lover’s dream. You’ll want to bust out the mashed potatoes to soak up every bit of this fabulous gravy!
This rustic chicken recipe features a fabulous garlic gravy, that’s tailor-made for spooning over mashed potatoes. Just a vegetable for a delicious chicken dinner!
What you’ll need
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 pre-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.
Chicken – As for the chicken, any cut will work here. I used skin-on/bone-in thighs and I left the skin-on for a more moist chicken. Boneless/skinless chicken thighs will also work here, as will chicken breasts, though the breasts will need longer in the oven to cook through. Be sure to check and test the chicken. It should be cooked to 165F internal temperature in the oven.
White Wine – the recipe specifies some wine to de-glaze the pan after it comes out of the oven. Any wine will do. If you don’t have wine on hand or you prefer not to use it, simply skip it and use 3/4 cup more chicken broth instead. If you skip the wine, you may like to add a little acidity to the gravy that the wine usually brings, maybe add a splash of fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar to the gravy. Just a teaspoon or so. It makes all the difference!
Other ingredients you will need – chicken broth, thyme (fresh or dried), flour, cooking oil, salt, pepper and butter.
Step-by-step photos
- Heat a bit of oil in a skillet, then place the chicken thighs into the skillet skin side down.
- After the skin is browned, flip and cook a few more minutes.
- Remove the chicken thighs to a clean plate.
- Add the garlic cloves to the skillet and cook, stirring, until golden.
- Add the flour to the skillet and cook with the garlic cloves briefly.
- Return the chicken to the skillet, cover the skillet and place into a 400F oven for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven.
- Remove the chicken to a clean plate.
- Start the gravy by heating the juice and garlic over medium-high heat on the stovetop.
- Deglaze the hot pan with the wine and cook for one minute, scraping up the browned bits, then add the chicken broth.
- Season the gravy with thyme, salt and pepper.
- Return the chicken to the pan and simmer with the gravy until re-warmed.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- Take your time browning the chicken and garlic to get some nice colour, for the best flavour and presentation.
- Don’t forget to taste your gravy at the end of cooking and add additional salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed, to really bring all the great flavours together.
- You can eat the cooked garlic or not, as you like :) If you don’t want to eat it, you can mash some of it and add it to mashed potatoes for garlic mashed potatoes.
What to serve with garlic chicken
You’ll want to 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 overload, I’d even throw a great crusty bread into the mix, to dip in the gravy. Add a salad or veg for a complete meal. I also love green beans or broccoli with this dish.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
You can make this chicken ahead, cover and refrigerate, then re-heat it later to serve. Simply reheat in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until the chicken is warmed through.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This chicken with gravy will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Rustic Garlic Chicken with Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil, for the pan
- 6 pieces skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs, or any skin-on chicken, such as breasts or drumsticks, about 2 lbs.
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 20 cloves garlic, separated and peeled (2 full heads) or start with pre-peeled garlic cloves
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, any kind, or alternately replace by using more chicken broth instead
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or about 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. (not fan-assisted)
- Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Dry the chicken pieces well by patting them with a paper towel. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs to the hot skillet, skin side down and cook until well browned underneath. Flip the chicken over and cook on the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate. *Chicken thighs can be fatty! If you have a lot of fat in the pan, you can remove and discard some of it, but do leave a bit in the pan to cook the garlic in the next step.
- Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring regularly, until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pan, COVER, and bake for about 15-20 minutes in the pre-heated 400°F oven (*If your pan or skillet doesn't have a lid, you can tightly cover the top with tin foil instead.) Be sure to cook until the chicken is cooked to 165F internal temperature. *Bone-in chicken breasts will take longer.
- Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a burner. *Be careful not to touch the panhandle! It's hot! Remove the chicken pieces from the pan to a clean plate. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute to cook off the alcohol. Whisk in the broth, thyme and a bit more salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until the gravy thickens. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper, as needed. Add the chicken back to the pot to re-warm with the sauce. Serve spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
Notes
- Take your time browning the chicken and garlic to get some nice browning, for the best flavour and presentation.
- If you’d like to make this with boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breasts, simply adjust the oven time accordingly, cooking the chicken until it is cooked through and reaches 165F internal temperature.
- You can eat the cooked garlic or not, as you like :) If you don’t want to eat it, you can mash some of it and add it to mashed potatoes for garlic mashed potatoes.
- If you’d like a thicker gravy, you can use a Beurre Manié, which is a fancy name for butter combined with flour, which is used as a thickener at the end of cooking. So instead of just adding 1 Tablespoon of butter at the end, you can rub 1 Tablespoon of flour into the butter instead, then add it a bit at a time to the pan, until the desired thickening is achieved. The additional flour will thicken the gravy more, without worry of lumps.
More Bone-in Chicken Thigh Recipes to Love!
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!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just tried it, Delicious! I made it with mashed potatoes and Honey biscuits. It was definitely a
welcoming change for the family.
Thank you kindly,
Mseve
Glad you enjoyed it and honey biscuits sound delicious!
Made this for dinner last night and served with mashed potatoes and it was so good! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Melinda!
Could I use an oven safe glass 9×13 and cover it with aluminum and bake as suggested? I sooooo want to try this but dont have suggested pan.
Thanks, Janet
Hi Janet, I would definitely brown the chicken and garlic in a fry pan on the stove top. If your frying pan can’t go in the oven then, yes, transfer it to an oven-proof dish and cover with foil as you suggest. Then after baking, transfer it all back to the original frying pan to finish cooking on the stove top. Enjoy!
I too use the fresh separated peeled garlic cloves that come in a jar. After using the number of cloves I need, I just put wax paper over the jar opening, screw the lid back on and pop the jar in the freezer. Then I always have peeled garlic cloves on hand. I do defrost the cloves before putting them in hot oil, but they don’t take long to defrost. Can’t wait to try this recipe – I’m sure we’ll love it!
I ve been looking for an autumn chicken recipe (without Marsala). I can t wait to try this. Would a little fresh tarragon alter the taste of the gravy too much? I have an abundance of it to use/give away. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Monica, I think a bit of tarragon or thyme would be nice in this dish.
My chicken left quite a bit of rendered fat. I drained a lot of it off before adding the garlic, but I’m not sure if that is a good idea. Any thoughts?
Mine did too, but I didn’t drain any off. That said, as long as you left some, I think you’ll be ok.
made this tonight with a side of creamy mashed potatoes and it was delicious. I used a jar of chopped garlic (forgive me!) because it’s all I had and it was still wonderful. next time I will make it with whole cloves! thanks for a fabulous recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Liz. I thought maybe chopped garlic would burn, but doesn’t sound like that was a problem. Good to know!
This looks like comfort food at its finest :-) Beautiful post and pictures… I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth :)
These pictures are making my mouth water! And a one pot meal! Yum. Can’t wait to try this!
Thanks Carrie. I love one pot meals, too!
Definitely going to make this tonight for my other half. However, my local supermarket only has boneless / skinless thighs, will this still work? And silly Scottish question, is chicken broth the same as chicken stock? Thank you!
Hi Sarah, Yes, it will still work. When thighs are skinless though, the meat can end up more dry, but less of an issue with thighs, which are a dark meat. And yes, I use chicken broth/stock interchangeably (even though they are a little different :) Either one will work.
Delicious! Glad I found this recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it, Dan :)
This looks great can’t wait to try it. Any recommendations on what type of wine to use?
Hi Britney, any dry white wine (that you would drink) would be fine.
Was wondering if there is a substitute for the wine?
Hi Shauna, You could substitute more chicken stock, maybe with a bit of of white wine vinegar for acidity. A diluted apple juice might work, as well. Or a combination of both :)
Made this last night and it was so gourmet tasting but so so easy. We had it with cornbread stuffing and it was delicious warmed up today for lunch!
Cornbread stuffing sounds like it would be delicious with this dish. So glad you enjoyed it!
I am in the Army. I have 24 hr. Duty in the barracks. I like to make a home cooked meal for the soldiers when I have duty. They are all very apreciatve of you sharing your recipe and you have made me look like a master chef! Just delicious! Thank
you!
That is so great, Colette! I am so honoured to have played a small part in bringing comfort food to those serving. Wonderful and so glad you all enjoyed it!