In the mood for chicken with gravy? This delicious, one-pan, chicken with garlic gravy 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!
Why I love this chicken with garlic!
This one-pan, chicken with gravy dinner is so delicious, it’s in regular rotation in my household! It’s my go-to chicken dinner when I’m craving gravy!
I also love this dish because the chicken is wonderfully moist and browned and the gravy is rich and chock full of garlic. Twenty cloves worth! But you’d never know it, because the garlic gets browned and softened and changes into sweet bits of flavour, much like the beautiful mellow flavour of roasted garlic.
Ingredients and Substitutions
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-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 do. I used skin-on/bone-in thighs here and I leave 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.
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 tsp 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.
Cook’s Notes
- 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 overload, I’d even throw a great crusty bread in to 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.
- I like to always brown up my skin-on chicken in a non-stick skillet. I’ve 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. Just make sure your non-stick pan is oven-proof (most are these days), but if not, simply transfer to an oven-safe pan or dish.
- 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.
Get the Recipe: Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil, vegetable, canola etc, 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)
- 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 the pepper. Add the chicken thighs to the hot skillet, skin side down and cook until well browned underneath. Flip chicken over and cook on the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove 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 starting to brown, 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 minutes in the pre-heated 400° oven (*If you 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. *Chicken breasts will take longer.
- Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a burner. *Be careful not to touch the hot pan handle! Remove the chicken pieces from the pan to a clean plate. 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 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
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!
Excellent! The only thing I added was 3 tablespoons of flour instead of 2. I will definitely be making again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Sue! Thanks so much :)
Very good!
So glad you enjoyed it, Shelley :) Thanks so much!
Delicious. Family and I enjoyed it. I used boneless, skinless thighs because that’s what I had on hand. Added broccoli at the end, and served over rice. Quick and easy. Thanks!
So glad you all enjoyed it, Donna! Thanks so much :)
So good! Fun to cook as well. Definitely the potatoes brought it together. Will be cooking this many more times.
So glad you enjoyed it, Leon :) Thanks!
This recipe is amazing !! I have three girls under the age of 12 and my youngest is a super picky eater . My whole family cleans their plates when I make this. I also loved that the directions were clear and easy to follow. This has truly become one of my family’s favorite meals . Thank you so much for sharing your recipe !
So glad you are all enjoying it, Lyndsey! Thanks so much :)
This is one of my favourite chicken recipe and have shared this with many of my friends.
One friend commented how her husband was licking the plate, gravy so delicious.! I agree!
So glad to hear, Alice! Thanks so much :)
If I use roasted garlic instead of the raw garlic, would I use the same amount?
Hi Chris, I’m not sure. I’ve only ever made this with raw garlic.
I tried a different recipe a few days ago and thought it may work here.
Could you add between 1/2 cup 1 Cup of raw rice the last 15 – 20 minutes a final cooking time so the rice can cook in the sauce maybe you need to add 1/2 cup chicken stock before before adding rice just give it a little more liquid. This way you already have the rice and mixed in with sauce
Hi Bonny, yes you could. You would definitely need to add more liquid to cook the rice properly. If you try it, let me know how it worked out :)
Just finished cooking this! Made my husband a plate to take for his supper at work and had to eat a little of the gravy over mashed potatoes now! So good!!!!! Will definitely make again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Martha! Thanks :)
HI
I just found this on pinterest and am making it today. It sounds amazing. I only have skinless boneless chicken breast but I’m making it anyway. Thank you.
Enjoy, Tina :)
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 had to give up wine for a while and many of our family favorite recipes called for white wine. I actually reduced the added salt and splashed in a little liquid from a jar of green olives and it had a taste that was close to adding the wine.
Good idea! Thanks :)
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 ;)