Go Back
+ servings
close up shot of chicken in skillet garnished with parsley
Print Recipe
5 from 44 votes

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!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Universal
Servings: 4
Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

  • Large Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
  • Shallow Dish (for dredging)
  • Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
  • Jug (for stock)
  • Tongs

Ingredients

  • 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 until it starts to thicken, then turn down the heat to low and add the chicken back in. Spoon over the sauce then serve up with extra sauce drizzled over and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste (optional - see notes).

Video

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.39g | Protein: 30.72g | Fat: 19.52g | Saturated Fat: 9.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.452g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.095g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 690mg | Potassium: 499mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.54g | Vitamin A: 496IU | Vitamin C: 1.8mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1.32mg