Garlic Butter Chicken — Tender, juicy chicken bathed in a rich garlic butter sauce with a splash of wine for extra flavor!! This EASY stovetop chicken recipe is ready in 15 minutes and will become a family FAVORITE!!
Skillet Garlic Butter Chicken Recipe
If you’re in need of a fast and easy 15-minute chicken dinner, this comforting garlic butter chicken breast recipe will be a new family favorite. It’s made in one skillet, which is great because there’s less cleanup.
The chicken is pan-fried on the stove-top and is so tender, juicy, rich and buttery tasting with plenty of garlic to provide that extra punch of flavor.
Serve this chicken with rice on the side or a nice salad, and you’ve got yourself a winning chicken dinner.
If you’re in need of another garlic butter recipe, this Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon is to die for! Or if you’re looking for a similar skillet chicken recipe that is great for busy weeknights, don’t miss this Lemon Butter Dijon Skillet Chicken.
What’s in Garlic Butter Chicken?
For this fast garlic butter chicken dinner made with common fridge and pantry ingredients, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 21 Salute Seasoning (or poultry seasoning)
- Salt
- Pepper
- White wine or chicken broth
- Butter
- Garlic
- Fresh parsley, optional
How to Make Garlic Butter Chicken
To make this quick and easy chicken with garlic sauce, simply pound the chicken to an even thickness and then heat up a skillet!
- To a large skillet, add olive oil, chicken breasts seasoned with 21 Salute Seasoning, salt, pepper, and sear on the first side for about 5 minutes.
- Flip chicken oven and cook on the second side for about 5 minutes.
- When the chicken is done and cooked through, remove it from the pan and allow it to rest on a plate.
- Deglaze your pan with a splash of wine, add the butter, garlic, and cook for one minute, or until the butter has melted and the garlic is fragrant.
- Return the chicken to the pan, toss it in the garlic butter sauce, garnish with parsley, and serve.
I told you this chicken in garlic sauce was fast and easy!
What Type of Wine Should I Use?
Use whatever dry white wine you have open or on hand. Chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or even a dry rose is fine. Just make sure it’s not sweet.
Whatever white wine you buy, make sure it’s one you’d happily drink and NOT a wine labeled as “cooking wine.” (Those just taste awful).
Can I Omit the Wine?
If wine isn’t fitting for you, use chicken broth instead. Note that the alcohol in the wine burns off and what you’re left with is a richer flavor in the garlic butter sauce.
Can I Substitute the 21 Salute Seasoning?
I used Trader Joe’s 21 Salute Seasoning, which is mixture of oregano, thyme, rosemary, and more.
Use poultry seasoning or a mixture of those spices if you don’t have 21 Salute. Readers have also said that Costco’s Signature Organic No-Salt Seasoning is a dupe for the Trader Joe’s spice blend.
The flavor of the seasoning is going to be masked by the garlic anyway. Garlic always wins!
Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead?
Yes! This stove-top chicken recipe works with both chicken breasts and thighs. I prefer using boneless skinless chicken breasts, but use whichever you have.
Just note that chicken thighs may have a different cook time. Use your eyes and not the clock!
What Type of Garlic Should I Use?
I prefer using fresh garlic that I mince with a garlic press when making this easy chicken recipe, but jarred minced garlic works just as well.
I prefer fresh garlic since the flavor is, well, much fresher — but use what’s easiest for you.
Can I Add Vegetables to the Chicken?
Technically, yes. But I specifically designed this recipe to be quick, easy, and made in a single skillet in about 15 minutes.
Adding veggies would complicate the cooking process and prolong the cook time. If you’d like vegetables with your garlic chicken, I recommend steaming or roasting some in another pot. That way, everything cooks at the same time!
Tips For Making Garlic Butter Chicken Breasts
You need to pound your chicken to an even thickness so that it cooks evenly. Chicken breasts have a thick side and a thin side and you want to pound the thick side so it’s not as thick.
Pounding also breaks down muscle fibers so the finished chicken is more tender.
When you’re searing the chicken, just let it be. Don’t touch it, move it, peek on it, just let it sear. After 5 minutes, check on it, and if it needs a little more time, go for it, and then flip it over and allow it to remain undisturbed as well while searing on the second side.
After searing, your pan (if using a stainless steel or cast iron pan) is going to have lots of chicken bits and cooking juices stuck to it. This is where deglazing comes in. Meaning, you add either wine (or chicken broth) to the pan to remove the stuck-on bits of food.
Adding wine or even chicken broth to a very hot skillet will cause the liquid to bubble up with lots of ensuing steam. Be careful!
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Garlic Butter Chicken
Tender, juicy chicken bathed in a rich garlic butter sauce with a splash of wine for extra flavor!! This EASY stovetop chicken recipe is ready in 15 minutes and will become a family FAVORITE!!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness (4 average-sized breasts)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons 21 Salute Seasoning or poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 cup white wine* or chicken broth, or as necessary
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, or more if you want extra sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced; or to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil, pounded chicken, evenly season with 21 Salute, salt, pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Do not touch, move, or disturb the chicken while it is searing. After 5 minutes, flip chicken over. It should have a medium golden color. For thicker/bigger chicken breasts, sear for 6-7 minutes.
- Allow chicken to cook on the second side for about 5 minutes, or until done and cooked through. Again, do not disturb the chicken while it's searing.
- Remove chicken with a slotted spatula and place it on a plate to rest.
- Using caution, deglaze your skillet by adding wine (or broth) and allow the liquid to bubble up and steam violently for a few seconds.
- Add the butter and allow it to melt, about 1 minute; stir continuously until melted.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes; stir continuously.
- Turn the heat off, add the chicken back into the skillet, flip it around in the garlic butter sauce, and spoon the sauce over the chicken.
- Optionally garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Wine: I recommend white wine because I think the flavor is better than with chicken broth, and I personally believe that the alcohol burns off, and what you're left with is the flavor imparted by the wine. However, use broth if that is a better option for your lifestyle or needs.
Storage: Chicken will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 2936mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 15g
More Quick and Easy Chicken Recipes:
Creamy Dijon Chicken Skillet —Tender, juicy chicken bathed in a divine cream sauce made with garlic, cream, Dijon mustard, and a splash of wine for extra flavor!! This restaurant-quality EASY stovetop chicken is ready in 20 minutes and will be a family FAVORITE!
15-Minute Honey Mustard Skillet Chicken — If you like dipping your chicken in honey mustard, you’re going to LOVE every bite of this chicken that’s coated in homemade honey mustard sauce!! Fast, EASY, juicy, tender, and made in one skillet!!
Lemon Butter Dijon Skillet Chicken – Tender, juicy chicken with a scrumptious sauce made with lemon butter, Dijon mustard, and a splash of wine for extra flavor!! This EASY stovetop chicken recipe is ready in 15 minutes and will become a family dinner FAVORITE!!
One Pan Lemon Butter Chicken and Potatoes – A DELICIOUS family dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes and full of lemon buttery goodness!! ONE PAN keeps things EASY for you with less dishes!!
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I made this recipe using vegan butter, chicken broth (made from bouillon), and added more garlic. My kids are very picky eaters, and one has severe food allergies. This recipe was a huge hit for everyone in my family! My kids said that this recipe was a keeper.
Thanks for the 5 star review and great to hear it was a hit among the picky eaters and that you were able to adapt the recipe for the food allergies hence the vegan butter I am guessing. Great to hear!
Thank you for this recipe! We really enjoyed this, it is definitely a keeper! I can’t wait to try your other chicken recipes. :)
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this is a keeper!
Quick, easy and delicious. Even my picky husband liked it. I used chicken tenderloins because that’s what I had in the freezer.
Thanks for the 5 star review and that’s great that even your picky hubby liked it and that the tenderloins from your freezer worked fine!
Absolutely delicious! But my sauce never really thickened. I made it exactly as the recipe is written. Any tips or idea of my mistake?
I am glad it was delicious and thanks for the 5 star review!
You can see in my photos that my sauce is by no means ‘thick’. There’s no cornstarch nor flour to thicken this simple pan sauce so it doesn’t get thick, and it adds moisture and flavor without being a thick sauce.
My 16 year old son found this recepi on Pintrest and said, mum will you help me make this, so we did last night while my partner took care of the chips and rice, wowser this was delish and there was nothing left over, will make again, thanks for sharing and hope you´re having a nice Sunday, greetings from Manchester :)
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad your 16 year old son found this on Pinterest and you decided to give it a try and that you’ll make this over and over again!
Greetings from San Diego as well!
This was fast, easy and delicious!! Thank you!! Didn’t change a thing!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was fast, easy, delish, and you didn’t change a thing!
I’m assuming you drain the olive oil before deglazing the pan?
No because by the time you’re at the point of deglazing, there’s really not much to “drain”. It’s all been used or absorbed into the chicken or into the pan and the point of deglazing is to loosen up all the crusty and dried out bits on the bottom of the pan and that’s what you have in this recipe if using a nice stainless steel pan (never nonstick for a recipe like this).
Found this in a search last minute. It was so good. I made it as the recipe calls, I used the chicken broth because I did not have wine on hand (but will try with the wine next time) Family loved it, thanks so much!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that you found this at the last minute and loved it, even without the wine!
My husband who is a very picky eater really enjoyed this recipe! I will be making it again z
Thanks for letting me know and glad it was picky eater approved and you’ll make it again!
I love your butter chicken very tasty and easy to makeDr Salim
How do I print the recipe? I downloaded the app but whenever I click print I get redirected to another site and the recipe does not print.
You click on the big aqua PRINT button within the recipe card section, and it should open in a new window or tab and you can print easily from there.
How much of each ingredients do you use??
Scroll down to the recipe card section and everything is listed.
I’ve recently made your, Orange Chicken! And, it was absolutely delicious! Thank you!
That’s so great to hear, thank you!
This was a big hit with the family, especially my daughter who is really picky. After she actually ate all her food, she asked for more later. Really good!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was a hit even with your daughter!
this was delicious. it will be a staple in may house full of man-boys, for sure!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that this is going to be a staple in your house!
Oops, Averie (sorry MS it)
Avery, can I bake this chicken too? I need to make a large batch and it’ll save me time to bake them while making other things.
Love
Your
Food
So delish!
#houstontx
Thanks so much!
And yes, you can bake this too.
Almost 3,000 sodium PER serving??? That has to be calculated wrong. Where is the majority of the sodium coming from? I used salt free poultry seasoning and no salt added chicken broth.
Yes it’s a computer-generated program that’s a courtesy estimate and not always perfect. I’m sure this is high. You can calculate by hand to know a more precise count if needed.
Omg this was so delicious!!! The only thing I added was lemon juice, so flavorful!! I will be making this again!! I paired it with rice pilaf and steamed broccoli with lemon pepper..
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was so delicious and that you will make it again!
I made this tonight and everyone loved it! I added a squeeze of some fresh lemon at the end, and everything tasted great!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad everyone loved it! Fresh lemon juice is always a great way to finish off a dish, too!
I made this earlier in the day to serve at night. should i reheat in the sauce or once its turned in the sauce then put in a separate pan without the sauce?
I would reheat it over low heat in a skillet with all the sauce so that it doesn’t dry out. Keep it all together is my advice.
The final product was delicious and I was praised by the family. However, I made a huge error in not reading through the recipe before cooking. I didn’t pound the chicken breast pieces to make them of even thickness!! Near disaster as I had to hover over the cooking chicken to make sure they were done. This made the sauce very dark. Plus, I used a cast iron skillet that I thought was clean, but there was a dark residue. I will try your other recipes and promise to read thoroughly!
Thanks for the 5 star review and yes always good to read in advance the recipe you’re making but sounds like you prevailed and all came out great! I am very very thorough in my writing and leave nothing to guesswork or chance but yes you have to read it all first :)
I made this tonight for our family and was delicious! We made it with a side of rice. The sauce was a little watery, but great flavor, so we put some on the rice as well. My thighs were thick, so took a little longer to cook, but we will make this again for sure!
I am glad it was delicious and that you will make it again for sure!
This is delicious! We have made this a few times and we all love it. I use half chicken broth and half white wine and zero complaints at dinner time from the fam. Also, I love Trader Joe’s but I found a replica of the 21 Salute Seasoning at Costco! It’s their Organic No Salt Seasoning with the same blend of the 21 spices. Really good buy!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you’re all loving it! I did not know about that Costco seasoning, I will definitely be on the lookout for it, thanks for the tip!
I’m making this tonight , not a wine person so I’m hoping the white wine I bought will work . Said it went well with shrimp and chicken so I bought it . My 4 year old was getting impatient in the wine selection 😆 wish me luck because this sounds amazing
Hope that you loved it!
Why is the sodium content so high? It is over the recommended daily allowance. I am going to make this…give it a whirl but the sodium level is very disconcerting.
It’s a computer generated program and not perfect. And obviously you aren’t going to drink the sauce out of the skillet which is where the sodium is laying.
This was great! I was skeptical making it because I rarely go out of my comfort zone but it came out great! The wine was the cherry on the top. Love it
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was great and that you went out of your comfort zone!
Made this twice already after having discovered this recipe 3 weeks ago. It’s a huge hit at our house! We use white cooking wine and it still tastes amazing! We also make garlic mashed potatoes to go along with it. Yum!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this has been a hit for you since discovering it!
I made the trip to Trader Joe’s and got the 21 Salute Seasoning and used white wine to deglaze. It was a big hit and deserves more than 5 stars. The sauce is thin, as it should be for this recipe. I do a lot of chicken recipes and found this was a wonderful change from the thick cheesy high calorie sauces. Moist and delicious. Can’t wait to make it for guests. Easy to make, as well, is always a big plus when you have company. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the 5 star review and for saying it deserves more than 5 stars!
I agree, thick, heavy, cheesy, it’s nice (not for the waistline) at times but I am glad you enjoyed this thinner sauce and will make it again!
I plan on making this tonight, but I have chicken breast that I’ve already filet and are thin. I’m praying this works for me cause this recipe sounds delish.
It will be fine, just cook/sear them for less time overall. Will depend on their exact thickness but they will cook fast.
This recipe was AMAZING! I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was amazing and you’ll make it again!
Can I use thighs?
Yes they may need to cook a bit longer but yes fine.
This was amazing. Even my dad who is a picky eater loved it. Thank you and I will definitely be making this for my family again. ❤️☺️
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that even your dad enjoyed this!
Hello,
I love your recipe.
Could you do this with a whole chicken in the oven? And for how long on what degree? Thank you for your time.
https://www.averiecooks.com/sheet-pan-whole-roasted-chicken-potatoes/ this is how I roast whole chickens. You would then have to work on how to incorporate the rest of the flavors from the garlic butter chicken.
Do I have to use boneless
No you can use bone-in but note that the cooking time could vary a bit.
This chicken was so good!!!!! And easy! It can see this as my new favorite !
Glad to hear it was great and that it could be a new favorite for you!
Can this be done in crockpot? If so, what should be followed?
The recipe is so fast and easy, designed for the stovetop and ready in 15 minutes. Using a Crock Pot would just over-complicate something so easy and drag it out for hours. My advice is to make it as written on the stove.
Substitute to 21 salute seasoning?
Read the blog post and recipe. Substitution is provided.
Loved it 🥰 Used ingredients without measuring and still came out amazing. I like fast, tasty and easy meals. It is full of good stuff too. Served it with basmati rice cooked in chicken broth and saffron.
Thanks for the five star review and glad you loved it and didn’t even need to measure the ingredients, my kind of cook!
Just found this recipe – we tried it tonight – 9/28/21 – we chose to use chicken broth and jar crushed garlic – it was a great success – the whole family loved it – we served it with cheese tortellini covered in butter and Parmesan cheese and steamed broccoli !
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this was a big success and the whole family loved it!
This was so good! I didn’t have wine so used broth but still it was so full of flavor.
I’m glad it turned out so well, even without wine!
This recipe is simple but so delicious ! My chicken came out moist and flavorful. I didn’t have the recommended seasoning so I did my own blend, but it was so good! The buttery juice over the chicken was a hit, my husband praised the flavors!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this was a winner for you and your husband!
Very good! I just moved so didnt have poultry seasoning, just salt and pepper. Also sub’ed water for wine but still turned out tasty. Made with roasted potatoes and salad. Best part is leftovers – the butter and garlic on day 2 made the chicken even better. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it and the leftovers even better!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that it was fine without the wine nor poultry seasoning and that it was even better on day two!
Very good! I can’t have dairy so I used plant butter and it was still good! The sauce was thin like a broth so I added just a tiny amount of flour to thicken it up a little!
Thanks and glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I made this tonight and it was a hit! Very easy to make and really good. I couldn’t find any regular poultry seasoning at the store but I found beer can chicken seasoning and used that which I’m sure is probably the same, haha! Hubby really liked this!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a hit!
Made this tonight very good need to get to Trader Joe’s to get the right spice. Did use poultry seasoning looked more like broth. But will make this again. Served with mashed potatoes. Poured sauce them as well.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you’ll make this again! I think TJ’s seasoning is better than your average poultry seasoning and I bet you will agree once you try this with that.
You’re saving me on an uncreative pandemic morning! This will be dinner this evening. Easy peasy, and I have all the ingredients. Thank you and have a lovely Monday.
Awesome! Well I hope you enjoy it or already enjoyed it and that it was a winner!
Excellent recipe, very tasty, enjoyed this very much!