Of all the garlic chicken recipes out there, this is my favorite. But you should know three things. First, I confess that I have never, ever have used anywhere close to 40 cloves in this dish, and it always turns out fantastic.
Second, this is awesome…if you have never tasted roasted garlic, then you’re majorly missing out. Just like fresh onions are a totally different experience than caramelized onions…garlic also goes through a major flavor transformation in the oven. It mellows into a rich, sweet flavor when it’s roasted. It’s milder than garlic bread, and with none of the caustic burn that you find in fresh diced garlic that you’d come across in salsa.
Third, and most important: this is totally easy to make. We all love it.
I usually make this for a main dish with veggies on the side (like you see above), but I make enough leftovers to slice up and serve over a salad the next day. Or you can serve it over rice, over pasta with white sauce, on sandwich rolls…and if you love the flavor of roasted garlic, the extras are fantastic spread on garlic bread or in blended into homemade salad dressing.
It’s a very versatile player on the ‘planned over’ menu.
If you’re feeling more south of the border, this is another one of our favorite garlic chicken dishes: Lime Chicken Soft Taco Recipe (or Taco Salad if you’re so inclined.)
Here’s what you’ll need:
If you only have the jar of pre-chopped garlic, then I highly recommend waiting until you have some real (fresh) cloves. It’s just not the same.
The jars of garlic are pathetically impotent compared to fresh. I can’t even look them in the eye anymore.
Let’s get cookin’…
Put your chicken breasts into a 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Flip, repeat with salt and pepper, and load up with peeled garlic cloves.
Cover with foil, and pop it into a 400* oven for 20 minutes.
Remove foil, and sprinkle with fresh or dried parsley. The parsley adds a nice bit of color, and tames back the garlic flavor a bit. They are a nice pair in baked dishes, I think.
I wish you could smell how yummy this is. You could really add in some other flavors if you wanted to. I think sun dried tomatoes or olives would be yummy, and top it with feta cheese and some of the Greek spice mix.
Hope you enjoy this quick garlic chicken recipe. As always, here is your printable.
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil (or 2 Tbs. for a low fat/Fuel Pull version)
- 40* garlic cloves peeled (or less...I just peel until I get bored 🙂
- 1 t. dry parsley or 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- drizzle with oil and arrange in a single layer in a 9 x 13 inch dish.
- Scatter garlic cloves over chicken.
- Cover tightly with foil or a glass lid.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley and continue to bake, uncovered, 10 minutes longer until golden brown.
Step by step photo tutorial of this garlic chicken recipe are found here at: https://gwens-nest.com/family-favorite-recipes/garlic-chicken-recipe
Yvonne says
This looks delicious and ingredients I have ! Thank you for sharing. I look forward to trying this.
Collette says
Making this for dinner tonight. And just for fun, I counted your garlic cloves. You have… 41!!!! LOL
Gwen Brown says
Ha! Well, now we know. 😉 Hope you enjoy it!
Shannon says
Hi Gwen! Just coming across your site as I am just becoming a THM and I love it! I love all the details you incorporate. Question: about how much oil do you think I should use to make this a fuel pull?
Gwen Brown says
Hi Shannon! Thanks so much! 🙂
Keep it under a teaspoon per chicken breast. So if you’re doing 6 chicken breasts, then do a little less than 2 Tablespoons of oil. 🙂 Does that help?
Kathy says
Can I use coconut oil in place of olive oil?
Gwen Brown says
I’ve not tried it, but it would probably work just fine. 🙂
Cindy says
An easy way to peel your garlic. (I found it on the internet, and just tried it. It works!) Cut off the ends of the garlic cloves that were attached to the bulb. Place cloves in a sealed jar (mine was glass). Shake vigorously. Pour cloves out; remove any ‘papers’. Return the cloves to the jar, cover and shake again. Remove the last ‘papers’. Voila! Easy!
Gwen Brown says
Awesome tip! I need to try this!
susan says
Oh goodness, so sad that this just came in to my life. Amazing. I didn’t use but about 25 garlic clovesspread over 2 dishes and didn’t actually measure anything – still amazing!
Conney Keel says
Gwen, the mamas at THM have been talking this up recently. I tried it tonight for the first time. It was moist, tender chicken and perfectly cooked garlic. If I can pry the leftovers out of the family’s hands, it will make a delicious chicken salad. Thank you!!!