Creamy garlic butter chicken – This one-skillet oven baked chicken could very well become your next favorite meal. The juicy drumsticks are baked together with chickpeas in a creamy sauce loaded with garlic, herbs and crushed black peppercorns. We nestle unpeeled garlic between the chicken, so it can slowly roast in the butter sauce and become tender and sweet, adding an incredible extra flavor. Afterwards the cloves go perfectly on crusty bread and you can mop up all of that delicious sauce.
Why you’ll love this oven baked chicken recipe
Serving Tips
- You can serve it with orzo, potato wedges, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or some crusty bread.
- Pair it with a simple side salad. Let’s make the most delicious chicken dish, shall we? Hands down. It’s amazing. Pure joy.
- Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
Can I use boneless-skinless chicken breasts?
Yes! Just scale the bake time back about 10 minutes, as they will cook through quicker.
Can I add more vegetables?
You can add more veggies like spinach or cauliflower, or swap the chickpeas for butter beans. This recipe is super flexible, it will still be amazing.
Storage
- Fridge: You can store the chicken with the sauce in airtight containers for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Simmer in a saucepan over medium on your stovetop, or reheat in the oven until heated through.
- Freezer: Because of the cream sauce, this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
More easy chicken recipes
Cooking Video: How to Make Creamy Garlic Chicken
Creamy Garlic Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 drumsticks or bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 can (400 g/14 ounces) chickpeas drained
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 whole garlic head
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup half and half or 20% fat cream, at room temperature
- 1.5 ounces grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 10 sage leaves or 1 tsp dried sage
Seasoning for the Chicken
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the chicken seasoning. Rub in the drumsticks with the seasoning until they're well-coated. Set aside.
- Mince the 3 garlic cloves.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add drumsticks and sear both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer onto a clean plate. Remove excess oil, leaving the brown bits in the skillet.
- Reduce heat to low, add butter, freshly ground black pepper and minced garlic. Stir until butter is melted and foaming, but not browned, about 2 minutes.
- Deglaze white wine, cook until reduced and no raw alcohol aroma remains, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and mustard. Bring to a boil. Add half-and-half, stir in chickpeas and parmesan. Season with salt.
- Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with thyme and sage. Trim the top off the head of garlic to expose the tops and nestle upside-down between the chicken.
- Place the skillet in the oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Squeeze out 2 or 3 roasted garlic cloves and add them to the sauce, smash with a fork. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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I made this last night and it was amazing! Thanks for posting this. My family has already asked that I make it again once this batch is eaten up.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it!
I made this tonight. I loved it. Unfortunately my family doesn’t like dark meat or thyme. I will definitely make again with breasts without thyme
Thank you Kathy! I am so happy to hear this!
Made this and everyone loved it!!! I used heavy cream because that’s what I had, and served it over a garlic rice with roasted cauliflower…. will definitely make it again😃
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for giving it a try!
What are the nutrition values for this recipe?
hi, Lorraine, you can find the nutritional values on the bottom of the recipe card.
When you are placing the garlic head in with the chicken, doesn’t the skin around the garlic come off and into the pot?
no worries, we cook the garlic undisturbed, then remove it from the skillet and squeeze out the garlic cloves. Hope you love it!
should i roast covered or uncovered – using le creuset roasting pan
Hi! Uncovered, hope you love the recipe!
I made this for dinner last night and it was ah mazing!!!
Definitely will make again and again.
I use organic chicken farm raised that I pick up from farmer, homemade chicken broth, and chick peas soaked and cooked for 3 hours……….what a difference.
Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
Sounds fabulous, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for making it!
What are you doing to prep the drumsticks? They don’t look like typical chicken drumsticks.
Hi, I bought these from a local farmer, he prepares them like this. Happy cooking!
I was surprised by how much flavor this dish has. It was delicious! I didn’t have sage, and I added kale. So good! This is my first recipe from your site and I can’t wait to make more.
Fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for giving it a try!
Is there something besides chickpeas or beans that you can use? Perhaps carrots?
Hi, you can use carrots, broccoli, spinach, roasted peppers… hope you love it!
Hi – do you have a recommendation for orzo as a side? Plain or do you have a nice recipe you suggest?
Hi, you can use the recipe from this one. Happy cooking!
This recipe is epic! Made it two days ago and while it took longer than I expected (my fault, I was doing too much at once including a side salad and orzo), and the garlic I nestled between the chickens didn’t get melted but were still a bit hard when the dish was served… but it was SO.DAMN.GOOD. I doubled the quantities for the seasoning though, for 4 big chicken breasts, and it wasn’t too much. Thank you for sharing, this one is a keeper!
Fantastic, that’s really nice to hear! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it!
Sooo good. I’m lovin it
Tried to make this. The cream instantly curdled the moment I put it in the pan. Disappointed. Won’t be making again
Hi Lindsay, so sorry you did not enjoy this recipe. I think the reason might be that you added cold cream, while the skillet was at a too high temperature. Have a wonderful weekend, Anna
What size is the skillet?
Hi, it’s 2.25 qt. Here’s a link for the measurements and more info. Happy cooking!
So glad to have stumbled over this recipe.
Made exactly to recipe with exception of replacing chick peas with cannellini beans and served with mashed potatoes. My husband, who is stingy with cooking compliments loved it.
Thank you Bambi! So glad you enjoyed!
This was easy, quick and delicious! The flavors were soooo good, with a little heat , I couldn’t stop eating it. I used bone in breast. I also used vermouth instead of white wine . I didn’t have a whole bulb of garlic but used large shallot’s instead. That’s the one sub I think I won’t do again but will try to have the garlic on hand.
Thanks for making!
Lovely recipe. Is it possible to share the contact for the farmer who provides you with the chicken thighs? Would love to buy such thighs from him/her. Thank you.
Hi, I’m so happy you like this recipe. I bought the chicken thighs at my local grocery store. They’re organic thighs, maybe you can try to search for thighs like these. Happy cooking!
I was quickly browsing instagram for inspiration for dinner and came across this recipe. I was blown away. It was so freaking delicious, complex flavor building. I tripped the seasoning and served with rice cooked in chicken broth. I will be making this for years to come.
Thank you so much Krystal! It makes me so happy to hear that!
I made this tonight and it was so good! I plan to keep it in the menu rotation for dinner. My only comment is that after only 30 minutes, the whole garlic wasn’t soft enough to squeeze out of the bulb.
Roasted garlic….30 minutes doesn’t seem to be enough time for the whole garlic bulb to roast and be soft enough to squeeze out at the end. Any suggestions?
Hi Anita, to achieve a softer texture, you can wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil and return it to the oven. If the garlic head was particularly large, try cutting it in half next time to speed up the roasting process. I hope these tips are helpful! Wishing you a fantastic day ahead!