This one-skillet oven baked chicken could very well become your next favorite meal. The juicy thighs 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.
This one skillet meal is absolutely amazing. The chicken is incredibly moist and infused with the most delicious flavors. It’s fuss-free and tastes so good. A crowd-pleasing dish, a true back-pocket recipe to have in your arsenal.
You can serve it with orzo, potato wedges, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or some crusty bread, and a simple side salad. So 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 you use boneless-skinless chicken thighs or breasts? Yes! Just scale the bake time back about 10 minutes, as they will cook through quicker.
You can add more veggies like spinach or cauliflower, or swap the chickpeas for butter beans. This recipe is flexible, it will still be amazing.
More easy chicken recipes
Recipe Video
Calories Per Serving: 384 kcalCreamy Garlic Butter Chicken
Ingredients
seasoning
Instructions
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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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?
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 thighs? They don’t look like typical chicken thighs.
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!
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!