Made with staple ingredients, this creamy garlic sauce is the quickest way to upgrade plain chicken or pasta in just 10 minutes, turning it into a meal that disappears.
Best-Ever Garlic Cream Sauce for Chicken
This creamy garlic sauce is my go-to when dinner feels basic. Poured over chicken, it becomes a creamy garlic chicken that’s always a winner and can be bulked up with pasta; it’s a one-pan meal that gets devoured by everyone.
It’s one of those recipes that makes people ask, “What is this sauce?” and it comes together in minutes while the rest of the dinner cooks. Sure, you can buy garlic sauce in a jar, but why? This is so much better.
Ingredients
Make this quick and delicious garlic sauce with butter, either salted or unsalted, garlic cloves, grated for the best texture, or swap garlic powder if that’s what you have. Italian seasoning for a hint of herbs (swap for thyme or oregano), plus chicken broth (or stock) as the base, and warmed heavy cream or half and half for a creamy texture.
How to Make Creamy Garlic Sauce
- Prep
Heat the cream slightly warmer than room temperature to prevent the sauce from separating. Make the slurry in a small dish, and set it aside. - Sauté the garlic and herbs.
Over medium heat so you don’t burn the butter. This step develops the sauce’s flavor. - Make the sauce.
Add the liquids, bring it to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook the sauce for 5 minutes. This will reduce the sauce a little. Then add the slurry, stir, and simmer for another minute to thicken the sauce. - Serve it as is or combine with pasta or chicken.
If you need a little more sauce, add up to ½ cup additional broth. Follow this epic garlic chicken and pasta recipe for a start-to-finish meal.
Tips for the Best Garlic Sauce
Yes, you can swap the fresh garlic cloves for 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder.
If you want to omit the cream, try my white wine sauce. Milk, even whole milk, is quite thin compared to cream or half-and-half and will yield a thinner sauce that often separates.
Adding a slurry to the sauce at the end will thicken it even more as it cools down slightly. The consistency is that of pourable gravy.
To thin it out or make more sauce, add ¼ to ½ cup of additional chicken broth while stirring the sauce over low heat.
Yes, this garlic cream sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance, then cooled and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To use it, warm it up in the microwave or in a pan.
Yes, it can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container or freezer bag as a full batch or in smaller portions. It can also be frozen with chicken as a heat-and-eat meal. Thaw it out in the fridge or submerged in water, then heat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
10-Minute Creamy Garlic Sauce
Watch how it’s made:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup chicken broth, or stock
- 1 cup cream, or half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Prep:
- Warm the cream in the microwave; not hot, just warmed to take out the chill and prevent it from separating, and grate the garlic. In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry and set aside.
Make the sauce:
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning, and sauté for about a minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth (or stock) and the warmed cream (or half and half) into the pan. Stir and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes to thicken. Add the slurry, stir, and simmer for one more minute. Turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken as it sits. If you need more sauce, you can thin it out with additional broth.
Serve:
- Pour the sauce over chicken breasts, combine it with pasta, or pour it over mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Swap fresh garlic for 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Swap the Italian seasoning for 1 teaspoon oregano or ½ teaspoon of dried thyme.
- Want to use fresh herbs? Finely mince the herbs and double the amount of dried.
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Mick Taylor says
Made this for chicken Kievs, huge hit a very yummy sauce. Easy to make.
Lisa says
This creamy garlic sauce looks so creamy and delicious, I love this and I bet it taste good. It’s so easy to make and I bet it would be great smothered over some chops also.