This Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken features seasoned pan seared chicken in a rich, savory, and creamy garlic Parmesan sauce with spinach! Big on flavor, low on effort, and keto friendly!
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Chicken is usually our answer to week night dinners, but it doesn’t have to be boring! This tender, juicy chicken is pan seared and then prepared with a creamy garlic Parmesan cheese sauce that makes this a weeknight meal everyone craves.
This is a restaurant quality meal that looks and tastes a little fancy, but is actually quite simple and all made in one pan.
We like to serve this Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken with some steamed green beans and then we drizzle the extra sauce over the top. It makes them taste very similar to our creamy garlic parmesan green beans, but you’re getting chicken with it! The sauce is also delicious over some asparagus – try it with our air fryer asparagus!
If you’re always looking for more chicken recipes, this mayo parmesan chicken has been a big hit in my house lately too. It’s got a savory, crispy, cheesy crust with that’s loaded with flavor.
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Sauce: The best part about this chicken recipe has to be the decadent garlic Parmesan cheese sauce! It’s so rich, creamy, and cheesy and perfect for coating the thin cut, sauteed chicken breast. This low carb sauce can be used for pork too!
- Easy: Made in one pan for minimal clean up! This dish is simple to prepare, but it looks like it came straight from a nice restaurant.
- Versatile: Serve this with some steamed green veggies on the side and drizzle the sauce over the top. If you have carb lovers in the house, some plain buttered pasta is great for soaking up the extra sauce too.
Ingredient Notes:
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For the chicken:
Chicken – I’m using thinly sliced chicken breasts for this as they cook quickly and evenly. You could also just pound out some larger chicken breasts. Boneless chicken thighs could also work here too, just adjust the cook time as needed.
Seasoning – We’re seasoning this chicken with salt, cracked pepper, and Italian seasoning. You can add any other seasonings here that you like too.
Olive Oil – For sautéing the chicken.
For the garlic Parmesan sauce:
Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter. You’ll melt the butter in the pan so it’s okay to start with cold butter.
Garlic & Onion – These will add lots of flavor to the sauce, especially all that minced garlic. Feel free to leave out the onion for picky eaters.
Spinach – The spinach will cook down quite a bit and melt into the sauce. This is a great way to introduce spinach to young kids or picky adults.
Cream & Cheese – You’ll need heavy cream, cream cheese, and Parmesan to get things creamy and saucy.
Salt & Black Pepper – More or less to taste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations:
There’s a few ways you can change this recipe up to make it your own.
If you’re not a fan of the spinach you can leave it out, or swap it for kale!
A bit of lemon juice can add some zesty flavor, and red pepper flakes or Cajun seasoning would add some spicy heat.
You could also mix in freshly chopped herbs like parsley, thyme, or basil.
Step by Step Instructions:
Season the chicken and cook in a skillet until cooked through to 165 degrees. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Cook the onions until softened and then stir in the spinach and let that wilt. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add the cream and cream cheese to the skillet and whisk until smooth and hot. Stir in the Parmesan and whisk until melted.
Return the chicken to the pan to warm back up and drizzle a bit of the sauce over the top of the chicken.
I love using this meat thermometer for making sure the meat is fully cooked! Easy for beginners & absolutely worth the low cost. Just stick it in the thickest part of the meat to check for doneness. This thermometer is also magnetic so it’s easy to store right on the side of the fridge or oven for easy access! Get it on Amazon.
Helpful Tip!
Storage & Freezing:
You can store the chicken and sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. It can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
We have not tried freezing this recipe and I’m not sure if the sauce will hold up well after freezing, thawing, and reheating.
Leftover Hack!
Dice up any leftover chicken and store it with the cream sauce. Saute a bunch of vegetables in a skillet and then pour the chicken and cream sauce over the top and let everything heat through. This is a delicious way to get two meals out of one!
Recipe FAQs:
Our garlic parmesan sauce is made with butter, garlic, heavy cream, cream cheese, and shredded Parmesan. We also add in sauteed onion and spinach for texture and flavor.
If you want to adjust the consistency of the garlic Parmesan sauce you can easily do so. To thin it out, add a bit more heavy cream. You could also add some chicken broth. For a thicker consistency add more Parmesan or cream cheese.
It’ll mostly depend on the thickness of the chicken breast and how hot you get the pan. We use thin cut chicken breast so it only takes about 4 to 5 minutes to cook through to a safe internal temp of 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness!
More Weeknight Favorites!
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 4 thin sliced chicken breasts see notes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the chicken:
- Season the chicken on both sides with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook on both sides for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
To make the sauce:
- Using the same pan you cooked the chicken in, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and soft.
- Add the spinach to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes, until wilted.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant.
- Add the heavy cream and cream cheese to the pan and cook over medium low heat, whisking constantly, until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is hot. Stir in the Parmesan and continue whisking until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. We used about ½ teaspoon of each.
- Return the chicken to the pan and cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes to rewarm the chicken.
April Moisant says
Do you have any recipe’s on making nacho’s and cheese? I’ve looked up some on you-tube and it didn’t turn out that good.
Karly Campbell says
No, sorry. I do have a cheese sauce on the site you could use, but I don’t have a recipe for chips. I’d probably use low carb tortillas and air fry them. 🙂