Garlic Chicken Recipe

Garlic Chicken is tender pan-fried chicken swimming in an umami, buttery and garlicky sauce. It is finished off with red chili flakes & black pepper for a mild heat and garnished with your favorite herbs. While the chicken is succulent, the sauce is addictively delicious and packed with plenty of flavor. If saucy chicken is your thing, you will absolutely adore this buttery Garlic Chicken! I have still kept the earlier Indian hot garlic chicken recipe for the old readers. You can find it above the recipe card.

To begin with diced chicken is coated with mixed Italian seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, salt, lemon juice and all-purpose flour and pan-fried. This is not a crisp fried chicken so we don’t deep fry here. However if you want you may oven bake or air fry or deep fry for crisp chicken. I have the instructions covered for that.

A rich and delicious savory sauce is prepared with butter, fresh minced garlic, flour and chicken broth. Pan-fried chicken goes into this sauce and finished off with black pepper and chili flakes. Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or rosemary if you want. This Garlic Chicken goes very well over rice, pasta and with flatbreads like naan or artisan breads. You can also make this ahead and refrigerate for 2 days.

This is not a spicy and hot dish but packs great flavors that any one will love. If you want to make it spicy and hot, you can add red chili powder and garam masala. On occasions I make this to go with flatbreads like naan or roti. Here is the picture of the same but spicy version.

Ingredients you need

• Chicken: I use 2 medium sized chicken breasts that I cut up to bite sized pieces. If you want you may cut them larger or use skinless chicken thighs.
• Garlic: We use fresh garlic and garlic powder. Fresh garlic is used to make the sauce and garlic powder to coat and season the chicken before pan-frying. I don’t suggest using fresh garlic to coat the chicken because it can burn easily. If you do not have garlic powder, you may simply use steak seasoning, though the flavors are different it still works.
• Flour: I use all-purpose flour to coat the chicken (before pan frying) and to thicken the garlic sauce. You can also coat the chicken with corn starch but I haven’t tried that for the sauce.
• Butter & Olive oil: Unsalted butter is used to make the sauce and olive oil to fry the chicken. If you want you may use any other cooking oil of choice.
• Italian seasoning/herbs: I use Italian seasoning, which is mix of various dried herbs like marjoram, basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley and thyme. You may use any one of these but start with lesser amounts.
• Chicken broth: I use chicken broth to make the garlic butter sauce. It adds flavor to the dish.

More chicken recipes you may like
Malai Chicken
Butter Chicken
Chicken Madras
Chicken Jalfrezi

Photo Guide

Step by step Photo Instructions

1. Gather the ingredients you need for the recipe.

2. Chop 550 grams (1.2 lbs.) chicken breasts (2 medium sized) to bite sized pieces and add to a mixing bowl. Pat dry with kitchen papers if required. Squeeze 2 tsps lemon juice (optional) and sprinkle the following:

• ¾ teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs/seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

3. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of organic all-purpose flour or ¼ cup corn starch. Use corn starch for a crispy chicken.

4. Coat the chicken and keep aside.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and fry the chicken for 3 mins on each side, until cooked through. A non-stick pan is best, else the flour gets stuck to the pan.

6. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same pan and add 1½ tablespoon minced garlic. Let fry on a low heat for 40 to 50 seconds.

7. Add 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour. If you want a spicy version of this you can either add a chopped green chili (serrano pepper) or half tsp red chili powder/ cayenne and 1 teaspoon garam masala.

8. Mix well and cook for a minute. Reduce the heat and pour the chicken stock.

9. Cook until the sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, for about 7 minutes. Add lemon juice, taste test and adjust salt to taste. Add the chicken. Make sure your sauce is thick before adding it.

10. Cook on a high heat until some of the sauce is absorbed, for 2 mins. If you want very thick sauce, cook a little longer.

11. Add black pepper or chili flakes or both.

Garnish Garlic Chicken with chopped parsley or rosemary. Serve over hot rice or flatbreads like naan, roti or artisan breads. You can also stir in cooked spaghetti or pasta.

Expert Tips

• Avoid over cooking the chicken. It can get chewy.
• Chicken coated with herbs, lemon and black pepper can be left in the refrigerator for an hour. This gives super tender chicken. But leaving it beyond that, can make it too soft and mushy.
• Crispy Chicken: If you want crispy chicken, coat the chicken in ¼ cup corn starch and deep fry until crisp. Add it to the thick sauce and serve immediately.
• To Bake – Preheat oven to 200 C or 400 F for at least 15 mins. Place the chicken pieces on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 to 25 mins or until the internal temperature reaches 165 F
• To Air fry – Place the chicken on an air fryer parchment paper (perforated parchment paper). Air fry at 375 F or 180 C for 8 minutes, flip them and air fry for another 3 to 4 mins depending on how dry or crispy you want it. Adjust the timings a bit as every air fryer is different.

Indian Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 300 grams boneless chicken cut to strips or ½ inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons yogurt / curd (do not use sour yogurt)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small onion chopped finely
• 5 to 6 dried red chilies or 3/4 to 1 tsp red chili powder
• 5 garlic cloves crushed
• ¾ tablespoon vinegar
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 15 to 30 ml Water (lesser, better) to blend
• 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves to garnish
• Onion wedges or rings and Lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

1. Mix together chicken, yogurt, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover and rest for a minimum of 15 mins to overnight in the refrigerator. This helps to tenderize the meat.
2. Blend together chilies or red chili powder, garlic, sugar, salt, vinegar and a tablespoon of water to a smooth paste.
3. Discard any runny liquid from the chicken and coat it with the prepared sauce. Rest aside for 5 mins, while you prep up the onions. You can also store it in the fridge overnight.
4. Heat a pan with oil and add cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle add the curry leaves and onions. Saute until light golden.
5. Add the chicken and saute on a high heat for 2 to 3 mins. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is tender, cooked through and the sauce begins to cling on to the chicken. If your pan dries out, cover and cook on a low heat.
6. Taste test and adjust salt, sugar or pepper to taste. The longer it is roasted, the sauce becomes more aromatic and tastier but the chicken tends to lose its tenderness. So take off from heat when it is to your liking. Take care not to burn, garlic burns faster.
7. Serve garlic chicken hot or warm.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card