Garlic Chicken is a delicious dairy-free dinner recipe that’s easy enough for weeknights and refined enough for special occasions. Made with chicken, garlic, olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Serve this recipe over Mashed Potatoes or alongside risotto and Garlic Bread.
Roasted Garlic Chicken is a family favorites recipe that we’ve been making for years.
My husband first discovered the recipe from Alton Brown about 5 or 6 years ago and we make it a lot for meal prep and family get-togethers.
You might also know it as 40 Cloves And A Chicken, yup, that’s right, this recipe uses 40 cloves of garlic – and it’s SO good!
I love how easy it is, but the flavor is incredible for such a simple recipe.
How To Make Garlic Chicken:
This is such an easy recipe to make, the longest part of the prep is unwrapping all of the garlic cloves (but this garlic peeler tool will make that go a lot quicker!)
Begin by searing your chicken in a little bit of olive oil to get a nice golden color on the outside, then place it in the baking sheet with the remaining olive oil.
Next, add in all of your peeled garlic cloves, making sure to scatter them fairly evenly.
Finally, place the sprigs of thyme on top of the garlic and chicken and bake.
The end results are super juicy chicken loaded with amazing garlic flavor and a hint of thyme. The best part, those roasted garlic cloves are amazing when spread on fresh bread, use the now infused olive oil at the bottom of the dish for dipping too!
Needless to say, this dish is a winner for anyone who loves garlic. However, I promise all those cloves aren’t too overpowering!
The addition of salt and pepper, plus fresh thyme, make the chicken extra tasty. It’s also slathered in olive oil then seared until golden brown before it bakes in the oven.
Garlic Chicken is crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. I love how easy it is to make, and the flavor is incredible for such a simple recipe.
In fact, we often make this meal when we host guests for dinner. After a little prep, most of the cooking time is hands-off as it bakes 65-70 minutes in the oven.
And that’s the perfect amount of time to enjoy some pre-dinner Margaritas if you ask me!
The other thing I love about Garlic Chicken is that you can serve it with lots of different sides. It’s delicious over rice, served with fresh steamed vegetables or with a heaping scoop of mashed potatoes.
40 Cloves And A Chicken can be the star of a scrumptious pasta dish. Just drizzle with olive oil, mix in steamed spinach or broccoli, and top with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.
I’ve even sliced the chicken breasts and added them to a crunchy kale salad. This is a great way to enjoy leftovers, although it’s so yummy, there may not be any!
Garlic Chicken is one of those versatile recipes you’ll want to keep handy.
Whether you’re looking for a tasty weeknight meal, a sophisticated dinner to serve guests, or a creative way to use up a package of chicken breasts, this one fits the bill!
This wholesome dinner has been a favorite in my family for a while. I hope it becomes a crowd-pleaser in your home, too!
Roasted Garlic Chicken
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This post was originally published in August 2013 and was updated in February 2019 with new content and photos.
Roasted Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
- 40 garlic cloves peeled
- 10 fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Rub the chicken with salt and pepper and add half of the chicken to the skillet and sear it on all sides until golden brown, repeat with the remaining chicken, using an extra tablespoon of chicken if needed.
- Once the chicken is seared, place it in a 9×13 inch casserole dish and pour the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil over it, add the garlic cloves to the pan, spreading it around evenly. Add the thyme to the pan and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the oven for 65 to 70 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Serve with rice or pasta or vegetables.
- Use the roasted garlic and olive oil on bread.
Video
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
- Can be made with bone chicken pieces, but will need to cook for closer to 90 minutes.
Miriam says
Wow! Love love love this recipe. Just made it tonight and i was in heaven. The garlic, wow! So tender. Happy. Gonna keep this as my go-to! So easy to make. Thank you!!
Elizabeth says
Hi, Can I ask you something? I dont understand the last step of baking. The meat should reach an optimal temperature 65 degrees F? Or degrees Celsia? And one more questin, I bake the whole chicken for 60 minutes. Isnt it for too long? Thank you very much for your answer.
Elizabeth
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for bringing that typo to my attention. I have updated to reflect an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. As for the length of time, this can vary oven to oven, once the chicken reaches 165 degrees it is cooked and safe to eat. It will not overcook at 60 to 70 minutes of baking time as the oil helps to keep it moist and juicy and the chicken is more likely to fall apart after this length of cooking. So it’s really up to you.
Richenda says
Hi Rebbeca,
Could you do this recipe in an instant pot?
Thanks
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Richenda, I’m sure you could but I don’t know how as I don’t use an Instant pot and have never tried this recipe in one.