Garlic Butter Chicken
Golden pan-seared chicken breasts finished in a silky garlic butter pan sauce, brightened with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon. A restaurant-style dinner ready in about 30 minutes.
- 2 (9 ounce) chicken breasts, brought close to room temperature
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided into tablespoon chunks
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges, to serve (optional)
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until evenly combined.
- Butterfly each chicken breast horizontally through the center to create 4 even-sized pieces. Dredge each piece in the seasoned flour one at a time, pressing gently so it's evenly coated on both sides, then shake off any excess and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and fry until golden brown on each side and cooked through in the center, about 3 to 5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic to the same pan, letting it fry for 1 to 2 minutes until it just starts to turn golden. Pour in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon — this is where a lot of the sauce's flavor comes from.
- Add the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and whisk briskly and continuously as it melts into the stock; the sauce should turn slightly cloudy and start to come together into a cohesive emulsion. Stir in the parsley and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it begins to thicken slightly, then reduce the heat to low and return the chicken to the pan, spooning the sauce generously over each piece.
- Serve immediately with extra sauce drizzled over the top and a lemon wedge alongside for squeezing at the table — a gentle squeeze over the finished dish cuts through the richness nicely.
Chef's Note: The sauce here comes together the way a classic French pan sauce should — deglazing with stock to lift the browned bits left behind from searing, then whisking in cold butter piece by piece so it emulsifies into something glossy rather than simply melting into a greasy pool. Unsalted butter gives you far more control over the final seasoning than salted, since you're adding a meaningful amount of it; if salted is all you have on hand, go easy with the added salt and lean on a low-sodium stock if possible.
Save the lemon for the table rather than the pan — squeezing it in directly can cause the butter sauce to break apart, but a gentle squeeze over the finished plate brightens the richness beautifully, and it's easy to skip entirely if you'd rather keep things purely buttery. Fresh parsley is the classic pairing here, though fresh thyme or rosemary both work nicely as a swap; just use a lighter hand with either, since they're more assertive than parsley and can easily overpower the sauce. Stick with fresh herbs rather than dried, which won't have time to infuse properly in such a short simmer.
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