Black Garlic Chicken
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This creamy, savory, earthy Black Garlic Chicken dish may just become your new favorite dinner. Best of all, it can be made in under 30 minutes!
If you haven’t tried black garlic yet, you are in for a treat. This fermented garlic has incredible depth of flavor. Once you are hooked, you’ll want to try my other black garlic recipes, such as Black Garlic Butter and Black Garlic Aioli.
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Why Make This Recipe
I have been making a version of this cream sauce for years. Once I tasted black garlic, I knew I had to make a version with black garlic as the key ingredient. Here’s why I love this recipe:
- Easy enough for a weeknight
- Complex black garlic flavor that pairs beautifully with chicken and mushrooms
- Fancy enough to serve for a special occasion
🥗 Ingredients
- Black Garlic: Black garlic is made by heating garlic cloves very slowly, over several weeks. This ages them so that by the end of the process, they turn soft and black in color. You can find black garlic in specialty grocery stores or order black garlic from Amazon.
- Mushrooms: White button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms will work for this recipe. You could also substitute shiitake mushrooms.
- Chicken Breasts: It’s easiest to buy packaged thin chicken breast cutlets for this recipe, but you can also buy regular chicken breasts and slice them in half yourself. Or pound them thin using a meat mallet.
- Butter: Either salted or unsalted butter is fine. Feel free to replace this with olive oil, if you don’t like to use butter.
- Olive Oil: Use just a basic olive oil for this recipe since you are cooking with it. Save your fancy extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressing.
- Heavy Cream: This provides the thickener for the sauce—if you replace it with light cream or milk, the sauce will be much thinner and will not coat the mushrooms as well.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Put 4 black garlic cloves into a small bowl and mash with a fork until smooth.
Step 2: Wipe any dirt from 8 ounces button mushrooms using a damp paper towel. Slice mushrooms.
Step 3: Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Step 4: Season 4 thin chicken breast cutlets with salt and pepper on each side. Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes on each side.
Test chicken temperature with an instant read thermometer (it should read 165° Fahrenheit). If chicken is not done, continue to cook for another minute or two on each side until it is fully cooked. Remove chicken from pan and set aside on a plate, tented with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Step 5: Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, then add sliced mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms until browned, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat if you need to, turning it down a little if the mushrooms are browning too quickly.
Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside in a bowl separate from the chicken—you will add the mushrooms to the sauce later.
Step 6: Turn heat down to medium if you haven’t already. Pour a small amount of heavy cream into the skillet along with the mashed black garlic cloves. Whisk to combine mashed black garlic cloves with cream.
Step 7: When the garlic has mostly dissolved, add the rest of a cup of heavy cream, ½ cup chicken broth, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to the skillet. Simmer, stirring frequently with your whisk, until sauce thickens slightly and garlic fully dissolves, about 2-4 minutes.
Taste sauce and add an additional teaspoon of lemon juice if you like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 8: Stir mushrooms back into sauce.
Step 9: Move chicken breasts onto serving plates and top with mushroom black garlic sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives, if desired.
Storage Tips
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave on 80% power, stirring occasionally.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Black Garlic Chicken
Black garlic has a slightly sweet, savory, and malty flavor, that is created by the process of heating a head of garlic slowly over a period of several weeks to age it. At the end of the process, the cloves turn soft and black, and the sharp, garlicky flavor mellows.
You can find black garlic in the spice aisle of specialty grocery stores. If you can’t find it in your area, there are many sources online to order from. You can even find jars of black garlic on Amazon! Some Trader Joe’s stock ground black garlic, which could be used as a substitute for the cloves. You can also make black garlic yourself, though this would take several weeks in a slow cooker or rice cooker.
Black garlic can stay out at room temperature in an unopened package for a long time. Use by the date on the packaging. Once you have opened the jar or package, move the black garlic into the refrigerator. It will last for about one month.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
If you don’t have an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature of your chicken, remove a chicken breast from the pan and cut into it. If the meat is white and not pink inside, the chicken is done. Note that if you choose to use full-size chicken breasts rather than cutlets, they will cook much more slowly.
I recommend buying a silicone whisk for recipes like this when you are directly whisking the black garlic sauce in your skillet. That way, your whisk will not damage the nonstick coating on your pan.
If you are wondering why you should remove the mushrooms from the skillet before making the sauce, the reason is that it is easier to dissolve the black garlic into the cream rather than stirring it into the mushrooms.
As for what to serve with this black garlic chicken dish, I like to serve with simple sides such as egg noodles and steamed vegetables. Serving with Baguette Garlic Bread to soak up the black garlic sauce is also a great idea! You can also serve with Baked Potato Wedges, mashed potatoes, rice, or these Seasoned Black Beans. And a simple roasted vegetable like Roasted Broccoli Rabe or Roasted Mini Peppers would also be a good match.
Wondering about other delicious ways to use black garlic? Once you have made Black Garlic Butter, you can use it to make Black Garlic Pasta. You can also use the butter on top of steamed vegetables, steak, chicken, or seafood. Try mashing black garlic cloves into a salad dressing or try stirring it into risotto. Once you get hooked on the flavor, you’ll want to try it in everything. I've got lots of ideas for you in my roundup of the Best Black Garlic Recipes.
Other Delicious Chicken Recipes
Chicken is such a great option for dinner—it’s easy to find, and most recipes are quick to make. Try this easy Creamy Chicken Pasta dish next. Or try one of these favorite chicken recipes.
If you try this Black Garlic Chicken recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Black Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 black garlic cloves
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms
- 1 ½ pounds thin-cut boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- Freshly chopped parsley or chives to garnish (optional)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put black garlic cloves into a small bowl and mash with a fork until smooth.
- Wipe any dirt from mushrooms using a damp paper towel. Slice mushrooms.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on each side.
- Melt butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Test chicken temperature with an instant read thermometer (it should read 165° Fahrenheit). If chicken is not done, continue to cook for another minute or two on each side until it is fully cooked. Remove chicken from pan and set aside on a plate, tented with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, then add sliced mushrooms.
- Sauté mushrooms until browned, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat if you need to, turning it down a little if the mushrooms are browning too quickly. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside in a bowl separate from the chicken—you will add the mushrooms to the sauce later.
- Turn heat down to medium if you haven’t already.
- Pour a small amount of heavy cream into the skillet along with the mashed black garlic cloves. Whisk to combine mashed black garlic cloves with cream. When the garlic has mostly dissolved, add the rest of the heavy cream, chicken broth, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to the skillet.
- Simmer, stirring frequently with your whisk, until sauce thickens slightly and garlic fully dissolves, about 2-4 minutes. Taste sauce and add the additional teaspoon of lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir mushrooms back into sauce.
- Move chicken breasts onto serving plates and top with mushroom black garlic sauce.
- Garnish with chopped parsley or chives, if desired.
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave on 80% power, stirring occasionally. Expert Tips:
If you don’t have an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature of your chicken, remove a chicken breast from the pan and cut into it. If the meat is white and not pink inside, the chicken is done. Note that if you choose to use full-size chicken breasts rather than cutlets, they will cook much more slowly. I recommend buying a silicone whisk for recipes like this when you are directly whisking the black garlic sauce in your skillet. That way, your whisk will not damage the nonstick coating on your pan.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Chicken with Black Garlic Sauce recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
This is so delicious! I have made it four times so far with the black garlic I get in my CSA and my friends are always floored by what a great cook I am!
So glad to hear that! Isn't the flavor on black garlic amazing? I have a couple other black garlic recipes on my site here, so check those out too!
This sounds wonderful! I’ve never used black garlic, but I just bought the one you recommended! It will be fun! I also used to drive in San Fran with my stick shift! Those were some crazy hills.
http://www.chefmimiblog.com
Let me know what you think--I love the flavor of black garlic!