Skillet Chicken Veggies with Creamy Light Garlic Sauce
Crispy chicken with your favorite vegetables in a simple creamy garlic pan sauce. On the table in 45 minutes!
New day, new week, new year. Happy 2016!
We’re officially back to the grind this lovely Monday. Time to eat all the healthy things! And that, my friends, does not mean boring things. I’ve worked on a truly sensational variety of healthy recipes to bring you this January like rejuvenating smoothies, easy healthy dinners, no refined sugar muffins, grain-free cookies, 3 ingredient dark chocolate treats, and gluten free treats galore.
That’s right, we’re trading Christmas cookies for green smoothies and I swear it’s never tasted so damn good. Trust me on this. One of my resolutions this year is to shake things up in my kitchen and bring you a variety of healthy meals, classic desserts, healthy desserts (!!!), creative combinations, and fresh new flavors. Oh and obviously more sprinkles and an obnoxious amount of peanut butter. So much in store for you! Let’s do this, 2016. 😀
First up we’ve got a super simple skillet dinner that comes together in only about 35 minutes. I was inspired to make it last week when reality struck: I’m in a major dinner rut. You know the kind? I’ve been eating the same stuff for months now and while it’s all crazy yummy (bbq meatballs! chili! healthy mac & cheese!), I’m in desperate need of new and satisfying yet healthy meals after a long day of work. Enter a new skillet meal.
What this meal is:
√ Quick and easy.
√ Fresh flavor to the max.
√ Feel-good and wholesome.
√ Protein packed.
√ Gluten free.
√ Saucy and satisfying.
The whole idea is similar to my skillet chicken with creamy cilantro lime sauce and the lemon thyme version. Cook chicken, make a pan sauce, bake. This time I’m adding roasted veggies to the mix to make a perfectly rounded-out meal in one.
You can use any veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. I chose small potatoes and butternut squash (and I suggest you do the same!). Chopped both up and roasted for 15 minutes with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. You’ll need about a cup of veggies per person.
While the veggies are in the oven, cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove. You want it browned and a little crisp on the outside. It will continue to cook in the oven a little later. Set that chicken aside and get started on the creamy garlic pan sauce.
Whole milk and chicken broth are the base of the creamy sauce. You can use heavy cream or even half-and-half instead, but I strongly discourage you from using a lower fat milk. Lower fat milks are more prone to curdling when added to heat because they do not have a high fat content. More on that in the recipe notes. To prevent the whole milk from curdling (because sometimes it can!), whisk in a little cornstarch before adding to the pan sauce. And never add cold milk to the warm pan. That’s enough on milk curdling today.
Also in the creamy sauce? We’ve got diced onion, a smidgen of butter (flavor!), parsley, and a whole lotta garlic. You’ll need 5 fresh garlic cloves, minced. I added whole cloves to the sauce as well. Just for extra flavor and because they look pretty. I’ll note that in the recipe below. The extra flavor thing, not the pretty food thing.
Allow the sauce to simmer, then add the chicken and veggies directly to the skillet. Place the whole skillet in the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. How easy is that? The chicken is crisp and the veggies absorb that crazy flavorful bubbling garlic sauce. All is right in the dinner world once again. 🙂
Sally: “Did you like this dinner? I’m going to put it on my blog.”
Kevin: “Your breath.”
Gaaaaaaarlic.
Follow me on Instagram and tag #sallysbakingaddiction so I can see all the SBA recipes you make. ♥
Skillet Chicken & Veggies with Creamy Light Garlic Sauce
Prep Time: 35 minutes- Cook Time: 10 mintues
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: serves 4
Category: Dinner
Method: Cooking
Cuisine: American
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Crispy chicken with your favorite vegetables in a simple creamy garlic pan sauce. On the table in 45 minutes!
Ingredients
- around 4 cups vegetables (cubed butternut squash, quartered small potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, chopped asparagus)*
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (I used 3 because they were large)
- 1 cup chicken broth (I recommend reduced sodium)
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 5 whole garlic cloves, minced*
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- optional: fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread vegetables on top and lightly drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Keep oven on. (Time saving tip: Get started on steps 2 and 3 as the vegetables bake.)
- If the chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them down so they’re all even. This way all the breasts will cook through simultaneously. Evenly sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, turning once. You want the chicken nice and browned on the outside. (It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through yet.) Set chicken on a plate and cover tightly with foil until step 5.
- Remove skillet from heat and add the broth, butter, onion, garlic, and parsley. Return to heat. Cook and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Whisk together the milk and cornstarch, then slowly whisk into the sauce.
- Add chicken and cooked vegetables to the sauce and place the skillet in the oven. Bake until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve chicken, vegetables, and sauce together with a little fresh parsley for garnish if desired. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat to your liking.
Notes
- Vegetables: I use about 4 cups total of a mix of quartered small potatoes and cubed butternut squash. These vegetables soaked up the sauce perfectly! You can also use my suggested vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, or chopped asparagus. Keep your eye on the vegetables in step 1 as different vegetables may be done in the oven before my potatoes and squash were.
- Garlic: One fresh garlic clove is typically equal to 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic from a jar. If using minced instead of fresh garlic, keep in mind that minced is slightly milder than fresh. You may need to add a little extra. If garlic is really your thing, add a couple whole garlic cloves to the sauce as well. I did this because I seriously love garlic.
- Milk: Let’s prevent that milk from curdling by using whole milk, not a lower fat milk. You can use half-and-half, heavy cream, or even coconut milk (to keep it dairy free) instead. Room temperature is key to help prevent the milk from curdling, as is the cornstarch.
- Skillet: Make sure your skillet is large and ovenproof. 11-12 inch is best as the veggies AND chicken must fit!
- Nutrition Information: Using SparkRecipes calculator, this gluten free chicken dish with the butternut squash and potatoes comes out to about 415 calories, 15g fat, 32g carbs, and 37g protein per serving (one 6 ounce chicken breast, one cup veggies, extra sauce). If your chicken breasts are smaller or larger than 6 ounces each and you use other vegetables, these numbers will differ.
- Adapted from Skillet Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce.
Keywords: skillet chicken and veggies, healthy chicken recipe
Here’s my equally simple and quick skillet chicken with creamy lemon thyme sauce! Also gluten free, like today’s meal.
Juicy chicken with homemade teriyaki sauce. None of that bottled store-bought stuff. This is all baked together with a little pineapple. Also gluten free!
And my suuuuuper light 330 calorie 30 minute lemon herb salmon dinner!
More dinner recipe ideas for you this week.
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