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This is my quick and easy garlic butter chicken made with a stick of butter, garlic, fresh rosemary, and melty Italian cheese. It’s the perfect baked chicken recipe for weeknights!
Homemade garlic butter is a snap to make, and I use it on everything from steak bites to roasted carrots. It positively shines in this garlic butter chicken recipe!
This juicy garlic butter chicken has me falling in love with my homemade garlic butter sauce all over again. I baste juicy chicken breasts with the garlicky sauce and rosemary before baking them in the oven beneath heaps of Italian cheese. It’s hands down some of the best golden-baked chicken I’ve ever sunk my fork into. This is an easy, nearly failproof dinner with just 5 ingredients. Garlic butter is the star!
Things to Love About This Baked Garlic Butter Chicken
- Perfectly juicy. Basting the chicken with garlic butter before baking locks in the flavor and makes this chicken incredibly juicy. As in, did-this-come-from-a-5-star-restaurant juicy. The secret is a hot oven and a meat thermometer to check when the chicken hits its prime.
- Easy. Simply sauté fresh garlic and rosemary in melted butter, pour that over the chicken, and bake. The whole recipe takes a little over 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Versatile. This garlic butter chicken goes with just about any side, so it’s super flexible when it comes to serving. Pair it with a quick side of jasmine rice, or make it the ultimate comfort food with a mountain of mashed potatoes. It’s also a great meal prep recipe. Anything goes!
What You’ll Need
Don’t you just love an ultra-short ingredients list? These are some notes on what you’ll need to make deliciously baked garlic butter chicken, but please scroll to the printable recipe card for the full ingredients list as well as the recipe directions.
- Chicken – I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can also make garlic butter chicken thighs or use bone-in chicken, though it’ll take slightly longer to cook.
- Butter – Either salted or unsalted. You can also make this recipe with olive oil or ghee. The sauce won’t have quite the same richness, but it’ll still taste delicious.
- Garlic – Freshly minced.
- Rosemary – I love fresh rosemary with the garlic butter in this recipe, but you can use any herb you’d like. Thyme, basil, and parsley all go great with chicken.
- Cheese – Choose your favorite shredded cheese. I use an Italian cheese blend. Other good choices are mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, Swiss, and Gruyère.
How to Make Garlic Butter Chicken
Achieving a perfectly juicy baked chicken breast is simple! The oven does most of the work in this garlic butter chicken recipe, and I’ll walk you through the easy method below.
- Prep the chicken. First, season the chicken breasts and arrange the chicken inside a buttered baking dish.
- Make the garlic butter. Next, melt butter in a skillet, add the garlic, and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Stir often and take care not to burn the garlic, or it’ll taste bitter. Lastly, stir in the rosemary.
- Assemble and bake. Pour the garlic butter over the chicken. Then, bake at 375ºF for about 30 minutes. Right at the end, sprinkle the tops of the chicken with shredded cheese and place it back into the oven for 2-3 minutes, enough to melt.
- Serve. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Afterward, serve with a drizzle of extra garlic sauce!
Tips and Variations
- Season the chicken. The key to flavorful chicken starts with a generous seasoning with salt and pepper. Don’t skip it!
- Don’t burn the garlic. Whatever you do, do NOT let the garlic burn while sautéeing. Keep the heat at medium and stir frequently while it cooks.
- Don’t overcook. You’ll know your chicken is done when the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer.
- Rest the chicken. Remember to let the baked chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat so the chicken stays moist and tender.
- Make it on the stovetop. If you don’t feel like switching on the oven, make this recipe in a skillet instead! Just follow the cooking directions for my garlic butter pan-fried chicken breasts recipe.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving this buttery, cheesy garlic chicken over a bed of pasta or rice (like my garlic butter chicken and rice) for a hearty weeknight dinner. It’s great with a side of salad or a veggie, like asparagus or roasted broccoli to round out the meal. For dessert, these mini chocolate chip cookies are pretty hard to resist. Or, cozy up with a homemade dark hot chocolate!
Storing and Reheating Chicken
- Refrigerate. Store the cooled chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Leftover garlic butter chicken tastes amazing chopped up to enjoy in salads or rolled up into a flatbread for a chicken wrap!
- Reheat. Warm this chicken in the oven under foil until it’s hot throughout. You can use the microwave, but I sometimes find that microwaving makes leftover chicken a bit chewy.
More Baked Chicken Recipes
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Garlic Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- ½ cup shredded Italian cheese blend
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease a baking dish with a pat of butter.
- Season the chicken. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the prepared baking dish and set aside.
- Make the garlic butter. Add butter to a skillet and melt over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring very frequently. DO NOT burn the garlic. Stir in the rosemary and remove from heat.
- Dress the chicken. Pour the prepared garlic butter over the chicken breasts.
- Bake. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until the chicken's internal temperature registers at 165ºF.
- Add cheese. Sprinkle with cheese and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Rest and serve. Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to serving plates, then spoon garlic butter sauce over the chicken and serve.
Equipment
Notes
- Switch up herbs like thyme or parsley if you’re not a fan of rosemary.
- Choose from cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, or Parmesan, and consider olive oil or ghee as healthier alternatives to butter.
- You may use chicken thighs instead of breasts but adjust cooking time as they take longer. Check the internal temperature (165˚F) for doneness.
- Be sure to sauté garlic on medium heat, stirring often to avoid a bitter taste.
- Check the chicken’s doneness by ensuring it reaches 165˚F with a meat thermometer to keep it juicy and safe to eat.
- Let the chicken rest after baking for a more flavorful bite.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This was the BEST chicken I have ever made! I needed the chicken for another recipe, so I didn’t use the cheese this time. Do you think chicken thighs can be used using the same method? Thanks so much for sharing…this is a definite keeper!
Did you bake it covered?
Hi Kristen! No, no need to cover it.
THIS WAS AMAZING!!! THANK YOU!
Can this recipe be transferred to the stove top instead of an oven?
I am making it now with a pot of how made mashed potatoes! I’ll use the extra garlic butter to put in my mashed potatoes so it’s not wasted
This was amazing! I would love to make it ahain, but wondered how I can forward it in a crockpot.
Hi! Ok so totally tri d this and it was amazing!! My husband and picky 4 year old son practically licked the plate clean. Thank you for this! It’s a keeper! Oh and to the kids who suggested rubbing your hands on the faucet as you wash to get the garlic smell off totally worked like a charm! I swear that smell stays for days so thank you all for this!
Oh my gosh! This post was incredibly painful to get through. why can’t I print it? Ridiculous!
Hi Nancy! What happened? Why couldn’t you print it? There’s a print button within the recipe box, right underneath the “Nutrition Information”.
Or was there another issue? Please let me know if you have a chance. Thank you!
I can’t find the directions
Hi Mary Ann! You’ll have to scroll down past the photos (4 photos) to get to the recipe card where the ingredients and instructions are all included.
I have a tip to get onion or garlic smell off your hands after chopping… rub your hands along the faucet of your sink i few times then rinse w/water. I dont know why that works, but i found this tip years ago
Hi Vickie! Thanks so, so much for sharing! I am trying that asap!!
Any Stainless Steel will instantly remove garlic and onion smell from your hands. I just rub my stainless spatula all over my hands and fingers. Science!
Actually I remember learning that in 8th grade science! 😀
Totally forgot about that tip. Thanks for sharing!!
This is amazing! By far one of my favorite dishes. I never leave reviews but I had too for this dish! Absolutely delicious!
YAY!! Very happy you liked it! Thank you!! 😀