Creamy Garlic Chicken with Spinach
Creamy Garlic Chicken is the ultimate healthy comfort food. Chicken breasts are quickly pan-fried then cooked in a garlicky cream sauce that you would NEVER guess is dairy-free. We throw in some spinach for a veggie boost and serve the sauce spooned over mashed potatoes or low-carb mashed cauliflower. Either way, it is delicious!
Winner winner creamy chicken dinner!
5 reasons this creamy garlic chicken is extra special
- The flavorful creamy sauce that begs to be poured over mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.
- Garlic. I know it's right in the title, but you need to know that this recipe is for garlic lovers. If you're the kind of cook who doubles up the garlic on all the recipes you make, then I promise you that this one won't disappoint.
- Tender chicken breasts that stay juicy by being poached in the creamless cream sauce.
- No heavy cream/ whipping cream here. This super creamy sauce is cashew-based so we can feel good about eating lots of it.
- In just 30 minutes, you'll have dinner on the table and you're family will be singing your praises. Win!
How to make this garlic chicken recipe
This easy recipe is quick on time and high on flavor. Put some potatoes or rice in a pot before you start cooking so everything is ready at the same time.
- Season the chicken breasts then sear them until they're lightly browned before setting them aside.
- Fry some whole garlic cloves (yes, whole!) until they're golden. Now add some minced garlic (yes, more garlic) to the pan and cook it for a moment. Add some chicken stock and let it simmer until the garlic is nice and soft.
- Pop the chicken back into the pan and pour in the cashew cream. ← Nothing fancy here. Just a little cashew butter and water mixed together!
- Simmer for a few minutes then add the spinach to the pan and your creamy garlic chicken dinner is ready.
How to make a creamy garlic sauce for chicken without cream
If you think that it's not possible to have luscious creamy sauce without using cream, think again. Cashews are the secret to creating healthy cream sauces. You can either blend raw cashews in a high powered blender or you can mix cashew butter with some water.
You want the consistency of cashew cream to mimic real cream as it will thicken a little as it cooks.
A few other favorite cashew cream sauce recipes:
- 20 Minute Cashew Chicken Zoodles
- Cashew Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Dairy-Free Pork Chops and Mushroom Soup
- Magic Mushroom Sauce
What to serve with garlic chicken
If you serve this chicken over mashed or riced cauliflower, it becomes a complete meal. If you're feeling a little hungrier, serve it over basmati rice or mashed potatoes with a salad on the side. I love it with my Bacon Kale Caesar Salad.
Other veggie sides that go great with this chicken are:
- Roasted Broccolini with Tahini Yogurt
- Lemon Parmesan Cauliflower Steaks
- Spicy Honey Roasted Carrots
- Sauteed Asparagus with Parmesan
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Creamy Chicken Recipes
- Creamy Chicken Stew with Dumplings
- Quick Chicken Lazone
- 20 Minute Cashew Chicken Zoodles
- Creamy Coconut Chicken Curry
Creamy Garlic Chicken with Spinach
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt
- 2 chicken breasts, cut in half horrizontally (so that you have 4 thin chicken breasts)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- 1 head garlic, about 10 cloves – see notes
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 cups baby spinach or baby kale
Cashew Cream
- 3 tablespoons cashew butter
- ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, and salt over both sides of the chicken breasts.1 teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt, 2 chicken breasts
- Heat the 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear the seasoned chicken breasts until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Set aside 2 garlic cloves then add all the remaining garlic cloves (whole) to the pan. Cook them for about 3 minutes, or until they start to look golden. Mince the 2 garlic cloves you set aside, add them to the pan, and let them cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock to the pan and simmer the garlic for 5 mintues.1 head garlic, 1 cup chicken stock
- While the chicken is cooking, mix the cashew butter with the water to make the cashew cream.3 tablespoons cashew butter, ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon water
- Add the chicken back into the pan and pour the cashew cream around it. Simmer, covered, for 7-8 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the spinach and let it wilt.3 cups baby spinach or baby kale
Notes
Pair with steamed basmati rice or cauliflower rice
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This is tastes so amazing! It’s nice to find good meals to help keep me in track for my Whole 30 journey. Thank you so much!
cant wait to make this again!
Excellent! I made with kale, will make again with spinach. Leftovers were so good.,
Holy crap best recipe ever!!!
Hi Kristen,
My husband has sensitivities to cashew. Can I use sunbutter instead? Will it make the sauce creamy though?
I’ve never tried sunbutter before but I suspect that it will work. Other seed butters (such as tahini) will thicken when cooked, so sunbutter should, too. 🙂
Is there a substitute you can recommend for the cashew cream?
Regular dairy cream works, too. 🙂
This is an amazing, all taste buds satisfying meal. All my family enjoyed it and loved the lasting satiation. My hubbie said the cashew cream was more delicious than dairy cream! Thank you for helping us eat healthier without sacrificing tasty foods 😉
That is so great to hear! Yay!
This was amazing! Made no changes. Served over brown and wild rice mix. Husband was very happy! Will be making this regularly. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
What happens to the whole garlic cloves? I don’t quite get that part. I have large ones so that wouldn’t be too fun to bite into? Thanks in advance!
They end up becoming very soft, like roasted garlic. If you know that you’re not a fan of roasted garlic, you can omit the whole cloves. 🙂
I just made this and it was delicious ….so good, I served it over mashed turnips. Thank you so much.
That’s so great to hear! I bet the sauce was delicious over mashed turnips!
OH MY!! The creamy sauce on this chicken looks so dang good! And I love that you used cashew cream. What a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing.
It’s my favorite trick for making dairy-free cream sauces! It works so well!
This recipe looks amazingly delicious!! My daughter has a dairy intolerance so I’m excited to show this to her!
I hope you love it as much as we do!