Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken (2024)

This Garlic Parmesan Chicken has some of the best flavors of any chicken dish I have made! It is the perfect combo of smooth & creamy cheese, rich and bold garlic and tender chicken. Plus, with only 8 ingredients and one dish, it can be prepped and in the oven in as little as 10 minutes! Serve it with a side of broccoli, my personal favorite, or one of my other suggestions below and you have a full meal fast!

This post is sponsored byT-Mobile. The content and opinions expressed here are that of The Pinning Mama.

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Recipe

Of all the places the military has sent us (10 in just the last 14 years!) one of my favorites was Newport, RI. Although it was one of our farthest stations from home, the rich culture, the deeply rooted communities, the salty sea, and familiar small town feel make it a place that takes your hand as you arrive and holds onto your heart as you leave.

There are many things that I will remember from our short time spent on the shores of Rhode Island, but one of my favorites was a meal. There is a restaurant that was well known there that is out a bit from town, down a winding road and nestled into the cliffs that line the sea. We took full advantage of the Restaurant Week that they host in Newport on the off season, and quickly booked our reservation for this little gem.

We got to indulge in a multi-course meal and were treated better than we knew what to do with, but while everyone else was ordering the filet mignon, I knew that the garlic parmesan chicken was calling my name. There was something a little magical about the bold flavor of garlic being married with the sharp parmesan and nestled into a comforting mellow cream sauce which got my wheels turning.

I often try to recreate dishes I have at restaurants to capture their flavors and the things that really wowed me, but put them in a more simple package that you could actually make on any given hectic weeknight. While it is not quite the same dish I ate at this restaurant, the Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken turned out to be even easier to create than I expected and maybe even tastier than the original.

Being way up in the tippity top of New England was a dream in many ways, but it is also really sometimes really hard as it was so, so, so far from our friends and family. I am so thankful that we are able to communicate with them quickly, easily, and reliably!

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What to Serve with Garlic Parmesan Chicken

There are so many great options to compliment this dish. Garlic although a bold flavor, is incorporated into many different types of cuisines so the side dishes that work well with this dish can be traditional or really varied and diverse. Here are a few of my favorites!

Traditional Garlic Parmesan Chicken Serving ideas:

• Broccoli- You could really do any roasted veggie, but I really like broccoli especially with this dish.
• Pasta- Although this doesn’t have a sauce, it would work well with pasta served on the side, with just butter or olive oil, marinara, or even an alfredo sauce.
• Mashed Potatoes- These are my favorite Instant Pot Mashed potatoes, but any basic recipe will work!
• Garlic Bread- If you haven’t had enough garlic yet, a nice crusty piece of garlic toast works with this because it gives you something to soak up every ounce of the delicious topping on the chicken.
• Rice or risotto- You can go from a basic plain long grain rice, to a fancier risotto depending on how much time you have. There aren’t too many grain options I can think of that wouldn’t go well with this dish!

Low Carb Serving Options:

• Cauliflower rice- I love to cook mine simply in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. You can see this served on cauliflower rice in the pictures in this post.
• Side salad- I just think salad was made for this dish. Any salad is great, but some butter lettuce with a few veggies tossed in and some balsamic vinaigrette is just to die for!
• Zoodles- If you are going low carb, skip the pasta and go with zoodles instead. Zucchini or carrot would be my pics for this dish.
• Sautéed Spinach- This is one of my go to’s for serving with any baked chicken recipe, but is compliments this one especially well! See my 5 minute Sautéed Spinach recipe here.
• Spaghetti Squash – You can use some of the extra juices to spoon over your cooked spaghetti squash to bring the flavors together on this one.

These are just a few of my go to side dishes for Garlic Parmesan Chicken. Choose one or pair it with a few for a wholesome and well rounded meal. If you have a favorite serving idea that I missed, please let me (and all of our readers) know in the comments so we can try it out too!

How to Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken

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The BEST part about this recipe is that it is really super simple! You can find the FULL RECIPE card below, but here I am going to walk through a few tips, tricks and frequently asked questions so that you can get the most out of this recipe!

Q: Can I use chicken thighs, chicken tenderloins, or other cuts of chicken in this dish?

A: Yes! This dish will work well with a variety of cuts, so feel free to use your favorite boneless, skinless cut. If you do change the type of meat used in the recipe it will most likely change the time it needs to cook. To ensure your dish is done, use a meat thermometer and cook to 165˚F.

Q: Can I substitute low fat or fat free ingredients in place of original ingredients in this Garlic Parmesan Chicken?

A: I strongly recommend against using fat free cream cheese or sour cream in this dish. The fat free versions do not melt the same way and will not give you the same result. You can use low fat cream cheese or neufchatel cheese in place of the original cream cheese and low fat sour cream or greek yogurt in place of the original sour cream with a good result.

Q: This took too long to bake, or wasn’t done in the time directed. What did I do wrong?

A: The baking time can vary based on the thickness of your chicken and the size of your dish. This recipe works best with thin cuts of chicken, so if your chicken breasts are normal to thick, I always recommend slicing them in half so they are half the thickness unless they are small to begin with. Also, ensure that your baking dish is roomy enough. You don’t want it packed in tight or it will take longer to cook.

Q: There was a lot of liquid after cooking the chicken. Is this normal?

A: Chicken will release liquid as it is cooked. There are a few things you can do to minimize the liquid. First, check the labels, a lot of chicken is enhanced with a solution of salt and water to make it more plump and juicy looking. This is very common and should be labeled on the package. The less water in your chicken, the less can come out. Also, look for chicken that is air chilled instead of water chilled in processing. Higher quality chicken that has not been treated in these methods will have less liquid. That said, I use regular old family packs of chicken from the supermarket every day and you can still get a great result.

Second, don’t over crowd the pan, give your chicken some room to breathe in the dish so that the liquid that does cook off has lots of room to evaporate in the oven. The more surface area the liquid has, the more it will evaporate.

When you are baking chicken breast, you will almost always have some juices in the pan when you are done, so this is normal. The best things to do, are either lift the chicken out of the juices and serve, mix the broth into the dish for additional flavor, or carefully drain the juices (it’s hot coming out of the oven!) and serve.

Q: Can I add veggies or other ingredients into this Garlic Parmesan Chicken recipe?

A: This recipe is tested and delicious as is. I have not tested it with additional ingredients, so I can not guarantee an outcome, however I think it is great to experiment with flavors you love and it is very possible that it could be done with great results. If you give it a try, please let me know what you did and how you liked it in the comments!

Q: I love this Garlic Parmesan Chicken recipe! Do you have any more easy one dish chicken recipes like this?

A: First of all thank you so much! I am thrilled that you like it so much. I have LOTS more easy chicken recipes that I hope will become staples for your family. You can see many of my baked chicken recipes here, my low carb chicken recipes here, and my shredded chicken recipes here. Enjoy!

What to do with Leftover Garlic Parmesan Chicken

If your family doesn’t lick the dish clean and you have a few pieces of this chicken left to save, you can either refrigerate or freeze the leftovers and use them to make some of the new meals listed below later in the week or month.

To store leftovers, place the chicken in an airtight container and:

• refrigerate for up to 3-4 days
• freeze for up to a month

Leftover Garlic Parmesan Chicken Meal Ideas

If you need some inspiration to make those leftovers new again, try a few of these fun ideas:

• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Paninis- Slice up leftovers and place between 2 slices of crusty bread with a little extra cheese and any veggies you like such as spinach, red bell pepper, sundried tomatoes, etc. Grill in a panini press or a skillet until golden on each side.
• Garlic Parmesan Pasta Bake- Prepare pasta and mix with alfredo sauce or pesto. Chop up leftover chicken and stir into the pasta then put everything in a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake until heated through.
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pizza- Chop the leftover Garlic Parmesan Chicken and then spread a thin coat of olive oil over a pizza crust and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Top with chopped chicken, roasted red peppers, and any other toppings you like. Bake as directed on pizza crust package.
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Buddha bowl- Load up a bowl with your favorite grain (or cauli rice) then add chopped garlic parmesan chicken, chopped veggies, and an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Drizzle with italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette and enjoy!
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Baked Potatoes- Cut open fresh hot baked potatoes and stuff a generous amount of leftover chopped Garlic Parmesan Chicken inside with some steamed broccoli. Top with Mozzarella cheese and broil until the cheese is melted. Top with a. dollop of sour cream and some fresh chives and bacon and enjoy!

Hopefully that will get you started with some new and fun ways to use this chicken! If you have another favorite way to use up the leftovers let me know in the comments. I would love for you to share it with me and all of our readers.

I really hope you love this meal as much as we do and it gets rave reviews from your friends and family like it does from mine!

If you do get a chance to try it, I would love it if you let me know! You can leave me a comment below, or if you post a picture on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so that I can see what you are cooking up! It makes my day to see others enjoying the recipes that I share!

Don’t forget to hop over to T-Mobile to check out their Military Discounts or send the link over to your friends or family who are military or veterans! See the pricing and plans here!

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Watch me Make this Garlic Parmesan Chicken