Chicken Thighs in Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce
Juicy chicken thighs with crispy skin cooked in a deliciously creamy garlic Parmesan sauce. Perfect served with greens and/or rice for an easy dinner.
How to make creamy garlic Parmesan sauce
The star of this recipe is undoubtedly the creamy sauce. It all happens in one pot which is perfect for busy weeknights. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper then brown in a large, deep pan or skillet. I allow the thighs to brown for at least 7-10 minutes per side until the skin is crispy and deeply golden. Remove the thighs from the pan once they are cooked through (the chicken will be white to the bone and will read 75ºC/165ºF on a meat thermometer). Add butter and fry the garlic until aromatic. Add the thyme and pour in the wine/stock. Scrape the sticky brown bits from the bottom of the pot, this is going to add so much flavor to the finished sauce. Pour in the cream and lemon juice then allow to come to a simmer. Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Add the Parmesan and stir in then add the thighs. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes then sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Full recipe with quantities can be found below in the recipe card).
What to serve with garlic Parmesan chicken
Chicken thigh recipes
- Rosemary lemon chicken thighs
- Easy honey garlic chicken thighs
- Chicken Piccata Thighs
- Coconut curry chicken thighs
Chicken thighs in creamy garlic Parmesan sauce
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 cup white wine / chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy / whipping cream
- 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice to taste
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down into a large, deep pan then place over medium-high heat. Allow to cook for 7-10 minutes until the skin is crisp and deeply golden. Flip the thighs over and cook for another 7-10 minutes until the chicken thighs are fully cooked. The thighs are done when the meat is white through to the bone or the temperature reads 75°C/165°F on a meat thermometer. Remove the thighs from the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter, garlic and thyme to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine or stock and using a wooden spoon, scrape the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the cream and lemon juice.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes or until it coats the back of a spoon easily. Add the Parmesan cheese, stir in then add the chicken thighs. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Can a rue be used instead of the heavy cream?
Yes, you could use a roux and milk instead.
Can you use half and half instead of cream?
I haven’t tried this so I can’t say with certainty.
I use fat free half and half and it works great!!
Forgot to mention…. It’s super yummy with riced cauliflower
Amazing. So creamy and delish.
This dish was really easy to make and super flavorful! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe I made this last night and it was fantastic. I did have to alter the recipe a little bit the cook time is definitely Too Short on there so I used the same cook time as recommended and then took the chicken thighs out of the pan and put them in the air fryer to finish crisping which is usually how I make my chicken thighs. That way I get them extra crispy on top and get the little brown bits I needed for the sauce. The entire family loved it the kids devoured it I served it over cheese tortellini and it was incredible. I’m so glad that I made a big batch so we have leftovers cuz all the kids asked if we can have it again tomorrow. Highly recommend. As soon as I finished dinner I sent this recipe to all my favorite girlfriends. Enjoy
What does everyone serve this with? I was thinking rice or maybe pasta . I have a bag of egg noodles but not sure how it would be with them.
Pasta, rice, mashed potatoes will all be delicious.
Made this tonight with boneless skinless chicken thighs & it still came out really good. The sauce was delicious and I plan to make it again for pork chops & Id like to make this with bone in skin on chicken as well. Great recipe, thank you.
Hi there! I tried your recipe and although it had great flavor, I could not get the sauce to thicken! I followed your recipe exactly, and even after 20 minutes on medium-low heat, I could not get the cream sauce to thicken up. I even added some cornstarch, but there was no difference! Any tips?
Very strange that cornstarch didn’t thicken the sauce. Were your chicken thighs frozen before cooking? It could be that they released a lot of water during cooking.
I cooked the thighs over medium heat for ten minutes each side. Not close to being done through though skin crispy. I added another 3 minutes, still not cooked through. I added the sauce, more liquid than recipe called for , cooked for 10 minutes, chicken not done inside, finally done after bubbling
in liquid for 20 minutes
That’s a very long time for chicken thighs to cook. Were they very large?
Dried or fresh thyme?
Honestly just an insane recipe. Really delicious, so much flavor. I typically cook rice with this dish because of how well the rice soaks up the sauce. Do not use milk, the sauce won’t come together correctly without the high fat content of the cream, tried using light cream once and it still wasn’t enough. Don’t skimp on the heavy cream. I make this every time I think about it.
Absolutely delicious!
Saw the suggestion of adding spinach so am going to do this as I have some in the fridge, am goi no to serve with some linguine pasta too ?
2. Heat a large frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, while the pan is still cold.
Heat the pan and add thighs while the pan is still cold???
Please correct this error.
Fixed.
How do I adjust if I only have boneless skinless chicken thighs?
The cooking time will just be slightly shorter, it will still be delicious. 🙂
I’m going to try this with boneless skinless thighs! Can you tell me how long to cook?
Probably 15-20 minutes, depending on their size.
Is it possible to use milk vs cream?
Only if you thicken the sauce with flour, the milk on its own won’t thicken.
Could you use chicken breast instead of thighs? If so, would the cooking method alter?
You could, breasts will just cook much faster so the cooking time will be impacted.
As written I already give it 5 STARS, because there is not a thing in the recipe that I don’t like. Could I add
spinach at the end of cooking. Would I have to increase sauce ingredients?
Thanks, Janet
You definitely could. No need to adjust sauce amounts.
The recipe is deliciously decadent. I would have given it a 5th star, but there was no mention of how to use the thyme, 3rd item on the list of ingredients
I’ve amended this recipe. Thanks Ana.
This was really easy and really good! Thank you for the recipe – will make again. 🙂
So happy to hear that Stacy. 🙂