Easy Baked Garlic Chicken

With a light breading and plenty of butter this Garlic Baked Chicken is super tender and the best baked chicken recipe we’ve eaten.

The easy breading can be left out to create a low-carb or keto baked chicken baked in a garlic butter sauce that is wonderful!  

Oven-Baked Garlic Chicken Recipe

We love how tender this baked chicken is and so easy to shred with a fork.  A couple of simple steps and this fuss-free meal is ready to bake.  Easy Baked Garlic Chicken is easily made with Italian bread crumbs for a light breading or simply baked in a garlic, mustard and butter bath to be low-carb or keto.

We love cooking with chicken. And what’s not to love about a piece of meat with a mild flavor that is baked in butter to become even more savory?

This chicken is wonderful when served with Crock Pot Loaded Cauliflower Casserole, Baked Vegetable Medley, or Scalloped Corn Casserole.

To save time we will often buy a big package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and make several of them in a 9×13 pan with breading. The rest of the chicken fits well in a smaller pan without any breading.  Just omit the bread crumbs and pour the butter mixture over top of the chicken for a garlic butter chicken that is a lower calorie meal.  

The leftovers taste great in our Chicken and Twice Baked Potato Casserole, BBQ Chicken Sliders, or Chicken Bacon Ranch Stromboli.

Keto Garlic Baked Chicken

This recipe is very easy to convert to a low-carb or keto chicken dinner by simply leaving out the bread crumbs. Garlic butter chicken can be baked covered or uncovered in the oven or cooked in a crock pot or instant pot.

Low-carb garlic butter chicken makes great leftovers and reheats very well!

How to Make Easy Baked Garlic Chicken

Prepare two dishes for the breadcrumbs and butter. I like to use shallow 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dishes or mixing bowls.

Trim up the chicken if necessary and pat dry with a paper towel to help the breading stick better. Then set-up for the breading line.

Put the bread crumbs in one dish. Melt butter and stir in Dijon mustard, minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce in the other.

Bake in a 350°F for about 40 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

Check internal temp around 30 minutes to gauge how quickly it is cooking. Chicken can always cook longer, but it can’t be un-cooked. Hitting that safe food temp will help ensure that meat is tender, juicy and delicious.

Tips for Making Baked Garlic Chicken

• Recipe can easily be made with OR without bread crumb breading
• Italian breadcrumbs can be substituted with plain breadcrumbs with parsley added
• A large 5-pound package of chicken breasts usually has 6 breasts and will fill up both a 9×13 and 9×9 baking dish with chicken. About 50% more butter mixture and bread crumbs will be needed to make 6 chicken breasts.
• Chicken tenders can be used, but the cooking time will need to be decreased
• A digital meat thermometer is critical to check the internal temperature of chicken – which should be cooked to 165°F before consuming
• I always reference FoodSafety.gov to find the proper internal temperature for meat
• Check internal temp around 30 minutes to gauge how quickly it is cooking – this can help prevent over cooking the chicken
• Bake uncovered to allow the chicken to lightly brown

How to Make in the Crock Pot

Garlic butter chicken (without breading) can easily be made in the crock pot. Using a slow cooker is a great way to help keep chicken moist and tender. The breading will get soggy in the moist environment inside of the slow cooker.

Cook large chicken breasts on low for 5 to 6 hours and on high for 4 to 5 hours in the butter sauce.

Use a digital meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked to 165°F.

Instant Pot Garlic Chicken

Chicken breasts can be prepared in the Instant pot in the garlic butter bath without the breadcrumbs under high pressure for 7 minutes. Perform a natural release for 10 minutes before enjoying the chicken!

How to Handle Leftovers

If meal prepping or freezing spoon some of the extra butter sauce into the chicken that will be reheated later. Extra chicken can be stored in a self sealing freezer bag or an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 5 days.

To help save time and meal prep I like to shred or chop the chicken into smaller pieces. Small pieces are easier to reheat. Using quart size freezer bags that hold just enough meat for the recipe our family plans to make is another great way to make life easier.

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

Extra cubes of garlic baked chicken could be added to our Instant Pot Chicken and Bacon Carbonara after cooking if desired.

A similar recipe to this one with less garlic and grated Parmesan cheese is our Parmesan Chicken Tenders.

Saucy Chicken and Vegetables looks so colorful and pretty cooked up in a skillet and served over rice.

Slow Cooker Lemon Pepper Chicken is another classic family recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers are another favorite meal that’s full of flavor.

Printable Garlic Baked Chicken Recipe