Garlic Basil Chicken Recipe

My DIL found the best recipe, and she thought she’d like to try it, and once she made her own take on it she wanted to share it with us!

This Garlic Basil Chicken is delicious and super easy!  As a Mom with a toddler it can be hard to spend a lot of time making a full meal that is more than hot dogs or delivery!  But, determined to make good meals plus having them be quick and easy, this was a great choice.

This creamy garlic chicken recipe is on the top of the list of my family favorite easy dinners. It’s perfect for those busy weeknights. With its easy cleanup, this is the easiest way to have more time to spend with the whole family. For a quick dinner idea, you could do meal prep ahead of time to make it even quicker and easier. I do this for all my dinner recipes

You could replace many of the ingredients in this easy recipe with processed foods. Still, it’s not difficult to use fresh ingredients (most of them are pantry staples), especially for the health benefits. Then you know exactly what your entire family is eating and that it is healthy.   

Preparing Chicken

One of the things that you need to do in this great recipe is to make sure you use deboned chicken breasts so that it will be easier to strip the meat when it’s cooked.

And while you can easily find this in the supermarket or grocery store there may be some cases where you have trouble finding it.  In this case, you can buy bone in chicken breast and learn how to debone it when you get home. 

This can even be a less expensive option than buying boneless chickens directly from the market. 

Why You Should Buy Split Chicken Breast Instead Of Boneless

You can save money buying split regular chicken breasts instead of the boneless skinless chicken breast option.  It’ll only take you a few minutes to debone the chicken, but once you get the hang of it, it won’t take too long to remove the bone from the breasts. this will be a great thing to know for the next time you make this garlic butter chicken. 

Another reason is that the bones you get from the chicken breast can make a really good bone chicken broth.  You can use the chicken stock you make for soups, casseroles, or even chicken noodles. 

You may also like: Budget Meals: How To Plan Realistic And Cheap Meals For Your Family!

What You Need To Debone A Chicken Breast

To make the task of deboning chicken breast a lot easier, you will need to have some items on hand.  This will make sure that you can quickly and successfully debone chicken.  You will need the following items:

• A sharp knife
• Cutting mat

Once you have these, you can go ahead and start deboning the chicken.  If you won’t be making broth, have a bag nearby so you can easily dispose of the raw chicken.  You need to be careful how you discard raw chicken pieces since it can be a huge risk for salmonella. 

The Right Way To Debone Chicken 

1. Transfer chicken on the cutting mat.  
2. Pull back the edge of the chicken skin.  You can use paper towels if it’s difficult to hold this part and pull it off.
3. Look for a large bone on one of the edges.  If there is none, you simply have to slide the knife beneath the bones and membrane as closely as possible.
4. You can start taking off the chicken tenderloins once the bone has been cut away.  You will find a small strip of meat, which is known as the tenderloin.  
5. You can opt to remove the skin from the meat. Now you have boneless chicken breasts

When you’ve deboned the chicken breast, you can start preparing it for whatever delicious chicken dish you intend to cook.  Tomato and, basil is a perfect match and it goes really well with chicken too. Plus, this is a great way to use your fresh herbs.

How To Make Tender Chicken Breast

There are some techniques you can use to make sure your chicken breasts cook properly.  One way you can do that is to slice them lengthwise and pound them to make them even.  Not only will this make the meat tender, it will also taste better. 

You can do this by placing the chicken breast inside a zip top bag and pound slightly with a rolling pin.

For the best result be sure to season the chicken just before you cook.  This will make a huge difference in the taste and the end result of the chicken breast. I usually use garlic powder, onion powder, or Italian seasoning.

This took a total of around 30 mins to prepare:  fast, easy, and delicious!

Garlic Basil Best Chicken Recipe:

Simple Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil or vegetable oil
• 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
• 3 cups fresh chopped Tomatoes
• 1 cup whole Spinach Leaves
• 2 tsp minced Garlic ( I prefer using fresh garlic cloves)
• Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper to taste
• 4 TBSP Cold Butter (I use unsalted butter)
• 1 pinch Basil powder
• Parmigiana Cheese
• Fettuccine Pasta (or pasta of your choice)
• Meat thermometer (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat oil on medium high heat in large pot or large skillet.
2.  For the next step, in a different pot boil water for pasta, cook according to directions on package
3.  Add Chicken to hot oil and cook 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
4.  Reduce to medium heat and add tomatoes, let them cook down a little bit, about 3-5 minutes
5.  Add Spinach, cook until soft, 2-4 minutes
6.  Add butter, cook until melted, stirring all ingredients well
7.  Add minced garlic, salt & pepper
8.  Cook until flavors well melded

Slice chicken into strips and serve over pasta and add parmigiana cheese to bring it all together. You get a delicious flavor and your taste buds will thank you.

Side Dish Ideas:

• Green Beans
• Butter Beans
• Broccoli
• Pasta subs:
• Cauliflower Rice
• Brown Rice
• Jasmine Rice