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Easy Cream Cheese Chicken

Easy cream cheese chicken is a simple chicken skillet dinner with juicy breasts smothered in a thick, velvety tangy cream cheese sauce. Minced garlic and chicken broth scrape up browned bits for extra flavor, then the sauce stays creamy and coats every piece.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 560
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breasts
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 0.25 tsp Salt
  • 0.25 tsp pepper
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp onion powder
Cooking and sauce base
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic minced
  • 1 cup chicken broth
Cream cheese sauce
  • 8 oz cream cheese cubed and softened
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 0.25 fresh chives for garnish
  • 0.5 lemon zest for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Season and sear the chicken
  1. Season the boneless skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear chicken for 5-6 minutes per side until golden and the internal temperature reaches 165°F, then remove.
Build the sauce
  1. Cook the garlic in the same pan for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits.
Melt the cream cheese
  1. Add the cream cheese cubes and stir over medium-low heat until fully melted and smooth.
Thicken without boiling
  1. Stir in sour cream, fresh lemon juice, and Italian seasoning until the sauce is creamy and well combined; do not boil after adding sour cream.
Finish and garnish
  1. Return the chicken breasts to the pan and spoon the sauce over each piece. Garnish with fresh chives and lemon zest.

Notes

For the thickest tangy sauce, keep the heat at medium-low once the cream cheese is melted and avoid boiling after sour cream goes in. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet over low heat, adding a splash of chicken broth if needed. Freezing is not recommended due to sauce texture changes. For a lower-fat option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and sour cream while keeping the same technique to prevent boiling.