4 Ingredient Garlic Chicken

Name: 4 Ingredient Garlic Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless); 4 Tbsp garlic (minced); 4 Tbsp brown sugar; 4 tsp avocado oil; salt (to taste); pepper (to taste)

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Quick and easy 4 INGREDIENT GARLIC CHICKEN is the perfect solution to supper any night of the week. Made with simple, pantry staple ingredients, this recipe is perfect as is or even a little touch of what you add to it to make it your own. Your family and friends will fall in love with this easy and delicious recipe that tastes fancy and special.

A fork is piercing a piece of roasted chicken on a blue and white patterned plate. The chicken is sliced to show its cooked interior. A knife is placed beside the plate, and a glass dish with more chicken is in the background.

Cooking for your family doesn’t have to be daunting or boring. So many times, we get in a rut and just don’t know how many more ways we can cook that chicken for supper. Our 4 ingredient garlic chicken comes in and can help with all of that!

This is one of our most basic and easiest recipes. It is also one of the most customizable. Over the years , we have taken great pride in teaching you a basic recipe and how to take it and make it your own. I love multipurpose tools and recipes can sure be that too.

Ingredients

Perfect for busy weeknights when you don’t have time to even stop at the store for a list of things you don’t already have. 4 basic ingredients that makes a delicious almost honey like sauce. Feel free to add more beautiful ingredients like lemon juice or spicy seasonings to really take this over the top.

A piece of grilled chicken with seasoning on a blue and white plate. A fork and knife rest beside the chicken, all placed on a wooden surface.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

What You’ll Need

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Minced Garlic
Brown sugar
Avocado oil

Preheat the oven to 450 and grease a casserole dish.

A person is pouring oil into a black frying pan on a stove. A glass baking dish is nearby, along with a yellow cutting board holding raw chicken pieces. A fork and an open jar of peanut butter are on a wooden surface.

Heat avocado oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

A person cooking mashed apples in a black frying pan with a fork on a stovetop. A wooden cutting board holding a used fork and a glass bowl is on the left. A glass baking dish is placed on the right side.

Add in the garlic and reduce the heat to low-medium. Cook just until softened and fragrant. Remove from the heat.

A person holding a whisk hovers over a frying pan on a stovetop with a mixture of spices and butter. To the left is a cutting board with raw chicken breast, a fork, and a knife. To the right is a rectangular glass baking dish.

Stir in brown sugar and mix until dissolved.

A frying pan with oil and spices is on the stove next to a glass dish containing four raw chicken breasts. A hand holds a fork, preparing to move one of the chicken pieces.

Add chicken breasts to the prepared casserole dish in a single layer.

A person is pouring seasoned chicken pieces from a pan into a glass baking dish on a stovetop. The stovetop has a clean metal grate and is partially seen. The scene captures a top-down view of the cooking process.

Pour garlic and brown sugar sauce over the chicken.

Person seasoning four pieces of raw chicken placed in a glass baking dish on a stovetop. The stovetop grill is visible next to the wooden cutting board on the left.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165.

Baked chicken breasts in a roasting pan on a wooden table. One piece of chicken is served on a blue and white patterned plate with a knife and fork beside it.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before serving. Spoon extra sauce from the pan over the chicken.

Why Brooke loves this recipe!

Recipes are like antiques. They are meant to be handed down from one generation to another. Each one holding a special memory or nostalgic memory. Here is why we love this one!

Simple is always so much better. I think we get so consumed with making such elaborate dishes that we forget the simplest of things are always just as satisfying and sometimes come out better than a fancy pants recipe. This is one that reminds me of that!

Substitutions

We like to recommend some minor adjustments to help you make this recipe all your own.

Chicken – this is a great recipe for any cut of chicken, even bone in. Your cook time will vary though depending on what is used. Having a nice meat thermometer (there is one linked below) will help you determine the proper cooking time as chicken should be cooked to 165° internal temperature.
Seasonings – you can alter the flavors of this recipe simply by changing the seasonings. Heat or spice can be added by the addition of red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce. You may also want to sub garlic powder for the minced garlic. If so, you would use 2 Tablespoons of dried so it won’t be so overpowering.
Sweeten it up! the brown sugar does a great job here but if you wanted it a bit sweeter, turn this easy chicken recipe into honey garlic chicken by adding a bit of honey or substituting the brown sugar altogether.
Olive oil – if you don’t have avocado oil, feel free to use olive oil here.

Equipment

🔧 I love to share recipes that are no special equipment required but here are a few things that would definitely make this recipe easier!

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Storage

This recipe will keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.

This recipe can be frozen a couple of different ways. You can prepare before cooking and when sauce has cooled, transfer the whole thing uncooked to a freezer safe container for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature and then cook according to directions. The fully cooked recipe can also be frozen once cooled and kept in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Grilled chicken breast sliced on a blue and white plate with a fork. A black-handled knife rests beside the plate. A glass baking dish with more chicken is in the background on a wooden surface.

⭐ LOVE THIS RECIPE? It would mean so very much to me if you would take a moment to rate this recipe and leave me a sweet comment in the recipe card below! ❤️❤️We hope you love all of the Southern and healthy recipes we share here at The Buttered Home and would love to see you back here often!

A cooked chicken breast lies on a blue and white floral plate next to a fork and knife. Another piece of chicken is in a baking dish nearby. The dish is on a wooden surface. The chicken appears seasoned and cooked with a glaze or sauce.

4 Ingredient Garlic Chicken

Sweet and delicious garlic chicken made with just 4 ingredients. We take chicken breasts and sweeten them up with a sauce made with oil. brown sugar and fresh garlic for a main dish that always is a hit.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 35

Serving Size

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
4 Tbsp garlic minced
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp avocado oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet, heat avocado oil over medium-high heat until hot. Reduce heat to low-medium and add garlic. Cook until tender and fragrant, about a minute.
4 tsp avocado oil, 4 Tbsp garlic
Remove skillet from the heat and add in the brown sugar. Mix well until sugar has dissolved. Add chicken to the prepared baking dish in a single layer. Pour brown sugar sauce over the chicken. Add salt and pepper to season as desired.
4 chicken breasts, 4 Tbsp brown sugar, salt, pepper
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until an internal thermometer reads 165 degrees internal temperature of the chicken. Allow to rest 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with sauce from the pan spooned over the chicken.

See How To Make It!

A cooked piece of chicken breast is on a blue and white patterned plate. A fork and knife are placed beside the plate. In the background, part of a glass baking dish with more chicken is visible. The setting is on a wooden surface.

🍴 PRO TIP!

This is a great meal prep recipe! Make the sauce ahead of time and pop the chicken into your baking dish and cover as you would if you were cooking right away. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator overnight. Allow the dish to come to room temperature and cook as directed when you are ready to have it!

🗹 RECIPE FAQ’S

What goes best with this brown sugar garlic chicken?

At the bottom of this post there are several recommended dishes that go well with it. However, my all time favorite side to serve it with is SPAGHETTI SQUASH AU GRATIN.

How can I make sure my chicken is tender and moist and not dry?

For this dish or any chicken dish really, make sure your raw chicken is at room temperature before cooking. This allows the natural juices to be settled and more likely to stay in the chicken. Cooking right out of the fridge will cause the chicken to weep or sweat during cooking due to warming up too fast.

What can I do with the leftover chicken?

While ideally, you shouldn’t have any leftovers, you can use them in a number of ways. It can easily be reheated and eaten as is or shred it and make CHICKEN SALAD or even add it to salads or WHITE CHICKEN CHILI.