Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic is a classic French dish, yes with 40 cloves of garlic, no more no less. Although it may seem like a lot of garlic, it mellows in flavor as it cooks and you end up with mild, buttery garlic and a moist and delicious chicken! A must try!
If the thought of 40 cloves or garlic scares you, hold on a second and don’t lose out on one of the most delicious chicken dishes you could ever have. When I first tried this dish, years and years ago, I thought 40 cloves of garlic was going to be overkill and I was going to smell like I ate 40 cloves of garlic for weeks. Not so much, as a matter of fact you won’t smell like garlic at all.
As the garlic cooks it will mellow out in flavor and turn into this delicious soft, spreadable and flavorful garlic that tastes just like roasted garlic. After you eat this, you might wish you added a bit more garlic.
I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs in this dish but any part of the chicken will work, whatever you prefer and yes you can use thighs with skin and bones as well, you’ll get a lot more flavor from the fat of the skin, so have at it. If you’re feeling brave enough, you could even use a whole chicken, YES! All you have to do is wash your chicken, dry it with paper towels, then rub it with a couple tablespoons of butter. Yes you will need to make sure the chicken is really dry, otherwise the butter won’t stick to it. Put the chicken in a large cast iron skillet, add the garlic, season the chicken with salt, pepper, thyme and whatever herbs you choose, add a couple more tbsp of butter to the skillet, then bake it at 375 F for about an hour. You will end up with the most delicious chicken ever, trust me!
But if you want the quicker version go for my chicken thighs. Now you’re probably asking yourself if I really did count 40 cloves of garlic and the answer is YES, I did! I used exactly 40 cloves of garlic. Did I peel them myself? I used to, but then I discovered the already peeled garlic cloves at the grocery store and I haven’t looked back since. All I had to do is count, and I can count to 40. HA!
In other news, my dear readers, we finally got a new puppy, Indiana Jones is his name and he’s a 10 week old Australian Shepherd. Cute as a button, lots of energy, lots of fun, no sleep, no rest, just playtime. Check out my instagram account for pictures of the little pup. Very hard to get some good pictures of him now because he won’t sit still for long enough so I can shoot some pictures, but they’ll come.
Check out the video!
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic is a classic French dish, yes with 40 cloves of garlic, no more no less. Although it may seem like a lot of garlic, it mellows in flavor as it cooks and you end up with mild, buttery garlic and a moist and delicious chicken! A must try!
- 2 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 40 cloves garlic cleaned but kept whole
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp fresh dill
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped for garnish
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Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
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Clean the chicken thighs, pat them dry and cut them in half.
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In a large Dutch oven or oven proof skillet add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs and cook on both sides just until they start to brown and are no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
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Add the cloves of garlic to the same skillet. Season with cumin, dill, thyme, salt, pepper and stir. Add the wine, stir a bit and scrape all the pieces from the bottom of the skillet, then cook for about 2 minutes just until the wine reduces a bit and the garlic starts to brown.
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Stir in the chicken broth then add the chicken back to the skillet. Cover the skillet with a lid and place in the oven for about 20 minutes.
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Garnish with parsley and serve warm over rice or noodles.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
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I made this tonight for my family and it was fantastic! I think I’ll add mushrooms next time (I love mushrooms)! Great recipe! Thanks again!
Delicious!!! Made it tonight, hubby and I loved it a lot! Now I’m planning to make it for dad in law when we visit ?
Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Yay, so glad you guys liked it!
a must for garlic lovers. so easy to make!
Agreed!
As a lover of garlic, I might add about 10 more cloves to this awesome recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jo. Do I need to rub butter on the chicken before cooking them? As I saw you mentioned about rubbing butter on a whole chicken. Also, can I use chicken breast? Thanks.
Hi Chloe, no butter is needed if you make the recipe as according to my instructions here, only if you use a whole chicken. Yes, you can use chicken breast or any part of the chicken you wish.
Do NOT wash a chicken. Spreads all sorts round the kitchen sink! http://www.livescience.com/50919-why-washing-chicken-before-cooking-is-unsafe.html
This looks delicious, I love garlic.
Quick question – what is marjoram? It’s listed in the directions but not in the ingredient list (I know it’s a spice, but that’s about it). Thanks!
Marjoram is a perennial herb with citrus flavors, great for chicken dishes. Just updated the recipe, when I made this before I used marjoram, so you can switch up the herbs to your preference.
Sounds good. Thanks!
I’ve actually made this recipe myself over 10 years ago, I still remember it because it was so shocking with the 40 garlic cloves. But that’s exactly why I chose to make it, as any good Romanian person I love garlic with a passion. I should make it again soon, the Romanian side of my son is very strong when it comes to garlic, he loves it just as much as I do. 🙂
So glad you have made it and it’s a favorite. Thanks for sharing your comments and being a part of Jo Cooks
A dish that this garlic lover here would make, eat and repeat. Hubby will love it!
I need to feed 5 people and also have leftovers for next day’s lunch. Do you think this recipe will be enough?
Also, can I just fry the chicken, etc. in the Dutch Oven so that I only have to wash one thing?
You can absolutely use a Dutch oven to fry the chicken in. I would probably go with 3 lb of chicken especially if you’re feeding men, just to make sure you have enough.
Awesome! Can’t wait to try this one pot recipe. ^_^
I am wanting to make this for a dinner party with about 15-20 people. What is your recommendation for altering the ingredients?
I’ve never made such large quantity for this dish, but I would simply just multiply everything by 4. Hope this helps.