40 Clove Garlic Chicken

40 Clove Garlic Chicken is a baked chicken recipe, with 40 cloves of garlic, white wine, thyme, rosemary and a little cream. This comfort food classic is perfect for Sunday supper.

Whether you call it 40 cloves of chicken, chicken with 40 cloves or chicken with garlic sauce, this recipe is a classic. It’s rustic, hearty, full of flavor and the epitome of comfort food. 

What is 40 clove chicken?

Basically it is a chicken with garlic sauce. The browned chicken is baked on a bed of 40 cloves of garlic until perfectly cooked and tender. Then a touch of cream is added to the pan juices and poured over the chicken. 

Yep that’s right, 40 cloves of garlic. That’s two, or in some cases, three entire heads of garlic. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? But that’s not all. This recipe also has chicken, white wine, chicken stock and herbs. To top it off, a splash of cream is added at the end.

All of this makes a deliciously creamy garlic sauce, perfect for pouring over chicken.

Winner winner chicken dinner indeed.

As a garlic lover, I wanted to try Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic ever since I first read about it in The Garlic Lover’s Cookbook. It was a birthday present when I was 17.

My garlic love runs deep, friends.

It has taken me a few tries to get this recipe just right but I have perfected it in all of it’s rustic comfort food glory. And with my tips and step by step instructions, you’ll perfect this classic too. 

How do you make chicken with garlic sauce?

STEP #1: Pat the chicken dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. Note: For this recipe, I used chicken drumsticks but you can use a mixture of chicken thighs and drumsticks. You can also use a whole cut up chicken if you’d like a mixture of white and dark meat. 

STEP #2: Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven (or other oven-proof pot). Cook the chicken, in batches, until browned. You want to cook it in batches so you do not over crowd the pan. 

DES’ TIP: If you try to turn the chicken and it doesn’t turn or the skin starts to stick, leave it a minute or so longer. The chicken will easily turn when the skin is seared.

STEP #3: In the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, sauté the garlic, thyme and rosemary. Cook until the garlic starts to brown, about 2 minutes. 

STEP #4: Return the chicken to the pot and pour wine and chicken broth over the top. 

STEP #5: Cover the chicken and cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 10 minutes. 

DES TIP: To get the skin crispy, you can turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes. 

STEP #6: Put pot back on the stove and remove the chicken from the pan to a serving platter. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and slowly whisk in tempered cream.

Cook just until the sauce is thickened, 3 – 5 minutes, and then pour over the chicken. 

DES’ TIP: To temper cream simply whisk in one tablespoon of the hot liquid into the cold cream. This will help prevent the cream from curdling when added to the sauce. 

If you are looking for side dishes to serve along side your Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, here are some of my favorites: 

Creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes 

Dill Green Beans

Roasted Red Potatoes

Sautéed Broccoli 

Garlic lover too? Here are some of my most popular garlic recipes: 

Garlic Cheese Bread

Easy Garlic Aioli Recipe 

Garlic Rice

Garlic Vinaigrette Recipe 

Note: This post was originally written and posted in 2009. It was updated with new tips, step by step photos and nutrition facts in 2020. 

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

40 Clove Chicken is a baked chicken recipe, with 40 cloves of garlic, white wine, thyme, rosemary and a little cream. 

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine American

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
• ▢ 8 chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 40 cloves garlic peeled
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• ▢ 1/4 cup chicken stock
• ▢ 1/4 cup dry white wine
• ▢ 1/4 cup heavy cream
• ▢ chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

 

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• ▢
  Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or other oven proof pot over medium heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. In batches, cook chicken until browned. About 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a separate platter. Set aside.
• ▢
  Reserve 2 tablespoons of pan drippings, add in garlic, thyme and rosemary. Cook until garlic browns slightly, stirring often, about 2 minutes.
• ▢
  Return chicken to pan, pour chicken stock and wine over the top. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 10 minutes. If you would like the chicken skin crispier turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes.
• ▢
  Remove chicken from oven. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and cover to keep warm. Place dutch oven back on the stove and turn heat to medium. Bring to a boil. Stir 1 tablespoon of hot pan drippings into the heavy cream to temper it. Reduce heat and slowly whisk tempered heavy cream into sauce. Cook 3 - 5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Spoon sauce over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes

Nutrition facts for estimation purposes only.

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcalCarbohydrates: 10.9gProtein: 27.5gFat: 15.3gSaturated Fat: 4.2gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 280mgFiber: 0.8gSugar: 0.5g

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Keywords: 40 cloves chicken, chicken, chicken stock, entree, Food, forty clove chicken, garlic, half and half, Recipe, roasted garlic, white wine