Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic is an easy and delicious meal for dinner. Chicken is braised in an aromatic sauce with garlic, brandy, and fresh thyme.
Forty cloves of garlic might sound like a lot, but if you’ve never had mellow and sweet garlic cooked like this, you’re in for a treat!
Garlic in its raw form can be quite spicy and strong, but the garlic here is quite the opposite.
It’s similar to roasted garlic, and has a very soft texture and mellow flavor.
This garlic chicken dish is one of my all-time favorites. The flavors go so beautifully together, and it’s all made in one pan. I even serve the chicken right in the pan I cook it in.
If I had to characterize this recipe, it’s definitely all about the aromatics.
Fresh thyme, garlic, and a little bit of Brandy are the stars of the dish, and since chicken takes so well to other flavors, it picks up all those flavor notes and aromas.
It’s also a very comforting dish, but in a way that’s healthier than most of the recipes you’d think of as “comfort food.” It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and low carb friendly.
How to Make Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic:
Start by cooking bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a pan for about 5 minutes, until the chicken skin is golden brown, then flip and cook for a few minutes on the other side:
Remove the chicken to a plate. There should be plenty of brown bits and chicken fat leftover in the pan.
Add garlic cloves to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, then add fresh thyme and keep cooking for another 3 minutes:
Deglaze the pan by adding Brandy or Cognac:
It adds a great flavor and aromatic quality to the dish, but if you wish to omit the alcohol, you can substitute chicken stock.
Next add chicken stock to the pan:
Add the chicken back to the pan, cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked to a temperature of 180F inside.
Once again remove the chicken from the pan, this time to a baking sheet.
Pop the chicken thighs under the broiler for a couple minutes, to crisp and brown the skin:
In the meantime, you will be left with the sauce in the pan:
Cook the sauce over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, until the liquid reduces down considerably:
Now you can add the crispy skin chicken thighs back to the pan, and serve it all together:
For comforting, rich sides to serve with the chicken, I recommend Potato Gratin or Crispy Smashed Potatoes.
For lighter sides, I recommend Charred Broccoli, Zucchini Ribbon Salad, or Zucchini Fritters. Enjoy!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Ingredients
- 3.5 lbs chicken thighs bone-in and skin on
- 40 peeled cloves of garlic*
- 1/4 cup Brandy or Cognac
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels, then season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a braiser pan or high-sided saute pan with a lid over medium heat, and add the chicken thighs skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes, until fat has rendered and the skin is golden.
- Flip and cook the chicken for 3 minutes on the other side, then remove all the chicken to a plate.
- Add the garlic to the pan, and saute for 5 minutes, until golden.
- Add the thyme and cook for another 3 minutes, until the thyme has wilted.
- Add the Brandy or Cognac to deglaze the pan, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken back to the pan.**
- Cover with a lid, turn the heat to medium low to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes, until the interior temperature is 180F.
- Remove the chicken to a sheet pan, and place the chicken skin side up under the broiler for a few minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Make sure to watch closely so the chicken doesn't burn.
- In the meantime, cook the sauce over medium high heat to reduce the braising liquid, until slightly thickened.
- Serve the sauce and crispy chicken together. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated with new photos, writing, and recipe in August 2018. Originally published April 2011.
9 Comments on “Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic”
Awesome recipe, Joanne, especially for the simplicity! This was an excellent Hurricane Henri Sunday dinner, served with your charred broccoli recipe. I’ll be making this one again. Hope you’re doing well!
PS – I’ve been making a lot of your recipes I’ve saved years ago, but haven’t checked the site in awhile. Your new stuff looks awesome, I’ll be back by more often.
We really enjoyed this!
Just wondering about the accuracy of the nutrition facts/ serving size info… a full pound of chicken per person seems a bit much…
It comes out to a little less than 1/2 pound per person and that’s a bone-in thigh. 3.5 pounds divided by 8 servings.
Hi Joanne,
So I made this super awesome 40 cloves again last night and got the same rave reviews from my family. They absolutely love, love, love it. My 5 year old daughter didn’t even swallow her first bite before asking me to make it again! She asked me if she could have it for breakfast also!!! I’ve tried several of your recipes so far and The Chicken with 40 cloves and the Mexican Braised Chicken are the most requested. Keep the recipes coming!!! 🙂
Shannon, I’m so glad to hear this! And even MORE glad to hear that your 5 year old daughter likes it so much! Good for you for feeding your kids some healthy, from scratch meals. Happy cooking!!!
Hum – let me think. Do you think I would like something with so much garlic? 🙂 Actually I have a similar recipe but I braise it so the garlic doesn’t come out brown like yours. This looks fabulous! I can definitely see taken some of cloves and smashing them on homemade bread. Great recipe!
it was yummy! although my garlic turned out much darker… i tried really hard to keep it from browning too much. maybe it was the wine? either way, will definitely make this again 🙂
This is wonderful..love the color the chicken took. I would grab that skin right now if it was in front of me.
Happy Easter!