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Garlic Herb Chicken Breast with Mashed Potatoes

Garlic herb chicken with mashed potatoes made with golden-seared chicken and a herb-flecked garlic pan sauce. Served beside buttery Yukon gold mash for a comforting weeknight chicken dinner with spoon-tender potatoes.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

chicken breasts
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 0.25 tsp Salt Use for seasoning chicken and the potato water.
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp dried herbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp butter Divided for searing and sauce.
  • 5 cloves garlic cloves, minced
  • 0.5 cup chicken broth
  • 0.25 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Fresh thyme and rosemary Use fresh for the final herb infusion in the sauce.
mashed potatoes
  • 2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 0.5 cup warm heavy cream Warm before mashing for a smooth texture.
  • 0.5 tsp Salt To taste for the mashed potatoes.
  • 0.25 tsp pepper To taste for the mashed potatoes.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Make the mashed potatoes
  1. Bring salted water to a boil, add the peeled and cubed Yukon gold potatoes, and boil until completely tender, about 15 minutes, then drain.
  2. Mash the drained potatoes with the butter and warm heavy cream until smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Season and sear the chicken
  1. Season the chicken breasts with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried herbs so the surface is evenly speckled.
  2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken for 5–6 minutes per side until golden and cooked through, then set aside.
Cook the garlic herb pan sauce
  1. Melt the remaining butter in the same pan, add the minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
  2. Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  3. Simmer the pan sauce for 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened, then add fresh thyme and rosemary.
Serve
  1. Serve the chicken breast over mashed potatoes and drizzle the garlic herb pan sauce generously over both so it pools and lightly runs into the potatoes.

Notes

For the smoothest mash, warm the cream before adding and mash until no lumps remain—then cover to keep hot while you finish the chicken and sauce. Store leftovers in the fridge up to 3 days; freeze the chicken and sauce up to 2 months, but mashed potatoes are best eaten fresh (up to 1 day for best texture). For a lighter option, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream in both the sauce and mash.