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Easy Cream Cheese Chicken

Easy cream cheese chicken with juicy, golden chicken breasts finished in a thick, tangy cream cheese sauce. The velvety skillet sauce coats every piece, brightened with lemon juice plus lemon zest and fresh chives.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Calories: 640
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breasts
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts Pat dry before seasoning for better browning.
Seasonings and aromatics
  • 0.5 tsp Salt To taste.
  • 0.5 tsp pepper To taste.
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder To taste.
  • 0.5 tsp onion powder To taste.
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic Minced.
Sauce
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 8 oz cream cheese Cubed and softened.
  • 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup needed; keep for thickness and tanginess.
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice Fresh.
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 0.25 Fresh chives For garnish.
  • 0.25 lemon zest For garnish.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Sear the chicken
  1. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste. Sear in olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side until golden and the internal temperature reaches 165°F, then remove.
Build the tangy base
  1. Cook the minced garlic in the same pan for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Melt the cream cheese and finish the sauce
  1. Add the cream cheese cubes and stir over medium-low heat until fully melted and smooth. Stir in sour cream, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning until the sauce is creamy and well combined, and do not boil after adding sour cream.
Coat and garnish
  1. Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the sauce over each breast until coated. Garnish with fresh chives and lemon zest right before serving.

Notes

For the thickest, velvety sauce, keep the heat at medium-low while melting the cream cheese and avoid boiling once sour cream is added. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of chicken broth to loosen. Freezing is not recommended because dairy sauces can separate—if you want a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat sour cream.