Before You Start: Check the Chicken Thickness

This is one step worth doing before the skillet gets hot.

Chicken breasts can vary dramatically in thickness. If one end is much thicker than the other, the thin section may become dry before the thick center finishes cooking.

Place unusually thick breasts between sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and gently pound them to a more even thickness.

You don’t need to make them paper-thin. The goal is simply to make the thickness more consistent.

Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and black pepper.

The One-Skillet Method

1. Brown the Chicken

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Once the pan is hot, add the chicken while leaving some space between the pieces.

Let the first side cook without constantly moving it. Once it develops a good golden surface, flip and brown the other side.

The chicken doesn’t necessarily need to be completely cooked at this stage because it will finish in the sauce.

Transfer it to a clean plate.

Don’t force four breasts into a small skillet

If the chicken barely fits, cook it in two batches.

Crowding traps more moisture around the chicken and makes good browning harder to achieve.

Those browned surfaces—and the browned bits left in the skillet—are important to the final flavor of the sauce.

2. Turn Down the Heat Before Adding Garlic

After removing the chicken, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low.

Add the minced garlic.

Stir frequently and cook only until it becomes fragrant.

This isn’t the moment to walk away from the stove. Garlic can move from aromatic to burnt quickly, especially in a pan that’s still very hot from searing chicken.

If the garlic becomes deeply brown or black, the resulting bitterness can affect the entire cream sauce.

3. Use the Broth to Capture What’s Left in the Pan

Pour in the chicken broth.

As it begins heating, scrape the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon or spatula.

You’re looking to release the flavorful browned bits left from the chicken, not scrub the skillet completely clean.

Let the broth simmer briefly.

4. Turn It Into a Cream Sauce

Reduce the heat if necessary and pour in the heavy cream.

Add the Italian seasoning and stir.

Allow the mixture to reach a gentle simmer rather than an aggressive boil.

Gradually stir in the Parmesan until incorporated.

At this stage, the sauce may look somewhat thinner than you expect. Give it time to simmer gently before deciding that something has gone wrong.

5. Finish the Chicken in the Sauce

Return the browned chicken to the skillet along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate.

Spoon some sauce over each piece.

Continue cooking gently until the chicken is completely cooked through.

For poultry, the original recipe correctly referenced a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F (73.9°C). Check the thickest part of the chicken with a food thermometer rather than trying to determine doneness from its exterior color.

Remove the skillet from the heat and finish with chopped parsley.