By Becky Hardin
Published Jan 9, 2018
This brined chicken breast with garlic and crispy sage is one of our favorite easy meals for entertaining guests or a delicious night at home. You won’t believe how tasty these simple garlic and sage chicken flavors are until you try them all together. The garlic brine makes the chicken SO TENDER and JUICY!
How To Brine Chicken Breast with Garlic and Crispy Sage
This Brined Chicken Breast recipe features a flavorful garlic brine and crispy sage.
There’s nothing better than an easy and DELICIOUS chicken meal. It’s something we are always looking for in our family. I may just love a staple chicken dish even more than I love cheesy dips . MAYBE.
Some of my favorite easy weeknight recipes from the blog include:
- Melt in Your Mouth Caesar Chicken
- Creamy White Wine Dijon Chicken
- One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken & Veggies
- Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan (recently featured in Taste of Home Magazine!)
This Garlic Brine Chicken Breast with Crispy Sage will be added to your favorite dinner recipes in no time!
What is Brined Chicken Breast?
Brined Chicken Breast is super moist, tender, and flavorful–who wouldn’t want that?!
Brining is a method of seasoning the chicken breast, much like marinating. The great thing about brining is that it keeps the chicken moist in addition to adding flavor.
How to Brine Chicken Breast:
To make this brine, simply add salt to water plus any other seasonings you want. For this garlic and sage chicken breast recipe, we also add sage leaves and garlic to the brine.
Once you have your brine, let the chicken breast soak. Make sure it is fully emerged in the garlic brine solution.
How long does Brined Chicken Breast take?
How long to let your brined chicken breast soak depends on the recipe. For this recipe, let the chicken soak for about 15 minutes in the garlic and crispy sage brine.
A few things to note:
- If you leave your chicken breast in the brine solution for too long, the meat might become too salty
- In this case, you can rinse the chicken
- However, washing the chicken after soaking in brine is not necessary
15 minutes is a good amount of time to brine and leaves the brine chicken breast plenty flavorful and moist without being too salty.
Garlic Brined Chicken Breast Recipe with Crispy Sage
PLEASE check her out! We didn’t change this much from the cookbook, but made little tweaks like frying the sage separately to make it extra crispy. The flavor combo of the garlic and sage chicken is something I would have never explored on my own, but it’s my new favorite. You MUST try it.
Pat had leftovers of this Garlic Brine Chicken Breast with Crispy Sage when he came home from work and was blown away. He’s usually quite understated with his critiques, but this one got a big stamp of approval. It’s just so juicy and flavorful. An instant EASY favorite. Winner winner, chicken dinner!
See the recipe card for details on how to Brine Chicken Breast with Garlic and Crispy Sage. Enjoy!
Clearly you love chicken recipes, so make sure to try these too:
- 40 Clove Garlic Chicken and Potatoes
- Easy Honey Garlic Baked Chicken
- Crockpot Whole Chicken
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Oven Fried Chicken Breast
- Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients1x2x3x
- ▢ 4 cups cold water
- ▢ 1/3 cup table salt
- ▢ 20 sage leaves divided
- ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
- ▢ 4 chicken breasts
- ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ▢ 3 tablespoons good olive oil divided
- ▢ Garnish: Fried sage leaves
Instructions
- Place the water and salt in a large bowl. Stir until salt is dissolved. Add 8 sage leaves, minced garlic and chicken; stir gently. Be sure liquid covers the chicken and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and pour the liquid over a mesh strainer to reserve the sage leaves and garlic. (No need to reserve the water brine.)
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Heat a large non-stick or well-seasoned skillet until warm. Add butter and 2 tablespoons oil and heat over medium heat.
- Add chicken and cook 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add reserved sage and garlic (from the brine).
- Turn the chicken and cook another 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook 2 minutes.
- Test the chicken with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Chicken breasts are done when the internal temperature is 160°F.
- If needed, replace the lid and cook just until chicken is done.
- Remove from the heat (keep lid on) and let rest for 2 minutes.
- While the chicken rests, fry the sage leaves: If necessary, add 1 tablespoon more oil to the pan. Heat oil over medium heat. Place the extra 12 sage leaves in the hot oil and cook for 3-5 seconds per side or until crispy. Turn off heat and transfer leaves to a paper towel to dry.
- To serve the chicken:
- Place chicken breasts on a serving dish and drizzle with the pan juices. Top with crispy sage leaves.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Garlic Brined Chicken with Crispy Sage
Ingredients
- 4 cups cold water
- 1/3 cup table salt
- 20 sage leaves divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil divided
- Garnish: Fried sage leaves
Instructions
- Place the water and salt in a large bowl. Stir until salt is dissolved. Add 8 sage leaves, minced garlic and chicken; stir gently. Be sure liquid covers the chicken and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and pour the liquid over a mesh strainer to reserve the sage leaves and garlic. (No need to reserve the water brine.)
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Heat a large non-stick or well-seasoned skillet until warm. Add butter and 2 tablespoons oil and heat over medium heat.
- Add chicken and cook 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add reserved sage and garlic (from the brine).
- Turn the chicken and cook another 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook 2 minutes.
- Test the chicken with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Chicken breasts are done when the internal temperature is 160°F.
- If needed, replace the lid and cook just until chicken is done.
- Remove from the heat (keep lid on) and let rest for 2 minutes.
- While the chicken rests, fry the sage leaves: If necessary, add 1 tablespoon more oil to the pan. Heat oil over medium heat. Place the extra 12 sage leaves in the hot oil and cook for 3-5 seconds per side or until crispy. Turn off heat and transfer leaves to a paper towel to dry.
- To serve the chicken:
- Place chicken breasts on a serving dish and drizzle with the pan juices. Top with crispy sage leaves.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
By Becky Hardin
Published Jul 12, 2017
This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.
Essential Grocery List
It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!
It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.
However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.
In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.
I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List
What to Buy at the Grocery Store
This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.
When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.
So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!
Fresh Produce
- Apples
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Avocados
- Bell Peppers
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Lemons/Limes
- Onion
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
GRAINS
- Breadcrumbs
- Pasta
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Sandwich Bread
- Tortillas
MEAT/PROTEIN
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Ground Beef
- Sliced Turkey
- Lunch Meat
DAIRY
- Butter
- Sliced Cheese
- Shredded Cheese
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Greek Yogurt
BAKING GOODS
- Baking powder
- Baking Soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Honey
- Vanilla Extract
- Dry Yeast
- Chocolate Chips
- Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
FREEZER
- Fruit and Berries
- Frozen Veggies (Corn, Peas, Broccoli, etc)
- Juice Concentrate
- Pizza or Other Convenience Meals
- Pie Crust
- Cookie Dough
CANNED/DRIED GOODS
- Chicken stock/broth
- Salsa
- Diced Tomatoes
- Jam/Jelly
- Peanut Butter
- Pasta Sauce
- Beans (Black Beans, Chickpeas, Baked Beans, etc)
- Soups
- Tuna
- Green Chiles
- Canned Veggies
- Coffee or Tea
Get more details on the best non-perishable and pantry foods
CONDIMENTS/SPICES
- Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cinnamon
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
- Salt (Course Sea Salt and Kosher Salt)
- Soy Sauce
- Steak Sauce
- Hot Sauce/ Buffalo Sauce
- Salad Dressings
OILS/VINEGARS
- Apple cider vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable/Canola Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Cooking Wine
- White Wine Vinegar
SNACKS
- Crackers
- Nuts
- Quick Oats
- Popcorn
- Tortilla Chips
- Cereal
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!
Click ☝🏻 for my FREE Grocery List Printable!
I hope this essential grocery list can help you buy what you need and make your home cooking so much easier!
Stock Your Kitchen
Find more ideas for your grocery list, stock up your kitchen, and print more cooking guides and charts to keep handy!
Non-Perishable Foods to Stock Up On
Frozen Vegetables to Stock Up On (and Recipes to Make)
Ultimate List of Cooking Herbs for Your Kitchen
Ultimate List of Cooking Spices for Your Kitchen
Cooking Oil 101: Types of Cooking Oils to Use
26 Types of Pasta and When to Use Them
What Fruits and Vegetables are in Season?
Meat Temperature Chart (Free Printable)
How to Meal Prep (Guide for Beginners)
Basic Cooking Measurements & Kitchen Conversion Chart
