Smothered Chicken
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This Smothered Chicken recipe is destined to become a family favorite. Moist and tender chicken breasts are drenched in a luxuriously creamy bacon and mushroom sauce. What is there not to love? Serve it over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta and get ready to enjoy some ultimate comfort food!
A few years ago when I made this Smothered Chicken for the first time I marveled at how our family dinner was actually peaceful. Our normally rambunctious 4 and 2 year old kids were so engrossed in the meal, so contented, that my husband and I were actually able to enjoy the meal ourselves – imagine that! If only family dinner could always be like this! Both of our kids asked for seconds and our 4 year old remained at the table for a full 7 minutes after everyone else was done, savoring every last morsel. I made a mental note: Serve Smothered Chicken every night, ha!
Fast forward several years and our kids love this smothered chicken as much today as they did then. And it’s always a hit when we serve it to friends and family. We’re confident you’ll love it as much as we do!
What is Smothered Chicken?
It’s chicken that’s smothered in a creamy mushroom bacon sauce. Nothing more needs to be said. Except that you may find yourself setting aside everything you learned about table manners and picking up the plate to give it six solid licks to lap up every last drop of sauce. (Not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything).
And if you’re the parent of a toddler, preschooler or teenagers who can’t sit through a family meal without chaos breaking loose, this Smothered Chicken recipe is your new secret tool to peace and happiness – at least for the duration of dinner!
What to Serve with Smothered Chicken
You can serve this with a variety of carbs and veggies. Here are a few ideas:
- Mashed potatoes
- Buttered noodles or Spaetzle
- Steamed rice or Homemade Rice a Roni
- Buttermilk Biscuits or Spelt Biscuits
- Cornbread Muffins
- Or see How to Cook Spaghetti Squash for a low carb alternative!
- Four Bean Salad
- Green beans, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower
Storage & Freezing
Smothered chicken will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge and then gently reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Smothered Chicken Recipe
Let’s get started!
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chicken and sear both sides until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside, leaving the browned bits in the bottom of the pan – that’s going to add a lot of great flavor to the sauce.
Next fry the bacon until crispy. Don’t drain the bacon grease – that’s a must for flavor! (And yes, it’s okay to live a little once a while.)
Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the butter, let it melt, then add the flour and stir until combined. Cook for about 30 seconds. This will eliminate the “floury” taste.
While whisking constantly, pour in the heavy cream and milk. Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue whisking until the sauce is thickened.
Stir in the salt.
Stir in the parsley. Nestle the chicken breasts in the sauce and spoon some sauce over them. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
And salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately garnished with some fresh parsley.
Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes. See blog post above for more serving suggestions.
Enjoy!
For more classic American comfort dishes try my:
- Sausage Gravy
- Hamburger Gravy
- Corn Pudding
- Ultimate Green Bean Casserole
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
- Shrimp and Grits
- Jambalaya
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Smothered Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts , cut in half lengthwise to form 4 thinner chicken fillets (or 4 whole chicken breasts if you prefer a bigger serving), both sides sprinkled with salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 slices thick-cut bacon , diced (use more bacon if using thin-sliced)
- 6 ounces fresh white button or cremini mushrooms , sliced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chicken and sear both sides until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside, leaving the browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
- Add the bacon and cooked until crispy. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the butter, melt, then add the flour and stir to combined. Cook for 30 seconds.
- While whisking constantly, pour in the heavy cream and milk. Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue whisking until the sauce is thickened. Add the salt and parsley.
- Nestle the chicken breasts in the sauce and spoon sauce over them to cover. Return the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with rice, pasta or potatoes and garnish with some fresh chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet on April 22, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I’m loving this BECAUSE you used cream! Sometimes you have to live and make things the right way! ;) As Julia used to say, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” :)
Exactly, Christina! :) And yes, Julia’s words a personal motto of mine, haha! A very wise woman ;)
CaN you make this without the cream
Hi Margaret, yes, but it won’t taste as good :) You can simply use milk or half and half instead.
I made this for dinner tonight with a side of green beans and mashed potatoes and it was so yummy! The only thing I added were shallots midway through cooking the bacon just for the heck of it :D Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Awesome, Erika, so glad it was a hit! And shallots are a good just-for-the-heck-of-it choice ;)
We made this last night, it was really good. We made smashed potatoes to go with it. Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic! Thanks so much, Lee!
this is amazing!! i just made it an my husband said to make it again:) he loved it.
Wonderful, I’m happy you both enjoyed it! It’s a favorite in our family as well.
I made this wonderful meal tonight. It was delicious. I used tenderloins instead of breasts. Served with mashed potatoes and French style green beans (with bacons pieces) and corn bread. It tasted like something you would get from Cracker Barrel. Will make this again!
Fantastic, I’m so thrilled to hear that, Penny! You served it up perfectly, love your choice of sides, yummy!
Awesome, just made for tonight and I can’t wait to dig in, I swear I never sampled so much, I’m surprised there is still something left.. Thank you
Haha :) That’s awesome! Same here – this really is one of those dishes that requires an inordinate amount of self-control to actually make it to the dinner table. Thanks so much for making it and for your feedback, Toni!
OMG, I made this tonight and it was outstanding! The only change I made was to double the sauce as I planned to serve it with fettuccine pasta and use the extra for the pasta.
Awesome, Micky!! Yep, there’s definitely NO such thing as too much of this sauce – I can’t get enough of it either! :) Thanks for your feedback!
I made this tonight. It was really good but so rich. We will be making this again but ext time I think I’ll use half-n-half instead of heavy cream. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Judy, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it’s definitely one of those luxuriously rich dishes you don’t want to make too often unless you can afford the calories :)
We don’t do mushrooms. Would this still be as good without?
I can’t blame you, Elaine, up until just a few years ago I hated mushrooms. The texture still isn’t my favorite but I’ve grown to appreciate the flavor. YES, this will still be good without the mushrooms – not quite as flavorful, but still excellent. You might cut back on the liquid a little though, or add a little more flour since you’re losing “bulk.”
I am absolutely going to make this! I just hope there’s some left for my family! After all, a good cook needs to ‘taste test’ her recipe as she cooks, and my ‘taste tests’ are more like PSAT Exams! ;-)
Haha, so true, Ruthanne, so true! And this dish definitely requires lots and lots of taste tests – you know, just to make sure :)
I made this for dinner last night, and I swear I licked my plate. I might have to make it again tonight. I might have to start a 12 Step Program… ;)
Thanks for the share.
Haha, awesome! Thanks for your feedback, Mara. And if you get that 12 Step Program going, let me know – I have a family of four who’ll need to join it with you!
Looks really yummy. What goes good with this recipe?
Thank you, Cml! Serving it with/over pasta or rice is a perfect pairing!
I need this in my life. RT @daringgourmet: Smothered Chicken (ultra creamy sauce with mushrooms and bacon). http://t.co/oRhMdtO54y
Smothered Chicken (ultra creamy sauce with mushrooms and bacon). C.O.M.F.O.R.T. http://t.co/WA94WCxdWW