This Smothered Chicken recipe is sure to become a family favorite! Moist and tender chicken breasts are drenched in a luxuriously creamy bacon and mushroom sauce. 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!
Mushrooms, bacon and cream come together in this fabulous comfort dish. You’ll 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!
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. Â 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. Â 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.
Enjoy!
For more delicious American-style comfort food try our:
- Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
- Hamburger GravyÂ
- Skillet Corn Pudding
- Ultimate Green Bean Casserole
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
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
- 1-2 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
Margaret green says
CaN you make this without the cream
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Margaret, yes, but it won’t taste as good :) You can simply use milk or half and half instead.
Erika says
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!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Erika, so glad it was a hit! And shallots are a good just-for-the-heck-of-it choice ;)
Lee says
We made this last night, it was really good. We made smashed potatoes to go with it. Thanks for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic! Thanks so much, Lee!
Anonymous says
this is amazing!! i just made it an my husband said to make it again:) he loved it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, I’m happy you both enjoyed it! It’s a favorite in our family as well.
Penny says
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!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, I’m so thrilled to hear that, Penny! You served it up perfectly, love your choice of sides, yummy!
Toni says
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
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
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!
Micky says
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.
The Daring Gourmet says
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!
Judy K. says
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.
The Daring Gourmet says
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 :)
Elaine says
We don’t do mushrooms. Would this still be as good without?
The Daring Gourmet says
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.”
Ruthanne Barnes says
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! ;-)
The Daring Gourmet says
Haha, so true, Ruthanne, so true! And this dish definitely requires lots and lots of taste tests – you know, just to make sure :)
Mara says
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.
The Daring Gourmet says
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!
Cml says
Looks really yummy. What goes good with this recipe?
The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Cml! Serving it with/over pasta or rice is a perfect pairing!