Everyone in my home loves this smothered chicken recipe, from my husband and me to our three kids. Whenever I test a recipe and everyone asks for seconds (and thirds) then I know I have a winner on my hands. This is one of my favorite new recipes for comfort food on busy weeknights in my home.
Recipe Highlights
- Simple to prepare: This pan fried chicken dish comes together in a single skillet with minimal prep time and a total cooking time of under an hour.
- High in protein: Each serving provides 29 grams of protein, which makes it easy to meet daily protein goals. I also love that it’s easy to modify for gluten-free diets, as needed.
- Works well for meal prep: Since my family loves this recipe so much, I often prepare extras to pack away for quick meal prep lunch and dinner options for the week.
Notable Ingredients
- Chicken breast – I use boneless skinless chicken breast, but boneless skinless chicken thighs also work. Avoid bone-in or skin-on chicken, since each piece gets cut in half. I tend to buy pasture-raised chicken in an effort to find the best quality chicken for my family’s needs.
- Bacon – use 2 slices of bacon, and chop them into pieces. I like to look for no-sugar bacon whenever possible, such as Applegate Farms brand.
- Broth – when I have a batch of homemade broth on hand, I use it. And when I don’t, store-bought low-sodium chicken stock or chicken broth are what I choose.
- Butter – I sometime have homemade butter on hand, but when I don’t unsalted store-bought butter is what I use. I’ve also tested this recipe without butter, and it tastes just as great.
Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.
Main Kitchen Tools Needed
- Large non-stick or enamel-coated cast iron skillet – I use this large skillet so often, and it’s what I used to test this recipe several times. Everyone on my team loves it.
- Meat thermometer – this is a handy tool to temperature check the chicken and make sure it’s cooked through. Every kitchen needs a reliable meat thermometer and this one is my favorite.
How To Make Smothered Chicken
This recipe moves quickly. So, I always make sure to gather my ingredients and slice the chicken before I begin.
- Cook the bacon. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the bacon on each side until crispy. Leave the drippings in the pan to cook the chicken.
- Bread the chicken. While the bacon cooks, whisk the all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour) and seasonings in a shallow bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons of this mixture to add later. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel, then dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.
- Cook the chicken. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken until it is lightly golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165℉. Then, set the cooked seasoned chicken aside on a plate.
- Make the sauce. Melt the butter in the skillet, and add the reserved seasoned flour, whisking until a roux forms. Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth, then add the cream. Simmer until it thickens slightly.
- Combine. Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and spoon the sauce over top. Top with the chopped bacon and fresh parsley to serve.
For serving size and the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition analysis, listing calories (kcals), protein, carbohydrates/carb, total fat, saturated fat, fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and more per serving.
Avoid Drying Out The Chicken
Over the years, I’ve developed a few tips for how to make the perfect chicken breast. I applied them to this smothered chicken to ensure it is so delicious every time.
- Start with chicken pieces that are fairly equal in size
- Slice them lengthwise into cutlets of even thickness
- Use an instant-read meat thermometer to remove the chicken from the heat when it reaches 165℉
Serving Up The Perfect Plate
My kids love it when I serve this smothered chicken over Instant Pot mashed potatoes, and it’s also great over cooked noodles or cooked white rice.
To get some veggies on the plate, I mostly pair it with simple roasted green beans. It’s also really good with sauteed broccolini or air fryer Brussels sprouts.
Best Way To Store And Reheat
Place leftover chicken and sauce in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing leftovers, because the dairy in the sauce may curdle when thawed.
To reheat, gently warm the chicken breasts and sauce in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Add a few tablespoons of water or broth as needed to loosen the sauce up, and cook just until the chicken is heated through. Spoon the sauce over the chicken as it cooks.
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Smothered Chicken Recipe
This one-skillet recipe results in the most tender, juicy chicken breasts smothered in a rich, savory sauce and topped with crispy bacon. An easy and comforting weeknight dinner that pairs well with salads and veggies on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 strips thicker cut bacon (or 3 strips thinner cut bacon)
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (1-1 ¼ lbs), sliced in half lengthwise to make 4 thin cutlets
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (use gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth or bone broth
- ¼ cup half and half or heavy cream
- Optional for garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the bacon. Cook bacon strips for 2-3 minutes on each side or until crisp. Remove bacon from the skillet and set aside on paper towels. Do not wipe out the skillet, as the remaining bacon grease is used to cook the chicken.
- While the bacon is cooking, in a shallow bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper. Remove 2 tablespoons of the seasoned flour mixture and set aside in a small bowl to add to the sauce later.
- One at a time, dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, flipping it so the chicken is lightly coated on all sides. Repeat with each chicken cutlet.
- In the same large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the coated chicken in the bacon grease for 5-6 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165℉ on a meat thermometer.
- Remove the chicken to a clean plate and set aside.
- To the skillet add the butter. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of seasoned flour over the butter. Whisk until a paste forms then add the chicken broth and whisk again until smooth. Stir in the cream. Bring it to a low simmer and cook, whisking often, until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and nestle it into the sauce, spooning the sauce over top.
- Chop the cooked bacon. Top the chicken with the chopped bacon and fresh parsley, if desired, and serve.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Notes
I love the flavor and richness of this recipe as written. But to cut down on fat a little, here are a few options:
- Use half-and-half in place of the heavy cream. You need some fat in the pan in order to make the sauce. But if there is enough bacon drippings left in the pan after the chicken has been cooked, you could skip adding the butter at this step or use just 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil.
- Nutrition analysis with half-and-half and butter: 280 calories, 15 g total fat (7 g sat fat), 398 mg sodium, 6 g carb (0 g fiber, 0 g sugar), 29 g protein, 111 mg cholesterol
- Nutrition analysis with half-and-half and no butter: 230 calories, 9 g total fat (3 g sat fat), 353 mg sodium, 6 g carb (0 g fiber, 0 g sugar), 29 g protein, 96 mg cholesterol
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 chicken cutlet with sauce
- Calories: 310
- Fat: 18 g
- (Sat Fat: 9 g)
- Sodium: 394 mg
- Carbohydrate: 7 g
- (Fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g)
- Protein: 29 g
- Cholesterol: 127 mg
Dietary
The photos in this post were taken by Megan McKeehan.
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