Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce - this is one of the best chicken thigh recipes I ever made. Easy, delicious, and perfect for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs! This is KETO friendly, high-fat, low-carb, gluten free chicken recipe.
Chicken thighs are baked to perfection and then complemented with flavorful creamy mushroom and bacon sauce with lots of fresh thyme. Pure comfort food - chicken dark meat is always delicious in a creamy sauce!
What makes this chicken recipe KETO friendly
- This meal contains high amount of fat from heavy creamy, chicken thighs, and bacon. All these ingredients have high fat, low sugar content.
- Mushrooms are extremely low-carb and a great way to add flavor to keto recipe.
- This recipe contains foods that are high in protein but low in carb, such as chicken thighs.
Fresh thyme is key in this recipe. I used about 5 sprigs of snipped fresh thyme, and also a couple of sprigs more for garnish, on top of chicken thighs and mushrooms:
How to cook bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs:
Start by browning the chicken thighs in a large skillet, then bake them in the oven, for about 20 minutes until completely cooked through.
How to make Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce:
In the mean time, while the chicken thighs bake, start making the sauce by cooking the mushrooms and combining them with the chopped cooked bacon:
Add the cream and snipped fresh thyme to bacon and mushrooms, and make the delicious sauce:
Spoon the sauce over the cooked chicken thighs, and your dinner is ready!
Other KETO friendly chicken recipes
Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Chicken Bake
Bacon Cream Cheese Cheddar Chicken
KETO friendly pork recipes
Bacon and Mushroom Smothered Pork Chops
Low Carb Creamy Pork Chops in Parmesan Sauce
Chicken Thighs with Creamy Bacon Mushroom Thyme Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken thighs
- 4 chicken thighs , skin-on, bone-in
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning dried thyme, oregano
Mushroom sauce
- 6 oz white mushrooms
- 5 slices bacon cooked, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Season both sides of chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper and Italian herb seasoning mix (usually a combination of dried thyme, oregano and other herbs). Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken thighs skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes, on the skin side until nicely browned.
- Transfer chicken thighs, skin side up, to the foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until chicken thighs are completely cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
- In the mean time, make the mushrooms sauce:
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms (without salting - to ensure the mushrooms get caramelized) and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes flipping once.
- Add chopped cooked bacon to the skillet.
- Add heavy creamy, ⅛ teaspoon salt and snipped fresh thyme, bring to boil, stir, immediately reduce to simmer and simmer for about 2 minutes on very low heat for flavors to blend and sauce to reduce a bit. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- When chicken is done baking and chicken thighs are completely cooked through, add cooked chicken thighs to the skillet and spoon the sauce and the mushrooms on top of chicken thighs.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
What I have been cooking in my kitchen:
3 Years Ago: Chicken Penne Pasta and Mushrooms with Vodka Sauce
4 Years Ago: Creamy Chicken Mushroom Pasta with Basil and Garlic
5 Years Ago: Banana Walnut Bread
Colleen
I made this tonight, serving it over mashed cauliflower, and it was delicious. My husband (not Keto) and I never like baked chicken, but the crispy skin and that decadent sauce made a big difference.
Lisa
Very delicious and just the right amount of seasonings. My family loved it! I would like to print it out, but am unable too. ☹️
Lilyw
Your recipe easily accomplishes the same heightened flavor and sophistication of a similar—but much more involved—dish from Bon Appetit that I’ve made for years. I used crimini mushrooms and deglazed them with cooking sherry. And because I used small, boneless, skinless thighs instead, I cooked them on the stove and deglazed them with a little white wine. You know it’s an excellent recipe when it stands up to small tweaks. Well done. Thank you.
Julia
Thank you so much for such a positive comment! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Love that you used sherry to deglaze the mushrooms.
And, yes, skinless, boneless chicken thighs are great for cooking on the stovetop - they cook pretty fast.
Courtney
This has always been a hit with my family! I sauté a few garlic cloves before adding the mushrooms for a little extra flavor!
Julia
Courtney, I am so glad you like this recipe! 🙂 I love adding extra garlic cloves - adds so much more flavor!
Lynne Hartley
Extra? It doesn't call for any.
Alexa
Am I dumb? How do you keep the skin from sticking to the skillet? I literally just watched all the skin rip off the thighs. Help!
Julia
I had that happen to me too. The only way to prevent it is to heat the skillet hot enough and also add enough olive oil (or butter) so that the skin doesn't stick.
Paula
This has become my husband's absolute favorite dish I make (He calls himself a "super taster" and critiques everything) This one has never gotten anything but rave reviews. Soooo good!!! Its so good that this is my first ever online review.
Julia
Paula, I am so happy to hear you and your husband enjoy this recipe! I am very pleased that you have left your first ever online review on my site.
Laurel
Is this meal have the option for freezing for the future? If so, what are the instructions? It was delicious and want the convenience to make ahead.
Julia
You can freeze this. To reheat, I would bring the dish to room temperature and reheat very slowly on the stovetop, probably add a small amount of heavy cream or half-and-half to thin out the sauce. I wouldn't recommend microwaving this as the sauce might separate.
Lucille
Made this last night for dinner. I actually used boneless, skinless thighs. I did do a dry rub but added garlic powder, and onion salt. These turn out amazing and very delicious even my 2 adult chicken raved about the meal. This is for sure a keeper.
Julia
Lucille, I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to share such a positive comment!
Angel
First time was a hit!! I’m making them AGAIN!!!
Julia
So happy to hear that! Glad you liked it!
Nancy Grenier
Going go make this tonight with boneless chicken thighs and will add wine to it. Thanks.
Julia
Hope you like it! Keep in mind that boneless chicken thighs cook faster than bone-in chicken thighs, so please watch the cooking times and adjust them if you need to.
Megan
We JUST made this tonight and let me tell you, WOW!!! This was absolutely delicious!!!! We will DEFINITELY be making this again. We doubled everything as we have our siblings over for dinner but it turned out perfectly. Thank you so much!!
Julia
Megan, you are very welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave such a positive comment. 🙂
Kelly
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to make it for my family. Question regarding the dried seasoning. Is is 1 teaspoon of each? Italian seasoning, dried thyme and oregano?
Julia
Hi Kelly! It's 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning total (not of each dried thyme or oregano). Enjoy the recipe!
Ute
Absolutely delicious!!
Julia
Thanks! Happy to hear that! 🙂
Mary G.
It was a hit, I will make it again. My family loved it.
Thank you
Julia
So happy to hear that! Thank you, Mary, for such a positive comment!
CherieB
Oh....this was so, so good. This is a real keeper! The next time I make this I’m making double the sauce...I had fairly large thighs. I forgot to take a picture but it was delish. Thanks for sharing.
Julia
So happy you made this recipe and liked it! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment! 🙂
Trish
Oh my YUM!!! This was absolutely amazing! The only sub I used was cocnut milk. I will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation! Kudos to you!