Creamy Mushroom Chicken is an easy, one-pot, 30-minute recipe. It's comfort food that a whole family will love! Everything is cooked in one pan, and the cleanup is a breeze!
One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken
In this recipe, everything is made in one pan: seared chicken, cooked mushrooms, and creamy sauce. This minimizes the cleanup and makes this recipe a real winner! This creamy and savory dish comes together in just 30 minutes. It's easy to make, and the cleanup is minimal. Try this recipe and it might become part of your weekly or monthly recipe rotation like it is in my household!
The other popular creamy chicken recipes that I recommend are the Tuscan chicken and chicken thighs with creamy bacon mushroom sauce.
Perfect dinner for family and friends
You will surely impress your family if you make this recipe, and it will take you just 30 minutes. Make this creamy mushroom chicken for your friends or guests, and they will think you labored over this recipe for hours while it takes you just half an hour!
Comfort food
Not only is this recipe easy and quick, but this creamy mushroom chicken is also pure comfort food. There is so much flavor in this dish thanks to the mushrooms, garlic, and fresh thyme. It's simple yet it tastes and looks like it came from a fine dining restaurant. Below I provide all the secrets to the success of this creamy chicken dish.
What kind of chicken to use?
- Skinless, boneless chicken breast. This is what I use in this recipe. Make sure to slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, especially if you bought large chicken breasts, to make them thinner. This will help the chicken to cook faster and more evenly.
- Skinless, boneless chicken thighs. The dark meat of chicken thighs will go really well with creamy mushrooms.
- Chicken Tenderloins or Tenders. This is another great meat to use here. Chicken tenders are tender, small, and will cook similarly to thinly sliced chicken breasts.
What kind of mushrooms to use?
- Crimini mushrooms are also known as cremini or baby Bella's. They are small, young portabello mushrooms. That's what I used in this recipe.
- White button mushrooms are some of the most popular mushrooms sold at grocery stores. They have a mild flavor and will work well with creamy chicken.
- Portobello mushrooms will add a rich, almost meaty flavor to the cream sauce. Young portabello mushrooms are called crimini or cremini.
- Shiitake mushrooms have a stronger flavor and a curly cap. A great choice to use in sauces!
How to make creamy mushroom chicken
1) First, season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge it in the flour.
2) Then, sear the chicken with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet (I used cast-iron) until the chicken acquires a beautiful golden-brown crust and is cooked through. How do you know that the chicken is cooked through? The meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken.
3) Next, slice the mushrooms.
4) Sear the mushrooms with olive oil in the same skillet for 3 or 5 minutes.
5) Make the cream sauce by adding heavy cream and minced garlic to the same skillet with mushrooms and cooking for about 5 minutes until the sauce acquires a nice color and reduces somewhat.
6) Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and top with fresh herbs (thyme).
Cooking tips
- Use thinly sliced chicken breasts. This recipe uses 1.2 lb of chicken breasts which usually means 2 large chicken breasts. Make sure to use thinly sliced chicken breasts. Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally.
- When is the chicken done? Use a meat thermometer. The chicken is done when the juices run clear, and the meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken.
- Use heavy cream. Use full-fat cream such as heavy whipping cream. Do not use half-and-half or milk - it will result in a thinner sauce.
- Dairy-free option. If you would like to make this dairy-free, use coconut milk or coconut cream.
- Cook mushrooms in the heavy cream for at least 5 or 7 minutes (before adding the chicken back) so that the cream sauce acquires the flavor and the color from the mushrooms. Only after you have cooked the mushrooms in the heavy cream for 5 or 7 minutes, add the cooked chicken back.
- Use fresh herbs. Fresh herbs add a lot to this simple cream sauce. I recommend using fresh thyme.
- Create a beautiful presentation. Reserve some of the cooked mushrooms and top the chicken with them, when serving. Spoon just small amounts of creamy sauce over the chicken, allowing the chicken to show golden-brown color.
How to make this dairy-free?
If you would like to make this dairy-free, use coconut milk or coconut cream.
Why dredge chicken in flour?
Dredging the chicken in flour before pan-searing results in a beautiful golden-brown crust. This gorgeous brown crust is incredibly easy to achieve when you dredge the chicken in a small amount of flour. Only 1 tablespoon of flour is enough. Use any type of flour - regular or gluten-free.
How to store and reheat it
Because this recipe features a simple cream sauce made without any cheese, this dish stores well and reheats well.
- Fridge. Store this in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish because that will destroy the texture of the sauce.
- Reheat on the stovetop. It's best to reheat creamy mushroom chicken on low heat in the skillet on the stovetop to prevent the sauce from separating. When reheating, add extra heavy cream or half-and-half to thin out the sauce.
Side dishes to serve with creamy mushroom chicken
- Veggies. This recipe will go well with roasted or steamed vegetables. Or, try these veggie side dishes: Gruyere cheese asparagus with bacon or green beans with bacon and garlic.
- Rice. Serve this over jasmine rice, basmati rice, or long-grain rice. Wild rice will work well, too. You can even use cauliflower rice.
- Potatoes. The creamy mushroom chicken will pair well with mashed potatoes, as well as with roasted potatoes.
- Mashed cauliflower will work as a lower-carb substitute for mashed potatoes.
- Pasta. Serve this over spaghetti, angel hair pasta, bow-tie pasta, or other types of pasta.
Other creamy chicken recipes you might like
One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.2 lb chicken breasts skinless boneless (2 chicken breasts, sliced horizontally)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- black pepper freshly coarsely ground
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Cream sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons fresh thyme snipped
Instructions
Cook chicken
- This recipe uses 1.2 lb of chicken breasts which usually means 2 large chicken breasts. Make sure to use thinly sliced chicken breasts. Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of flour and dredge both sides of each chicken breast in the flour.
- Heat an empty large, high-sided skillet (I prefer to use cast-iron for even searing) over medium heat for 1 minute. This allows the skillet to heat through. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add chicken breasts. Cook the chicken on one side on medium heat for 5 minutes, without moving it. This allows the chicken to sear and acquire a golden-brown crust.
- Flip the chicken over to the other side, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer until it's cooked through. The meat thermometer should register 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the chicken. Remove from heat. Remove chicken to a plate.
Cook mushrooms
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat to the same cast-iron skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle them generously with salt to taste.
- Let them cook for about 3 or 5 minutes, on medium heat, without moving them. At this point, after the mushrooms will release juices, give them one more stir for 1 minute on low-medium heat.
- Remove ⅓ of the cooked mushrooms to a plate, leaving the remaining ⅔ in the skillet. (You will reserve ⅓ of cooked mushrooms for presentation purposes - to top the chicken breasts)
Make creamy sauce
- Add heavy cream and minced garlic to the skillet with mushrooms.
- Bring everything to a boil and reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 5 or 7 minutes on low-medium heat, with the sauce visibly simmering and bubbling (but not actively boiling) until the sauce acquires a nice color from the mushrooms and reduces a little bit.
- Remove from heat. Stir in half of the fresh thyme.
Assembly
- Add back cooked chicken breasts to the skillet with the creamy mushroom sauce and reheat on low heat for several minutes.
- For presentation purposes, do not spoon the sauce all over the chicken breasts - do it sparingly (so that they retain a golden brown seared look in some parts). Remove from heat.
- When ready to serve, divide the chicken and the sauce among the plates. Top with the reserved ⅓ of cooked mushrooms (for presentation purposes) and sprinkle with the remaining fresh thyme.
- Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
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.
This looks yummy will try Thanks for sharing
Enjoy! I hope you love it!
Any ideas on how to make this with less fat grams?
You can use half-and-half instead. The sauce would be somewhat thinner but still have a nice texture. For a thicker sauce, you could add cornstarch or a small amount of roux.
You can even use milk and cook mushrooms in milk for about 7 minutes so that the flavors blend, and then add roux to thicken the sauce.
You can also use cornstarch to thicken the milk.
The key in all these options is to cook mushrooms in milk or half-and-half first, for a long enough time (about 5 or 7 minutes), so that the milk product acquires the color and flavor from mushrooms. And, then add the roux or cornstarch to thicken the sauce.