Pan-fried chicken thighs in a creamy bacon sauce with a touch of lemon! Quick and easy recipe for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. KETO friendly, low-carb, gluten free dinner recipe.
If you want an easy chicken recipe with a delicious creamy sauce, with everything cooked in one skillet, these pan-fried chicken thighs in a creamy lemon sauce with bacon is a perfect recipe for you!
Chicken thighs are cooked right in the skillet: first, they are pan-fried skin-side down to get that nice brown color on the outside, then you simmer them in a lemon-chicken broth with bacon for about 20 minutes until they are completely done and cooked. Finally, you’ll add cream and even more bacon. So good!
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.
- Chicken thighs are high in protein but low in carb, which makes them a fantastic choice for KETO diet.
As it usually is the case with chicken thighs, they are best eaten right after you cook them. I find they get soggy as leftovers, even though they will still be pretty tasty! Just ate some left-over bacon chicken thighs for dinner, and I am not complaining!
Other KETO friendly recipes
- Make low-carb chicken breasts that taste like comfort food: Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Chicken Bake
- Another delicious and comforting chicken bake that is high-protein and low-carb: Bacon Cream Cheese Cheddar Chicken
- Pork chops are always a great choice for KETO friendly recipes: Bacon and Mushroom Smothered Pork Chops
- Deliciously creamy Low Carb Creamy Pork Chops in Parmesan Sauce
Pan-Fried Chicken with Bacon Cream Sauce - KETO friendly, low-carb, gluten free dinner recipe. Everything is cooked in one skillet. First, pan fry the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to get that nice brown color on the outside. Then, simmer them in a lemon-chicken broth with bacon for about 20 minutes until they are completely done and cooked. Finally, add cream and even more bacon. So good!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 chicken thighs
- salt and pepper
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 8 strips bacon , cooked, fat drained off, and chopped into small chunks - divided
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 green onions chopped
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Generously season chicken thighs with salt and pepper - make sure to season under the skin too. Add chicken thighs skin side down to the hot skillet. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on high-medium heat, covered, skin side down, without flipping, checking occasionally, until the skin side is very well browned.
- Remove chicken from the skillet.
- Add minced garlic and a small amount of chicken stock to deglaze the pan and cook the garlic for about a minute. Add the remaining chicken stock (1 cup). Add half the bacon (cooked, fat should be drained off, and chopped into small chunks).
- Add chicken back to the pan, on top of bacon and in the chicken broth. Arrange 5 thin lemon slices around chicken thighs - and cook, simmering, covered, for about 20 minutes, until chicken is done and is no longer pink in the center.
- After chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet. Remove lemon slices from the skillet - it's very important that you remove them now, do not leave them in for the sauce otherwise it will be too sour. Add 2/3 cup heavy cream to the skillet. Bring to boil and mix everything well, scraping from the bottom. Immediately reduce to simmer, add chicken thighs back to the skillet and reheat.
- To serve, spoon some of the sauce over the chicken thighs, and sprinkle with remaining chopped bacon and chopped green onions.
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Can you use lemon juice instead of sliced lemon? And if so, how much do you recommend? I’m trying to use ingredients I already have in my kitchen.
Thank you!
Yes, you could use lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed. Use 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. If using bottled lemon juice, start with 1 tablespoon, taste, and add a second one if needed.
Delicious! I sub Coconut Cream for the Heavy Cream to avoid dairy.
So glad you liked it! And good to know that coconut cream works in this recipe in place of heavy cream!
My family can’t get enough of this stuff!! My 4yo requested it for his special dinner tonight after starting pre-k today. By far, this has been my most made recipe from Pinterest. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome, Brianne! Your comment made my day! So glad this recipe has been so well received in your family! Thank you.
Wonderful recipe. I think I’ll simmer with the top off next time to keep that crispy skin, but otherwise it was perfect! Served with roasted broccoli and my family loved it. Thank you!
You’re very welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Serving roasted broccoli as a side dish sounds so good!
This has become my go-to chicken thigh recipe!! Thanks!
You’re very welcome! I am so glad you’ve been enjoying this recipe. 🙂
If using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, what alterations would you recommend?
The boneless, skinless chicken thighs usually cook faster than bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, so I would watch the cooking times, and possibly reduce the amount of time to cook the chicken to make sure it’s not overcooked.
I am making this tonight for dinner. I can’t wait. The pictures look so good!!
Enjoy!
Very good the only I did was add sun dried tomatoes with the lime and used coconut milk is dead of heavy cream came out amazing.
So glad you liked it! Good to know that this recipe worked with coconut milk!
Made this tonight using chicken legs and breast. Absolutely delicious! Served with steamed green beans and put some of the gravy on the beans. Skipped the green onions too. Will definitely make this again! Thankyou for sharing!
You’re very welcome! Glad you liked it! 🙂
This was awesome and I’ll definitely make it again but I think next time I will drain some of the fat and leave the lid off as it simmers, otherwise the skin doesn’t stay crispy. I think it would also help the sauce be a little thicker at the end, it was a little too runny for me.
Thank you, Piper, for your feedback! I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂 I cooked the chicken covered to make sure that the chicken thighs are cooked through. If you want a crispier skin, you might also try baking the chicken thighs separately from the sauce in the oven.