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Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach, Bacon, Mushrooms - a delicious way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts! Your chicken is guaranteed to be moist and tender.
Comfort food and healthy ingredients all in one dish! This smothered chicken recipe is gluten free, low carb, packed with protein and vegetables.
If you love stuffed chicken breasts, you'll love this easier "smothered" version of the stuffed chicken. The assembly is really easy: just put the creamed spinach, bacon, mushrooms and Pepper Jack cheese on top of seasoned chicken breasts and bake everything uncovered to perfection. This chicken dinner recipe is anything but boring!
How to make smothered chicken:
Generously season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt, lemon pepper seasoning and a small amount of paprika. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F:
In the mean time, make the creamed spinach. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes, covered, until the spinach is thoroughly heated through and start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt - about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach - about 30 seconds or 1 more minute. Season with salt to your taste. Remove from heat.
In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook on high-medium heat for 1-2 minutes until mushroom caramelize. Do not salt mushrooms or it will prevent the caramelization.
Remove the chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes). Top (or smother) each chicken breast with the creamed spinach:
Continue smothering the chicken with cooked and chopped bacon on top of chicken (make sure to cook the bacon in advance - I cooked it in the oven):
Add cooked mushrooms on top:
Add broken slices of pepper jack cheese (Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapenos):
Bake the chicken in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Broil for the last 2-4 minutes, if desired, being careful not to burn the cheese on top.
Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach, Bacon, Mushrooms
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1.5 lb chicken breast skinless, boneless (4 small chicken breast or 2 large chicken breast, halved)
- salt
- ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Creamed spinach:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 10 oz spinach fresh
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ⅔ cup half and half
- ⅔ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Other Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 oz mushrooms sliced
- 4 slices bacon cooked, chopped
- 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Butter the bottom of the baking dish (I used an oval casserole dish measured 13 inches x 9 inches x 4 inches deep).
- Generously season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, lemon pepper seasoning and a small amount of paprika. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.
How to make creamed spinach:
- In the mean time, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes, covered, until the spinach is thoroughly heated through and start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt - about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach - about 30 seconds or 1 more minute. Season with salt to your taste. Remove from heat.
Cook mushrooms:
- In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook on high-medium heat for 1-2 minutes until mushroom caramelize. Do not salt mushrooms or it will prevent the caramelization.
Smothered chicken assembly:
- Remove the chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes). Top each chicken breast with the creamed spinach, chopped cooked bacon, cooked mushrooms and broken slices of pepper jack cheese. Bake in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Broil for the last 2-4 minutes, if desired, being careful not to burn the cheese on top.
Notes
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.
Lovely colorful dish & so delicious!
Is this bone in or boneless chicken breasts? Can you use either? Thighs?
Okay, I'm feeling stupid because I don't understand this:
"Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes, covered, until the spinach is thoroughly heated through and start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt - about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach - about 30 seconds or 1 more minute."
If you remove the spinach from the heat, do you leave it in the pan and then add the minced garlic and half-and-half, then put it back on the heat and bring to a boil? Or do you remove the spinach from the pan, then start the cream sauce, and then add the spinach back in later? If so, when?
It seems to make sense that you remove the spinach before making the cream sauce -- but I want to make sure before trying it. Recipe looks good!
Helen, you are not stupid and it is disappointing that Julia has not responded to your comment. however I will. There is a word missing ....skillet or pan.
So it should read " remove SKILLET from heat add garlic and half and half to spinach, return to heat and bring back to the boil.
Really enjoyed this dinner. Has been a real comfort food during the pandemic. Thanks for sharing it!
Very easy and delicious!! I didn’t have the mushrooms so I just skipped that part of recipe!
My very picky family enjoyed this so much even without the pepper jack cheese on the top. I put it over baked potatoes so I needed to go easy on the extra starch.
This recipe was delicious. Easy to make and so full of flavor.
Sooo good ! You have to love spinach though because it does have a strong spinach flavor but just perfect . You don’t need that much salt on chicken since there plenty cheese ! I paired my dish with loaded mash potatoes and broccoli.
This receipt is great! My husband loved it. I served it with wild rice. Thank you!
Omg delicious!! We dont like mushrooms at my house so I substituted with sauteed minced onions and it tastes great! This recipe is amazing!
I rarely measure anything when cooking and this recipe was the same. It came out fantastic! We made more of a sauce- more half and half and spinach and served it all over egg noodles. Yum! My family loves recipes like this! Thanks for sharing with us!
You are very welcome! Glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! What a great idea to make more of the sauce to serve over the egg noodles!
What sides did you serve with this delicious looking dish?
You can serve this over jasmine rice, wild rice, or flavored rice. You can also serve this over cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower.
This will also go well with cooked ravioli, angel hair pasta, or spaghetti.
This recipe looks delicious so I'm making it tonight. I only have bone-in chicken breast though...any recommendations for altering the recipe. Maybe a longer baking time? Thanks!!
This meal is my family's favorite low carb meal. Thank you for sharing the recipe. It will be added to my weekly menu. Followed recipe step by step and it turned out perfect.
Love love love the recipe!
My son's can't stop raving about it!
I'm making it again tonight.
This time I'm going to use Turkey bacon.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for such a wonderful comment! Using turkey bacon is a great idea!
This meal is my family's favorite low carb meal. Thank you for sharing the recipe. It will be added to my weekly menu. Followed recipe step by step and it turned out perfect.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and leaving your wonderful comment!