It takes only 30 minutes to make this easy and delicious Creamy Mushroom Chicken. Simple enough to make on a busy weeknight. Creamy and flavorful to become your family's new favorite chicken dinner! Everything is cooked in one pan which minimizes the cleanup. The dish tastes and looks like it came from a fine dining restaurant.
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.