A good pan sauce is so simple to make and squeezes every last drop of flavor out of your meat. This week I made a creamy garlic pan sauce for some chicken thighs that I had stashed in the freezer, and added mushrooms to bulk out the meal a bit. You can serve this Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken over pasta or rice, or if you’re trying to curb the carbs, make a big ol’ beautiful salad to compliment these creamy flavors. Keep dinner simple, keep dinner delicious!
Goes great with: Focaccia Rolls, Homemade Garlic Bread, Summer Vegetable Tian, Oven Roasted (frozen) Broccoli
Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz mushrooms ($1.99)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs ($3.94)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth* ($0.07)
- 1 cup half and half ($0.85)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.41)
- Parsley for garnish (optional) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Wash and slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium, then add a tablespoon of cooking oil. Swirl the oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add the minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for one minute, or just until the garlic softens. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5-7 minutes more, or until the mushrooms have wilted. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom.
- Add the half and half to the skillet and bring it up to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the liquid, stirring often, for about five minutes. Stir in the Parmesan until it has melted in.
- Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Add the chicken back to the skillet, drench with sauce, and heat over low until warmed through. Top with fresh parsley for garnish, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
That creamy sauce, though! 🤤
I am using a 10″ Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (affiliate link).
How to Make Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Begin by washing and slicing 8oz. mushrooms and mincing four cloves of garlic.
Season both sides of four boneless, skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Heat a skillet over medium, then add a tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken thighs and cook until golden brown on each side and cooked through (about 5 minutes on each side). Remove the chicken thighs to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute, then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté until they have softened.
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet and stir to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom, then pour in 1 cup half and half. Bring the liquid up to a simmer, then turn down to medium-low and let simmer, stirring often, for about five minutes.
Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and stir in until melted into the sauce. Taste the sauce and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper to your liking.
Add the chicken thighs back to the skillet, spoon the sauce over top, and allow to heat through (just a few minutes).
Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired! (It sure does make it look pretty, huh?)
Tender, creamy, and delicious!
Will a can of mushrooms be okay instead of fresh?
No, unfortunately you really need to use fresh for this recipe. The canned mushrooms will not have the same flavor and you won’t be able to get that nice browning action that flavors the sauce.
I made this recipe with chicken breasts but I cut them in half and pounded them out like you said, and it turned out AMAZING. I think I might add more sauce next time because I used rice as a side, and drizzled the sauce over the rice too! Thank you!!!
Love your recipes! This is my go to website for quality yet budget friendly meals. I’m curious if this recipe would work well with chicken breast???? I loathe dark meat chicken.
Yes, you can do this with breasts, but I would suggest pounding them out to an even thickness first, so they cook a bit more quickly and evenly. Sometimes breasts can be so thick and take forever to cook, making them quite dry.
Hands down the absolute best sauce I’ve ever made! And after I saved some in the fridge, and reheated it the next day, it only took a tiny bit of stirring with a fork to get it back to the perfect consistency of the first day! Thank you so much!
I doubled the recipe and added a can of cream of mushroom soup slowly at the end and let it simmer on low. Great recipe for a flexible dinner schedule. Had organic beans and organic pasta to mix into it. Amazing!
Thanks for sharing your tweaking the recipe. I’m definitely going to experiment it the next time. Adding some beans, baby carrots or broccoli.
Really good with bowtie noodles.
Loved this recipe and I can’t wait to make it again! I’m trying to load up on veggies, do you have any ideas as to veggies I could throw in with the chicken and mushrooms?
Spinach is always a great combo with creamy sauces and mushrooms, or if you can get some asparagus for a good price, that would also be awesome!
It was my first attempt at making this recipes. I had it with basmati rice. Never thought that asparagus wud be a wonderful combination. Thanks.
Loved this! I’d also double the sauce/mushrooms and spoon over yolk free noodles.
making this recipe tonight, I wanted to know what happens if i don’t use the cheese ? but overall the recipe looks delicious and I’m pretty sure its gonna turn out well.
If you don’t use the cheese, I would definitely recommend using heavy cream instead of half and half or else the sauce will be too thin, and you may need to add more salt to make up for the saltiness of the cheese. And of course, the flavor will be slightly different because cream and cheese are different ingredients. :)
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I did notice that my chicken took quite a while to cook (longer than specified). Also, my sauce was thin…. if I made it again I would probably do double mushrooms and double sauce (I like sauce). Delicious anyway!
I loved this recipe! About the sauce…is it supposed to be thin or thick/creamy? Mine was thin…if I wanted to thicken it up without losing flavor, what would be the best way?
It should be thick. If it was still thin, there is a chance that the Parmesan wasn’t fully melted. Sometimes it can appear like it’s melted in, but it’s still slightly grainy. Keep stirring over low heat until it melts and it will suddenly thicken up.
Do you know how many carbs and calories this recipe has?
Delicious!
Easy and tasty
I really appreciate it, Beth, when you have the “Goes great with:” links list. So helpful!!