Smothered Chicken
Smothered Chicken might just be your new favorite easy dinner recipe. Seasoned, dredged chicken is cooked to crispy perfection in bacon grease before it’s smothered with the most mouthwatering gravy EVER! Thick, creamy gravy is made delicious with ingredients like onions, mushrooms, fresh herbs and so much more.
Smothered Chicken
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Next time you’re craving something seriously satisfying for dinner, look no further than this tried and true Smothered Chicken recipe! A juicy, tender chicken breast is pan seared to golden brown perfection in bacon grease after being deliciously seasoned and dredged. It’s then smothered with what might just be the best gravy you’ve ever had!
Fresh thyme, onion powder, and garlic powder mix with the beef broth and other ingredients to lend the most incredible amount of savory flavor that’s bound to make your mouth water. It’s very similar to the gravy I made for our Smothered Pork Chops.
Pair this meal with just about any side dish to round out your plate. I recommend serving it with something like mashed potatoes or pasta to help absorb all of that gravy, because you won’t want a single drop to go to waste!
How to Make Smothered Chicken
This dinner recipe is as quick as it is easy!
- Cook the bacon. Toss your bacon in a skillet and cook until crispy. Remove it from the skillet and leave about 2 TBSP of bacon grease in the pan.
- Prepare the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Dredge the chicken in a seasoned flour mixture.
- Cook the chicken. Fry the chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side in the hot bacon grease until it’s fully cooked. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and keep warm.
- Start making the gravy. Add oil to the pan, then sauté the onions until softened. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until softened before adding in the garlic and thyme. Cook until aromatic. Stir in the tomato paste.
- Thicken it and add the liquids. Stir in the remaining flour from the dredged chicken. Stir it in to coat everything in the pan. Sprinkle in the seasonings and pour in the beef stock. Bring to a boil.
- Make it creamy. Lower the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Serve and enjoy! Return the chicken to the pan and let it warm back up for a few minutes. Serve the chicken with the homemade gravy and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Smothered Chicken
Here are just a few simple ways to make sure your chicken is pretty perfect every single time:
- Make sure your chicken is fully cooked. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. That way, your chicken isn’t over or under-cooked. A fully cooked and safe to eat chicken breast is cooked to 165°F.
- Make your own stock. I know that making homemade beef stock may sound like a hassle, but I promise it’s easy – and the results are so very worth it! The flavor that real homemade beef stock lends to this gravy is undeniably delicious.
- Try to only use pork bacon. As much as I like turkey bacon, it just doesn’t yield enough fat to cook the chicken in. For this recipe, I really only recommend pork bacon. If you do choose to use turkey bacon, you’ll need to add more olive oil to the pan to cook the chicken with.
My most used kitchen tool is a digital thermometer and this one is the best you can buy. Takes up no space in the kitchen and will end the anxiety of overcooking chicken and, basically, everything.
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Get the Recipe: Smothered Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 4 boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the gravy:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
- 4 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 cups beef stock
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Equipment
- skillet
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a skillet of medium heat until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel to drain. Set aside.
- Pour off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the pan and return to the heat.
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and set aside.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and pepper.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour shaking off the excess and place in the pan once the oil is hot (shimmering). (Do not discard the remaining flour.)
- Fry the chicken breasts on each side until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes per side.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook until softened.
- Stir in the mushrooms and cook until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and thyme cooking for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for an additional minute.
- Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of the remaining flour over the onion mixture and stir to coat.
- Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, beef stock and bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat to low and slowly stir in the cream.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Return the chicken to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if desired.