Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms

You’ve GOT to add this creamy chicken and mushrooms recipe to your easy dinner recipe rotation! Roasted chicken thighs with deliciously crispy skin are smothered in a luxuriously creamy mushroom and thyme sauce for a low-carb skillet meal. Or, serve it with pasta, rice, or crusty bread to mop up all the delicious sauce!

This chicken dinner truly is a winner winner. Between the crispy skin on the perfectly roasted chicken thighs to the decadent but simple creamy mushroom sauce flavored with fresh thyme… oh boy. Are you in for a treat!

This recipe is easy to make and is sure to be a crowd pleaser, whether you’re making a weeknight dinner for your family or cooking for a special occasion.

I served this over cooked whole wheat pasta- the sauce coated every delicious bite. It would be great served on its own, or over rice, mashed potatoes, or even with a good loaf of crusty bread.

Here’s how to make this recipe for creamy chicken and mushrooms, including tips for getting the most flavor in the sauce and how to get super crispy skin on the chicken thighs.

How to make creamy chicken and mushrooms

There are two parts to this recipe: cooking the chicken, and cooking the sauce. In the end, everything is all combined together. Here’s how to do it.

How to make the chicken

1. First, season the chicken well with salt and pepper on both sides. LOTS of it.
2. Then, sear the chicken thighs skin-side-down in a large skillet in a mixture of oil and butter. Leave them for four minutes WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM! This will ensure super crispy skin and they’ll release easily from the pan.
3. Transfer the chicken to a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (skin-side-up) and roast in a hot oven until fully cooked.

How to make the creamy mushroom sauce

1. While the chicken is roasting, add sliced onions, mushrooms, and fresh thyme leaves to the skillet in which you cooked the chicken thighs. All that delicious flavor will be incorporated into the sauce. YUM.
2. Cook until the mushrooms are browned, for about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally. This will ensure all the liquid evaporates, leaving you with concentrated flavor and perfectly browned mushrooms (here’s more on how to sauté mushrooms).
3. Add some flour to the skillet and stir it around to coat the mushrooms.
4. Gradually pour in some chicken broth and continue heating and stirring until sauce has thickened.
5. Finally, pour in some heavy cream, turn off the heat, and season to taste.

Once you’re done making the sauce and the chicken has fully cooked, add the chicken back into the skillet with the sauce, along with a spoonful or two of the juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.

Behold: creamy chicken and mushrooms, in all its glory. 

What kind of skillet to use

I used a stainless steel skillet to make this- specifically, this Calphalon TriPly 12-Inch Skillet. I use stainless steel for almost any meal like this that includes a pan sauce.

You could also use a cast iron skillet or a nonstick skillet if you prefer.

Regardless of the type, make sure it’s big. This is so you can cook the chicken thighs without them touching, and there’s enough surface area to brown the mushrooms. I recommend a 12-inch skillet, but a 10-inch may work if that’s all you have.

How to make this whole meal in one pan

As an alternative to roasting the chicken thighs on a baking sheet, you can actually roast them right in the skillet!

First, make sure your skillet is oven proof. This is important. 

When you are done searing the chicken skin-side down in the skillet, flip them, turn off the heat, then stick the whole skillet in the oven and roast according to the directions. Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it to a plate and make the sauce directly in the pan.

Be sure to cover the handle of the skillet with a handle cover after it comes out of the oven. I’ve accidentally burned myself countless times from forgetting its hot (ouch!).

How to use boneless skinless thighs or breasts

I recommend bone-in skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe simply because they’re CHEAP and DELICIOUS. Especially if you’re making BBQ chicken. But if you want to lighten it up a bit, you can use other cuts.

• To use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, I recommend cooking them on both sides in the skillet until they’re completely done (about 6-8 minutes on each side), then removing to a plate, making the sauce in the skillet, and transferring them (and their juices) back into the skillet.
• If you want to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I recommend using chicken breast cutlets (which are thinner) and using the same method as boneless skinless thighs (be careful not to overcook them!).

Other chicken and pan sauce recipes

• 20-Minute Honey Mustard Chicken
• Chicken Piccata with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce
• Crispy Honey Buffalo Chicken Thighs

Other recipes with mushrooms

• Healthy Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
• Tuna Casserole from Scratch
• Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
• One-Pot Orzo with Mushrooms, Brown Butter, and Thyme
• Creamy Mushroom, Chicken, and Wild Rice Soup
• Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Check out my other budget meals here.

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Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms

This easy skillet chicken and mushrooms recipe features roasted chicken thighs with crispy skin smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce with fresh thyme.

4.95 from 17 votes

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 459kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

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Equipment

• Large Skillet
• Rimmed Baking Sheet
• Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion quartered and thinly sliced
• 16 oz. sliced mushrooms such as baby portobello/cremini
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.
• Heat the butter (1 tablespoon) with the olive oil (1 tablespoon) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper, liberally. Sear the chicken skin-side-down for 3-4 minutes, or until it's browned and releases easily from the pan. Remove the chicken to the prepared baking sheet (skin side up). Bake for about 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
• While the chicken is baking, make the mushroom sauce. Add the sliced onion and mushrooms (16 oz.) to skillet along with a pinch of salt and pepper and the fresh thyme (1 tablespoon), and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring only occasionally, until mushrooms are browned (5-10 minutes).
• Add the flour (2 tablespoons) to the mushroom and onion mixture and stir to coat, continuing to cook for another one minute.
• Gradually pour in the chicken broth (1 cup). Stir and continue to cook over medium heat, until sauce has thickened. Stir in the heavy cream (1/2 cup). Turn off heat and taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• When the chicken is done cooking, remove from oven and place in the skillet with the mushroom sauce, along with a spoonful or two of the juices from baking.
• Serve chicken with mushroom sauce on top.

Notes

• I like serving this meal with cooked rice, mashed potatoes, pasta, crusty bread, or something else that's great for mopping up all that delicious sauce.
• Lighten it up: use whole milk or half and half instead of heavy cream.
• To use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, I recommend cooking them on both sides in the skillet until they're completely done (about 6-8 minutes on each side), then removing to a plate, making the sauce in the skillet, and transferring them (and their juices) back into the skillet. If you want to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I recommend using chicken breast cutlets (which are thinner) and using the same method as boneless skinless thighs (be careful not to overcook them!).
• You can omit the flour to make this lower-carb and grain-free. If you do this, the sauce won't be as thick. You can stir in 1/2 cup-1 cup of grated parmesan cheese when you add the cream until it melts and thickens the sauce (if you do this, go easy on the added salt since the cheese is salty). If the sauce still seems too thin, keep simmering it until it's reduced a bit.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 702mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 637IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition Information Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:

Very Well Fit Nutrition Information Calculator

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutrition Calculator

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