Chicken Mushroom Skillet Creamy (Print Version)

Tender chicken and mushrooms cooked in a rich, creamy garlic sauce for a comforting skillet dinner.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approximately 5.3 oz each)
02 - 1 teaspoon salt
03 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
04 - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free alternative
05 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Vegetables

06 - 9 ounces cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
07 - 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
08 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Sauce

09 - 1/2 cup chicken broth (gluten-free if needed)
10 - 1 cup heavy cream
11 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
12 - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
13 - 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
14 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

15 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

# How to Make It:

01 - Pat chicken breasts dry. Season both sides with salt and black pepper, then lightly coat with flour.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover loosely.
03 - In the same skillet, add mushrooms and onion. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until softened and golden. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Pour in chicken broth, scraping the skillet to loosen browned bits. Simmer for 2 minutes.
05 - Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and thyme. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
06 - Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, spooning sauce over the chicken.
07 - Taste the sauce and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
08 - Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It's ready in 40 minutes flat, which means you're actually eating dinner instead of ordering it.
  • The sauce is so silky and forgiving that even if your cream doesn't thicken perfectly, it still tastes like you meant it that way.
  • Leftovers taste even better the next day when all those flavors have gotten to know each other.
02 -
  • If you skip patting the chicken dry, you'll get steam instead of a crust, and the whole thing tastes like boiled chicken instead of seared chicken—worth the extra 30 seconds.
  • Don't let that cream boil hard or it'll break and get grainy; keep it at a gentle simmer and it'll stay silky the whole way.
  • Adding the Parmesan at the very end instead of early keeps it from getting stringy and separated—learned that one the hard way.
03 -
  • Room-temperature chicken cooks more evenly than cold chicken straight from the fridge, so pull it out 10 minutes before you start cooking.
  • If your sauce seems too thin after simmering, make a quick slurry of a teaspoon of cornstarch and two teaspoons of cold water, stir it in, and let it bubble for another minute—it thickens without making everything taste like starch.

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