Chicken With Perfectly Creamy Mushroom Sauce Recipe
Looking for an easy yet delicious chicken recipe? Look no further. This Chicken With Perfectly Creamy Mushroom Sauce is easy to make and filled with so much flavor. Over the years, I have tried other creamy mushroom chicken recipe options, but they have yet to be packed with this much flavor but still so easy to make. Filled with fresh herbs and loaded with mushrooms, it’s a perfect dinner for entertaining but easy enough for a weeknight meal.
What’s In The Chicken with creamy mushroom Sauce
The key ingredients in the sauce are:
- Fresh Mushrooms: Any mushrooms will work in the recipe. I prefer baby bella mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, but a shitake or white button mushrooms would work. Many old-fashioned recipes use a cream of mushroom soup (and I loved Mom’s chicken casserole), but there is nothing from a can in this creamy chicken mushroom recipe!
- Onions: Adding a yellow onion gives flavor to the sauce.
- White Wine: Don’t go crazy with the wine when cooking; an inexpensive bottle will work just fine. Save the good stuff for drinking while you cook. Try a sauvignon blanc or a chardonnay.
- Chicken Stock: I prefer chicken stock to chicken broth in most recipes; it tends to have a bolder flavor.
- Fresh Herbs and Garlic: Adding fresh herbs is what kicks this up a notch. You could use dried, if you do cut the amounts in half. I’m using rosemary and sage, but you could get creative by adding parsley or fresh thyme for a different combination.
- Heavy Cream: Don’t skip the cream. Milk will be way too runny.
- Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon juice adds acid and brightness to the sauce.
- Capers: These little things are un-ripened green flower buds of the caper bush. They are either cured in salt or pickled in brine, giving them their trademark savory, salty flavor.
Preparing the Chicken
What cut of chicken is used in the recipe? I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs since it has more flavor, but boneless skinless chicken breasts would work. You could even use chicken cutlets, but be careful not to overcook them.
Coat the chicken in corn starch. You might think flour is a better option, but corn starch is perfect for creating a crispy exterior for the chicken. It will actually absorb moisture from the chicken and expand while cooking. Plus, the cornstarch in the pan will help thicken the sauce. Be sure to season with salt and black pepper.
Start with a large oven-safe skillet or cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat, adding a small amount of olive oil to the pan. You want to brown the meat on both sides. It should be a light golden brown but not cooked all the way through. You might have to work in batches since you want to ensure each piece of chicken has room to cook in a single layer and is not overlapping.
Using the same pan (you want to keep all those brown bits), you will add the creamy sauce to this pan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. If you are using different cuts of chicken, such as large chicken breasts, you may have to cook longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat should read at least 165 degrees of internal temperature. The goal is perfectly cooked, tender chicken.
Making the Sauce
Start with a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Melt butter, add mushrooms, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Allow the mushrooms to render some liquid, and then add your onions and garlic in stages. Deglaze the pan with white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add chicken stock next and cook for 10 minutes to reduce by half again. The final steps involve adding the heavy cream, herbs, and capers. Once again, cook for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce.
This dish pairs well with mashed potatoes and green beans. Plate the chicken, spoon the mushroom sauce over the chicken, and enjoy!
Check out another easy chicken recipe, The Best Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole Recipe or Sheet Pan Lemon & Caper Chicken both are great main dish recipes.
Chicken With Perfectly Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage minced
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the onions and cook another 2-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes—season with salt and pepper.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and cook for about 10 minutes; the liquid should have reduced by about half again.
- Add the cream, herbs, capers, and lemon juice. Cook another 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a shallow bowl, coat the chicken with cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. Shake off excess cornstarch before cooking.
- In a separate oven-safe pan, heat two tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. In a single layer, cook the chicken, about 4 minutes on each side.
- Once the chicken is browned, pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken and place it in the oven. Cook about 20 minutes until bubbling, and an instant-read thermometer reaches at least 165° F.
- Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned over the top.
