This smothered chicken recipe is an easy one-pot dinner made with chicken breasts that are dredged, pan-fried, and smothered in rich and creamy onion gravy.
Like smothered pork chops, smothered chicken is easy to prep, loaded with flavor, and makes for a delicious comfort food-style dinner.
For more easy chicken dinner ideas give our one-pot creamy garlic chicken or jalapeno popper chicken a try.
I like to serve this smothered chicken breast recipe with mashed potatoes that I top with the extra gravy. So good.
You can also serve this chicken dish with a side salad, or any other sides you enjoy with chicken.
Make this smothered chicken breast as light or heavy or a meal as you want with what sides you choose to use.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken – I recommend boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. While you can use bone-in, you would have to adjust the cook time as bone-in chicken will take longer to cook.
- Flour – For dredging the chicken.
- Seasonings – We will be using salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to flavor the chicken. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to fit your preference. A pinch of cayenne pepper can add a pop of flavor.
- Butter – I recommend real butter, not margarine. If you use salted butter you may want to cut the salt in the recipe.
- Chicken Broth – This broth is going to add a lot of rich flavor to the gravy. You can use vegetable if you don’t have chicken on hand. Or swap with bone broth.
- Onion and Garlic – These two ingredients are a fantastic way to add additional flavor to your chicken and the gravy.
- Heavy Cream – The heavy cream is whats going to make the gravy rich and creamy. For this reason, I don’t recommend swapping with milk.
How to Make Smothered Chicken
Step one. Grab a shallow bowl or pie dish and add the flour, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Then dredge the chicken breast in the flour mixture, coating each side and shaking off any excess.
Step two. Heat the oil and some of the butter in pan, then add the chicken. Cook about 6-8 minutes per side, until well browned and an inserted thermometer reads 165°F. Once done, remove from the pan.
Step three. Add the remaining butter, and toss in the onions. Stir and cook until softened and a little brown. Stir in a bit of the chicken broth at a time if the pan becomes too dry. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Step four. Stir in the remaining chicken broth and heavy cream and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Once it reaches a boil reduce to low heat. Return the chicken to the skillet, spoon with gravy, and simmer for 3-4 minutes to let it soak up all the gravy’s goodness.
Once done, serve with gravy spooned over the top.
Storage
Store leftovers for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Tips and Variations
- While I recommend boneless skinless chicken breasts you can use any cut of chicken to make smothered chicken. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces you will need to adjust your cook time accordingly.
- Feel free to use jarred minced garlic to save a little time on prep.
- Try adding chopped bacon to add a nice flavor and crunch.
Recipe FAQs
This gravy takes time for the liquid to reduce as it cooks. Be patient and give it a good stir often while simmering to help prevent clumps and burning. Stirring also helps to thicken the gravy. You can turn the heat up slightly to speed up the process, but if you do this you will also need to stir more often.
Smothered chicken breasts can be served with ultimately any sides: mashed potatoes, rice, steamed or roasted veggies, salad, dinner rolls, mac and cheese, etc. Feel free to whip up and serve with any of your favorites.
Due to the heavy cream in the gravy, I don’t recommend freezing smothered chicken. The gravy tends to clump up and have an odd texture when thawed.
More One-Pot Dinner Recipes
Smothered Chicken Breasts
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Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 4 chicken breasts, we used boneless and skinless
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning, or to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 small onions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ cup chicken broth or chicken stock, divided
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Add the flour, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to a large plate or shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture, coating each side and shaking off any excess.
- Place the olive oil and 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat and once hot, add the flour-coated chicken. Cook the chicken breasts for 6-8 minutes per side, until well browned and an inserted thermometer reads 165°F. Remove chicken to a clean plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining Tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the onions and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in a Tablespoon of chicken broth as needed to prevent burning if the pan becomes too dry. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the remaining chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. When it reaches a boil, reduce to low heat. Return the chicken to the skillet, spoon with gravy, and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve the chicken warm and smothered in the onion gravy.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by a third party and intended to serve as an estimate only. The accuracy of nutritional information is not guaranteed.
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