Quick and easy Creamy Bacon Chicken. Made with tender chicken breasts smothered in an irresistible creamy bacon sauce, it’s comfort food perfection ready in just 30 minutes!
Pan-Fried Chicken with Creamy Bacon Sauce
For last-minute guaranteed amazing dinners the whole family will love, I highly recommend keeping chicken, bacon, heavy cream, and dry pasta or rice in your refrigerator and pantry. For someone like me who is very inconsistent in the meal-planning department of adulthood, I’ve found this to be extremely helpful.
This creamy bacon chicken is creamy delicious comfort food and so easy to make! I highly recommend pairing it with yes, cooked pasta, rice, or even barley, and definitely something green. Broccoli, asparagus, and Brussel sprouts are all delicious.
Anyway, this is just one example of the recipes born from this emergency stash, check out this creamy bacon broccoli pasta, pasta with bacon and peas, or this creamy chicken tortellini soup.
Chicken cutlets
If you’ve ever cooked with chicken breasts you may have noticed how unevenly shaped they are. One end is thick, while the opposite end is thin. This uneven thickness often results in unevenly cooked and dry chicken which is never enjoyable to eat.
To remedy this we turn chicken breasts into chicken cutlets of uniform thickness. To do this simply cut the breast in half horizontally, this will yield two thinner cutlets. To make sure they are the same thickness, pound the thicker ends of the breast until they are the same thickness.
How to Make Creamy Bacon Chicken
1. Cook the bacon: Feel free to cook the bacon in slices or pre-chopped. This is entirely up to you. Cook until crispy and fat is rendered. Reduce heat if your bacon starts to burn.
2. Prepare the chicken: Slice the chicken breasts into cutlets and season both sides with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Add to a large ziplock bag filled with flour and gently mix to coat the chicken.
3. Cook the chicken: In the same pan that was used to cook the bacon, cook the chicken in 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon grease for approximately 4-6 minutes per side.
4. Cook the onions: Cook the onions in olive oil and butter until softened. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
5. Make the sauce: Add the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the heavy cream and add the bacon and chicken back to the pan.
6. Cook: Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat, season to taste, and garnish with parmesan cheese.
Recipe Tips
- Do not use turkey bacon. Turkey bacon is great – but not in this recipe. It doesn’t have the flavor and fat of regular pork bacon.
- Do not use milk in place of heavy cream. I know, heavy cream is well, heavy, but that is the entire point of this recipe.
- You CAN, ditch the all-purpose flour. The flour creates a nice crust on the chicken and it also helps thicken the cream sauce, but it’s not vital to the recipe. So, if you’re gluten-free, feel free to leave out the flour.
- Make it keto-friendly by leaving out the flour.
- Keep leftovers stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
I hope you LOVE this easy creamy bacon chicken recipe! It’s:
Comforting
Rich
Bacon-y
Delicious
Quick
Luscious
& full of protein!
Perfect whenever you’re not sure what to make for dinner, I also love serving this yummy chicken with a small green salad or fruit salad.
More Creamy Chicken Recipes and Resources
Have you tried making this Creamy Bacon Chicken Recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
RECIPE CARD
Creamy Bacon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon - chopped
- 2 large chicken breasts - cut in half lengthwise (or 4 chicken breast cutlets)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoons fresh thyme - minced
- salt and pepper - to taste
- Grated parmesan cheese - for serving
Instructions
- Add the chopped bacon to a large skillet or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the bacon is sizzling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally until the bacon pieces are golden and release their grease. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the desired doneness is reached.
- Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan, save the rest for later use.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Pat each chicken breast dry with paper towels and slice them in half lengthwise to make four thinner chicken breast cutlets. Season both sides of the chicken with the seasoning mixture and transfer the chicken to a large ziplock bag filled with all-purpose flour. Dredge the chicken in the flour until completely covered in flour.
- Set the pan or skillet with the reserved bacon grease over medium-high heat. Gently shake off any excess flour from the chicken and add the chicken to the skillet.
- Sear each side for approximately 3-5 minutes, or until golden and nearly cooked through. Remove the chicken to a clean plate and set them aside.
- In the same skillet set over medium heat add the olive oil, butter, and diced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened. Mix in the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute, or until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the heavy cream, fresh thyme, and bacon. Do not boil the cream sauce.
- Return the chicken back to the pan. Cover and continue to cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Season with additional salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Jessica’s Notes
- You may also make this recipe using 4-6 bone-in chicken thighs. Chicken thighs will take longer to cook on the stovetop, so you may want to sear them first and transfer them to the oven to finish cooking. While the chicken thighs bake, continue with the rest of the recipe.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
My grandson fell in LOVE with this recipe! As a matter of fact, his birthday is coming up and he asked me to make it for his birthday dinner.
I love hearing that your grandson fell in love with this recipe – thanks for the feedback and rating, Barb ๐