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Smothered chicken and mushrooms transform sweet, slow-cooked onions, tender mushrooms and juicy (never dry) baked chicken into a one-pan dinner masterpiece with hardly any work from you.Â
I’m a big believer in the simplicity of whole food on my blog The Country Contessa. We do the best we can when we can–not every night is going to have space for a totally from-scratch meal.
But when you have an hour, put it to good use with something hearty that will fill you up and satisfy you deep down. And for all you “I can’t cook chicken without drying it out” people, this smothered chicken and mushroom dish will be a great starting place for changing all of that.
I use a cast iron dutch oven here because I hate a slow cooker. Truth. And the versatility of cast iron is something you just can’t beat. If you’re not sure how to take care of cast iron, you can get it enameled like the picture above (it’s a little more forgiving) or you can read more about caring for it . It’s a snap honestly.
Tips for the best smothered chicken and mushrooms
- I used bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts in this smothered chicken and mushrooms that look like they came off Godzilla. If you have smaller ones, you may be able to get by with a shorter cook time but I wouldn’t use boneless skinless anything here. It’s gonna dry out and there won’t be enough gravy-smothering you can do to fix that. If you’d like a stronger mushroom flavor in yours, consider rehydrating some dried ones, or using a combination of different types.
- Use fresh herbs and you’ll have a perfect gravy that will leave you licking your fingers. Serve it with big slices of Texas toast for sopping up the juices. Herbs are cheap and worth every penny. You can find them in your produce department.
- Check your chicken about halfway through your cooking time and make sure your gravy isn’t disappearing. If it’s looking a little thick, or starting to dry out some, you can add a little bit more chicken stock. Your gravy won’t be as thick but it will still taste good.
Smothered Chicken and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon divide them out
- 3 large bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick rings
- 2 6- ounce packages baby portobello mushrooms stems removed and quartered
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- thick sliced bread for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Season the chicken on both sides with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high until it just starts to shimmer and smoke.
- Add the chicken, skin side down and don't move it for 6 minutes. Turn it over and cook 6 minutes more--just so that the chicken gets a little brown color on it. Transfer it to a 5-quart pot with a tight fitting lid.
- To the remaining oil in the skillet, add the onions and cook over medium until they start to soften--about 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle over ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Transfer the onions to the pot with the chicken.
- In the same skillet over medium heat again, add 1 more tablespoon vegetable oil and the flour. Stir constantly 1 minute until no pockets of flour remain then add the broth, white wine vinegar and remaining salt and pepper. Simmer and stir constantly until the sauce thickens--about 5 to 6 minutes. Taste it to see if it needs more salt or pepper.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and onions. Add the thyme leaves and cover. Bake 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and add the mushrooms. Cover and bake again an additional 20 to 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm with toast.
Notes
Nutrition
Here’s another favorite chicken recipe:
And for more great chicken recipes, try these:
