Behold this quick and simple recipe: chicken breasts cooked in a creamy mushroom sauce! It is a simple dish that can be made in a single pan or skillet, filled with so much flavor and comfort for a warming dinner. Best of all, it can be on the table in about half an hour, making it the perfect square family meal for any day of the week.
A perfect family meal
This recipe is all about keeping things quick, simple and with no fancy ingredients. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cremini mushrooms and crème fraiche come together to create a very satisfying, crowd-pleasing dish. It is ready in just 30 minutes, for a perfect family meal any day of the week.
I love to make it in a large skillet to fit loads of mushrooms and 4 chicken breasts. But you can easily halve the recipe to make it for two, in a smaller pan.
Make sure you have crusty bread on the side for mopping up the delicious sauce!
How to cook juicy chicken breasts in a pan ?
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a very popular cut of poultry. However, it is known for being tricky to cook as it can turn tough and dry pretty quickly. So, here are a few tips I learned from my years of cooking to help you achieve perfectly cooked and juicy chicken breasts. Use these tips and techniques to cook the chicken breasts for this recipe when nestled with the mushrooms. Or you can simply use them for cooking chicken breasts on their own, and in any other recipes.
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- Ideally, breasts shouldn’t be thicker than 1-inch, to cook evenly. If your chicken breasts are too thick, cover them with a plastic film and use a mallet or rolling pin to pound them down until thinner.
- Take the chicken breasts out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you cook them. This will allow the meat to come to close to room temperature, so it doesn’t have thermal shock when placed on a hot pan – which usually makes for tough meat.
- Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice onto the chicken breasts and rub it in. The lemon juice helps tenderize the chicken. This works well for lean cuts like chicken breasts.
- Salt your chicken 2 hours beforehand to allow the salt to penetrate the meat. If you’re interested in knowing more about how salt is used to build and enhance flavor in food (especially for meats), I recommend the book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
- Cook chicken breasts on a pre-heated pan set to medium-high heat.
- Do not move the chicken breasts around while they cook (this is essential!).
- Cook chicken breasts for 7-8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 165F/74C.
- When the chicken breasts are finished cooking, let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows for the heat to distribute evenly and for meat to relax.
Cooking Notes & Substitutions:
- Find Crème fraiche at the grocery store, next to sour cream and whipping cream. Two of my favorite brands I recommend are Liberte and Maison Riviera.
- You can substitute the crème fraiche for heavy cream (35% M.F.). However, I don’t recommend substituting it for sour cream, half-and-half or even milk. These don’t contain enough fat and will curdle due to high heat in the sauce.
- Cremini mushrooms are traditionally used for making this recipe, but you can opt for other seasonal mushrooms if you want, such as porcini or chanterelles
- You can use another cut of chicken if you would like, such as chicken quarters or thighs. Keep in mind you may need to adjust the cooking time.
How to store Chicken breasts in creamy mushroom sauce?
Any leftovers? You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- In the refrigerator: let the the dish cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat your portions on the stovetop on low heat, so the sauce doesn’t separate.
- I don’t recommend freezing this dish. Saucy dishes made with dairy don’t handle the thawing process very well.
More Chicken recipes you may like:
- Classic French Coq Au Vin Rouge
- French Tarragon Chicken
- Simple Chicken Marengo with mushrooms
- Chicken Chasseur (Classic French Hunter’s Chicken)
- Braised Chicken thighs with garlic and onion
I hope you’ll love this Chicken Breasts in Creamy Mushroom Sauce as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment. As a side, you can serve this recipe with simple rice, Green Beans Almondine or Gratin Dauphinois.
8 comments
I always first make a recipe exactly as it was written. Then, if necessary, make adjustments to suit my taste. This is wonderful as is, but I think it could be even better substituting some fresh French thyme for the parsley. This recipe as written is even better the next day, as more flavors are developed. Took your advice from another of your saucy recipes and placed a slice of bread (any kind of sturdy bread would do – I used a sandwich slice of sourdough, ala king-style) at the bottom of an individual bowl and topped it with rewarmed sauce and let it be absorbed for a minute, then added a rewarmed piece of chicken. Just delightful! Thank you, Audrey.
Thanks for trying (and enjoying) the recipe, Deb. Subbing in some thyme is a great idea, and I agree, would work perfectly. I also love the idea of using a slice of sourdough to soak up some sauce – it’s something my husband also loves to do!
Oh my, I am sooooo glad that I discovered your blog! I made this dish today and it was sublime! I’ve mocked up similar before, but your technique for cooking chicken breasts make all the difference. They were so tender and the recipe ensured that the sauce was perfection. The biggest problem that I had with this recipe was trying to ensure that I put ALL of the creme fraiche into the pan….okay, a heaped teaspoon became the chef’s perk…
Anne, I am so glad you found the blog as well, I very much appreciate all the kind words. My goal is to make French cooking accessible to all, so I’m always happy to hear when I’m hitting the mark! Enjoy your stay, enjoy some more recipes and enjoy another heaped teaspoon of creme fraiche any time you want!
Delicious chicken and sauce! We prefer having a little more sauce on the plate so we’ll use 2/3 cup of stock & 1 cup of creme fraiche next time. Thank you for another great recipe.
Thank you so much, Bart! Absolutely nothing wrong with making more sauce… It really is quite delicious. My husband loves mopping it up with fresh bread. Appreciate the review!
This turned out lovely but I am sure I did something wrong. My chicken breasts (which I cut in half) basically poached in the water the mushrooms released. They did not take on a browned color as the photos show. In any case, I added dried thyme and a dash of sauvignon blanc with the chicken broth and it all came together nicely. It was definitely comfort food. I made the green beans almondine as a side dish, served the chicken with potatoes and also made an apple galette to finish the dish. Another hit – thank you, Audrey.
Sounds like an amazing meal, Jojo! Great job. I don’t think you did anything wrong at all, I think this just came down to your mushrooms have an excess of water in them. The next time, just wait until nearly all of the water has released and evaporated from the pan before adding the chicken. I think it’s as simple as that 🙂