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Cream Sauce Chicken Thighs features pan-seared boneless chicken thighs lightly dredged in seasoned flour and then smothered in a delicate yet decadent cream cheese sauce and topped with bacon! It’s just so tasty and simple, perfect for an easy lunch or dinner.
I prefer using boneless, skinless chicken thighs for their convenience and because they stay nice and juicy during cooking, unlike breast meat. In this recipe, the chicken thighs are seasoned with garlic, Italian Seasoning, and other spices, then lightly sautéed in oil for a flavorful exterior. The dish becomes exceptionally delicious when the pan is deglazed to create a creamy white sauce using cream cheese and broth. This simple step transforms the meal into something extraordinary with minimal effort. The addition of bacon and parsley completes this irresistible entrée.
Ingredients For Cream Sauce Chicken Thighs
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: You’ll need about six.
- All Purpose Flour: For dredging.
- Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian Seasoning, and Dried Parsley: To season the flour.
- Salt and Pepper
- Vegetable Oil: For sauteing. You can also substitute avocado oil, light olive oil, or butter.
- Chicken Broth: I like low-sodium.
- Cream Cheese: You’ll need about 4 ounces, cubed.
- Chopped Fresh Parsley and Bacon Bits: For garnish.
How to Make Cream Sauce Chicken Thighs
- Make the Seasoned Flour: In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour with all of the seasonings. Mix well to combine.
- Dredge and Cook the Chicken: Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Pat the chicken thighs with paper towels to dry, and then coat in the flour mixture. Place carefully into the hot oil and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side, until crispy and cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Make the Sauce: Add chicken broth to skillet, and scrape the bottom of the skillet gently with a spatula to incorporate any browned bits into the sauce. Add the cubes of cream cheese and whisk thoroughly to create a creamy sauce, 2-3 minutes.
- Return Chicken to Pan: Add the chicken back to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes more, until heated through. Remove from heat and garnish with parsley and bacon bits.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Get that sizzle! When trying to get anything crispy in a pan, you have to do two things: avoid overcrowding and have the heat high enough. One good way to test the heat is to dip just a bit of the meat into the pan. If it begins to sizzle when it touches the hot oil, go ahead and put it down and add the others to the pan. If it doesn’t sizzle, or it takes a few seconds, the oil isn’t quite hot enough.
- Taste test: You’ll notice that the sauce itself doesn’t call for any seasoning; it takes its flavor from the chicken. As always, however, taste as you go. When the sauce has thickened, and before you add the chicken back to the pan, taste for salt and pepper. Adjust as needed.
- Cook completely: Dark meat is quite forgiving and stays moist a lot longer than white meat, but that sometimes means that cooks think the chicken is done when it needs a little longer in the pan. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness, and do a fork-check (try to pull the chicken apart with a couple of forks) to see if it’s tender. It shouldn’t be dry, but it shouldn’t be rubbery either! If it’s rubbery and resistant, give it another minute or so of cook time.
What To Serve With This Recipe?
- This dish goes really nicely with your favorite pasta or with rice. I like to add a fresh green side, like Roasted Sugar Snap Peas or Romano Beans to round out the menu.
- If you’d like to start with a salad, tomatoes, and feta, really set the stage for the cream sauce on the chicken. Try my Avocado Tomato Salad or this Cucumber Salad for an easy starter!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate leftover chicken in the sauce, and in a tightly covered container, for up to 3 days. It’s not recommended to freeze this dish, because the cheese sauce may have a poor consistency after thawing.
- To reheat, place leftovers in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Delicious Chicken Recipes
Cream Sauce Chicken Thighs
A deliciously easy weeknight meal of crisply breaded and sauteed chicken, with a creamy cheesy sauce and bacon bits.
Ingredients
- 6 (about 1.5 pounds, total) boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- Salt and fresh ground pepper,, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese,, cubed, room temperature
- Chopped fresh parsley,, for garnish
- cooked and diced bacon,, for garnish
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken.
- In a small mixing bowl combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Coat chicken with the flour mixture.
- Heat oil in a large, 12-inch skillet set over medium heat.
- Add chicken to the hot oil and cook for 5 minutes; flip over and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Remove chicken from skillet.
- Set skillet back over medium heat and stir in the chicken broth; mix and stir, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the cream cheese; cook and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is thickened.
- Return chicken to the skillet; turn to coat and continue to cook for 2 minutes, or until heated through.
- Garnish with parsley and bacon.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 494mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Did you make a recipe? Leave a rating
Would this work with skin on chicken thighs?
Yes, as long as they are boneless. The skin may make the dish oily, but if you don’t mind that, then it will work just fine.
So yummy! Made it for dinner tonight and my kids and husband loved it! I followed the recipe to a T except I cubed the chicken before dredging it in the flour mixture to make it more kid bite size friendly😋. Adding it to our regular repertoire!
That’s great to hear! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was very tasty! The bacon really brought it together. Will definitely make again!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
That’s great to hear! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂
Can I cook this in the crock pot? I am assuming I can but I figured I would ask first.
Awesome flavor and so easy!!!
Thank YOU! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This has become a family favorite. Even my picky eater eats this up. I double the sauce and serve it over penne pasta.
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I made this tonight for the first time & my adult daughter raved about how good it was. I liked it as well & that it’s so easy & quick to prepare.
That’s great! I’m very glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This has become a family favorite! For a change of pace, we top with a little cayenne pepper sauce instead of bacon. Yum!
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I give this a 5, just the right amount of seasoning. Very flavorful, my husband went back for seconds,he doesn’t like new recipes.
That’s great! I’m very glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂