Say Goodbye To Boring Chicken With This Creamy Mushroom Skillet Recipe

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Chicken is a super versatile protein that tends to please a wide range of diners, but a simple chicken breast can quickly veer into bland and dry territory. Thankfully, Mashed recipe developer Patterson Watkins knows that fate is unlikely with the right cooking technique and a flavorful sauce. Her skillet-seared chicken breast with creamy mushroom sauce recipe doubles down on flavor. First, she highlights the fact that there's a seasoning blend on the chicken itself, the chicken bouillon powder, paprika, and dried Italian seasoning, to name a few flavorful additions. That's not all though. "There's the composition of the sauce, made using sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, onion, a can of condensed soup, and mushrooms," she describes, all of which is made even more creamy and delicious thanks to the addition of half and half.

The ingredient list might be pretty packed, but the components come together easily without any complicated methods. "It is a great weekday dish with minimal clean up and, fortunately, easy on the wallet too," Watkins points out. It also offers plenty of pairing opportunities, whether you're into starchy sides like potatoes, pasta, and rice, or an extra serving of vegetables.

For this recipe, you'll need all-purpose flour, sweet paprika, powdered chicken bouillon, dried Italian seasoning, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to start. Then, get boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slice them in half to make thin pieces. Next, get olive oil, unsalted butter, garlic cloves (peeled and minced), diced yellow onion, diced sun-dried tomatoes, sliced cremini or button mushrooms, a can of cream of mushroom soup, half and half, salt, and fresh chopped parsley.

Place flour, paprika, bouillon powder, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes in a shallow bowl. Stir to combine.

Coat the chicken breasts in the seasoned flour mixture.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the chicken breasts, and sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden.

Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside on a clean plate. Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet and melt.

Once melted, add the garlic, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the veggies have begun to soften.

Add the soup and half and half to the skillet, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.

Return the chicken to the skillet, submerge in the sauce, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Season to taste with salt and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

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Watkins loves this recipe for its versatility, and that's a winning quality for everyone who makes it. "Not everyone is a fan of mushrooms ... and this recipe is big on mushrooms," she points out. "Fear not, there are some soupy adjustments (and veggie adjustments) you can make." As far as the soup goes, there are plenty of canned cream soup options to choose. Chicken, bacon, celery, and broccoli are some options Watkins recommends, though she notes that sticking with chicken gives you free reign over the vegetables you add after.

"If you want to go for a tender green veggie addition, like broccoli, asparagus, peas, green beans ... don't saute these like you would the mushrooms," she instructs. Instead, she advises, "Add these when there are about 5 minutes remaining on the cook time (after you've added the chicken and the chicken has simmered for some time)," and notes that vegetables like broccoli might require a bit more time. Meanwhile, vegetables that have a lot of water, like spinach, are best served on the side to ensure your sauce remains rich and creamy.

Chicken bouillon powder has seasoning superpowers. "If you've cooked a package of ramen, you're already familiar with these powdered soup bases/seasonings," Watkins says and describes it as "a concentrated granulated form of broth or stock that is used as a flavor enhancer or as a broth/stock substitute (just add water kinda thing)." Considering the flavor profile of chicken bouillon powder is, well, chicken, Watkins notes that it helps amplify the taste of the chicken in this dish.

"Since most of these bouillon powders contain salt and additional spices/herbs, they can greatly improve flavor without needing a lot of additional ingredients," she explains. Instead of pulling out a dozen spice jars, your bouillon powder can do it all. Aside from amping up the flavor of this skillet-seared chicken dish, she suggests, "You can use these bouillon powders in marinades, stir-fries, sauces, savory baking, and add it to your breading/flour coating (like in this recipe) for maximized flavor."

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