The Weeknight Kitchen · Comfort

Creamy Mushroom Chicken Thighs

Name: Creamy Mushroom Chicken Thighs
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 700 g boneless skinless chicken thighs; 5 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1 g black pepper; 15 ml neutral oil; 20 g unsalted butter; 340 g cremini mushrooms; 3 garlic cloves; 2 g fresh thyme; 120 ml chicken broth; 120 ml heavy cream; 10 g Dijon mustard; 20 g grated Parmesan; 5 g fresh parsley

Golden-seared thighs in a savory pan sauce of hard-browned mushrooms, garlic, and cream — the comforting, creamy one, forgiving and all in a single skillet. Spoon it over mashed potatoes.

~35 min total 10 min prep 25 min cook

Spoon cost

Time ●●○○○ Some Doing

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Units

Ingredients

Brown the mushrooms hard, and let the thighs finish in the sauce. Mushrooms hold a lot of water — crowd them and they steam and go gray; give them room and leave them alone, and they turn deep brown and savory, which is where the sauce gets its flavor. And the thighs simmer gently in that sauce until cooked through — nearly impossible to overcook, the extra time only melting the connective tissue so dark meat stays silky in the cream.

Before you start

Get these into the state the recipe asks for first — the steps that use them won't wait.

Slice the mushrooms and mince the garlic before you start — once the pan is hot, the browning and the sauce move quickly.

Method

Cook's notes

Thighs are the forgiving choice here — a few extra minutes in the cream only make them more tender — no thermometer needed for a braise (why thighs are so forgiving).

Make it Chicken Marsala: deglaze with a half cup of dry Marsala wine in place of (or alongside) the broth, and skip the Dijon — that's the classic. Sweet Marsala works too; just use a little less.

Mushrooms: cremini (baby bella) bring the most flavor, but white button are fine. A small handful of dried porcini, soaked and chopped, makes it feel luxurious.

What to serve it over: mashed potatoes are the move — the sauce wants somewhere to pool. Egg noodles, rice, or torn bread all work too. Here's the mashed potatoes.

Lighter option: use half-and-half instead of heavy cream (it won't reduce quite as thick); if the sauce tightens too much, loosen it with a splash more broth.

Easier, if you like

Pre-sliced mushrooms from the produce section skip the knife work entirely.

Make it gluten-free

Gluten-free: it already is — there's no flour in the sauce, the cream and Parmesan do the thickening. Just check your broth and Dijon are gluten-free.

Dairy-free is a stretch here since cream is the point, but full-fat coconut milk plus a dairy-free butter gives a rich (differently-flavored) version — skip the Parmesan.